5 Reasons Why I Didn't Drive Iceland's Ring Road

Iceland’s Ring Road is a very popular way to see the countries top attractions around the island. But I opted to NOT drive on the Ring Road around Iceland, and to do day trips from Reykjavik instead.

I’m so happy with my decision to stay in Reykjavik. So if you’re on the edge about what to do on, here are my reasons for not driving the Ring Road in Iceland.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

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What Is The Ring Road Iceland & Why Drive It?

Driving the Ring Road in Iceland is not only a great way to see the country, and all it has to offer, but it’s become somewhat of a thing to do in itself. The Ring Road in Iceland is the main road that goes all around the island, it’s also known as Route 1. Today, the entire Ring Road is paved making it a lot safer to drive (it wasn’t always!).

You want to drive around the country because even though Iceland is quite small, the landscapes change drastically from coast to coast. For example, the South West (where Reykjavik is) is very volcanic and has almost mars-like landscapes. But the more East you go, the snowier and more glacial landscapes you’ll find. There’s even new wildlife on the opposite side of the Island, like reindeer, and there’s also a better chance of seeing whales.

a rainbow stripes on the pavement street lead your eye to the end where a steeple of a church stick out above the pedestrians walking in front of it. On either side of the street are buildings with small trees.

What I Did Instead & Why I Loved It!

As I mentioned, instead of driving the Ring Road in Iceland, I stayed in Reykjavik and did day trips from the city to the top attractions in the area.

I did this because I was discouraged from driving around the entire Island based on my friends and my sisters trips to Iceland. Let’s just say, their trips seemed complicated and way too stressful for a vacation… so here are five reasons why I ultimately decided to skip out on the entire Ring Road experience!

1. Limited Vacation Time

I only had seven days in Iceland, which although the minimum amount of time you need to drive Iceland’s Ring Road is actually six to seven days… the recommendation is really to have between 10 and 14 days.

Can you imagine squeezing 14 days of driving and activities into seven days!? Something’s gotta give, right? You’re most likely missing out on attractions, and having to spend most of your time driving to make it back in time. This sounds extremely exhausting, and it wasn’t worth the hassle.

A waterfall reached farther down Icelands ring road a jaw dropping view of a a path that goes in and out of the frame. There's a rock mountainside above where a waterfall is coming down off of it going into a pool of water below that leaves through a narrow stream into the distance. It's the start of sunset, with blue skies, but a golden yellow hue on the horizon.

2. Staying In ONE Hotel Vs. MANY

When driving the Ring Road in Iceland, you’re changing hotels every night, or maybe every second night. Changing hotels is exhausting, more many reasons! For starters, you’re packing and unpacking, and checking in and checking out, EVERYDAY! So you’re never really settled.

On top of that, when you change hotels every night, you’re definitely not getting enough sleep. It’s been proven that your first night in a new place is never a good nights sleep, it’s known as the “first night effect” (or FNE). Your brain doesn’t fully go to sleep when you’re in a new environment because it needs to more alert to any potential threats that might occur.

And to top it all off, you never have a place to go back to in the middle of the day since check-in is often in the late afternoon. So you can be stranded for a few hours depending on your schedule. And this means you’re also somewhat living out of your rental car.

Instead, I stayed in Reykjavik, in THE SAME HOTEL for the entire week (it was the Skuggi Hotel and I’d recommend it!). I was able to unpack, be stress free, and most importantly, get a good nights sleep after a few days!

a simple bed in the skuggi hotel in Iceland. The walls are grey, there's a quote that says: " the cold was so brutal that every last hot spring was sealed up with ice thick enough to skate on: From Behind The Mountains Page 66. There are two bendabable, PIXAR lights attached to the black head board and bent to be over both sides of the bed. The bed is perfectly made with four white pillows, and two duvets. There are floor to ceiling windows you can see the street outside with a house across the street. A light drape is over the window, but there are dark grey black out drapes on the right of the window.

3. Simpler Trip Planning

Driving the Ring Road takes A LOT more planning. You have to find minimum seven hotels instead of just one. And you’ll have limited options the farther you are from the city (so I recommend booking as much in advance as possible!).

Your day to day trip planning is also a lot more complicated. You have to have a much tighter schedule because now you have to make it to your next destination by nightfall.

I like to keep my schedule fairly open on vacations as much as possible. This leaves room to change plans on a whim to adjust for bad weather or unforeseen closures when I arrive. But I also like leaving time if I find something new based on a local recommendation. It’s not as easy to pivot plans while you’re on the road.

And you have to plan a lot more because you’re going to more remote areas on the Island with less resources. My sister was describing her 14 day drive around Iceland’s Ring Road and how she packed a gas stove to be able to cook herself food because she had no idea what services there would be. She ended up eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches (which I’ll admit, I do love a good PB&J!). There are just less people living on the Eastern and Northern coasts, so naturally there are less resources.

a couple relaxing on bright lush green grass somewhere in Iceland. You can only see the bottom of their legs, and their matching hiking shoes (in different colours). They're on short grass, but taller unruly grass starts further down. In the distance are two mountain ranges - most likely volcanoes. They sky is pretty clear, with only a whisp of a white cloud. It's sunny and relaxing vibes.

4. You Can See All The Top Iceland Attractions From Reykjavik

Most importantly, all the top attractions in Iceland are actually doable on a day trip from Reykjavik. There are always a few exceptions, but for the most part you’ll be able to see everything you want on day trips from the city.

It’s logical that the most popular sights are actually the easiest to reach. They’ve become the most popular because more people can see them. So most tourists visiting Iceland do stay in Reykjavik, and can’t venture too far.

The top things to do in Iceland that are doable in a day trip are the Golden Circle (with Thingvellir National Park, Gulfoss, and Geysir), The Blue Lagoon, the South Coast (with Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, the black sand beaches and Vik), and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula (with Kirkjufellsfossar).

You can rent a car and drive to these locations yourself (what I did), or there are also tons of organized tours leaving from Reykjavik to popular destinations in the area (what my parents did!).

An organized tour is very convenient, especially for the farther destinations (when they become about a 3 hour drive away – that’s 6 hours of driving in one day!). It takes away some of the stress and lets you sleep on the long drives. I would recommend an organized tour to the South Coast (to Vik), and to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

See my full list of day trips from Reykjavik.

a vertical image showcasing a multilayered waterfall. The first drop is after a river flowing, it's not far, and the second drop is quickly after a sharp turn of the land. This is is longer and you can't see the bottom. It's a long exposure image, so the water looks very smooth and flowey. Green grass and rocks surround the falls. There are taller mountains are in the distance. The sky is broken up into thirds, a layer of clouds are nearest the horizon, then crisp blue sky, before another layer of clouds take over the top of the image.

5. You’re Never Too Remote (For Me, That’s a Positive!)

Reykjavik, and it’s surroundings are the most populated part of the island, which I actually see as a perk but some people don’t… A huge draw of a trip to Iceland can be it’s remote nature, but that was not what I wanted. In fact, I wanted to avoid being too alone at all costs (I’ve been in some questionable scenarios in the past and it’s not for me!).

And keep in mind, compared to other popular European destinations, Reykjavik will feel like a ghost town. Well maybe not a ghost town exactly, there are still people but I never felt as though it was over crowded like Rome or Paris (and I visited in peak season in the summer).

There will be some top attractions that will be overcrowded, especially in the summertime around the Golden Circle. But I always found there was a place to go to get the perfect view without any crowds, or I just had to wait for some of the bus tours to leave.

I actually enjoyed having people around, especially when driving to smaller more remote towns farther away from the city centre. The further you drive from the city, the more remote, and more barren it will be. I’ve done trips like that before, where we’re the only peoples around and it’s terrifying. If anything goes wrong, there’s no one around to help… you’re in the middle of nowhere, with possible limited connection, in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language… and p.s. the farther you go from Reykjavik, the less people there will be that speak English.

Vik was the farthest south I went from Reykjavik and it was a good mix of less people but still enough to feel like you’re not completely alone.

a couple sits on a brownish red rock ledge. Around them it's dirt and some green grassy patches. The dirt and grass shapes a circle going downward into a crater, with blue water in the centre. The sky is ominous, with dark clouds but you can still see some blue spots between the clouds.

What You’ll Miss If You DON’T Drive Iceland’s Ring Road

If you don’t drive past Vik on the Ring Road from Reykjavik, you will miss some top things to do in Iceland. You have to decide how much you want to see those attractions, because they aren’t reachable in a day from Reykjavik.

If you’re only staying in Reykjavik, you won’t be able to reach the passed Vik on the Southern coast, as well as the Eastern and Northern coasts. These regions are home to some pretty unique and spectacular sights, most notably is the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach (about 5 hours from Reykjavik).

Or the town of Húsavík, 6 hours from Reykjavik, is famous for whale watching, and more recently as the Eurovision town from the Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest.

As I mentioned, different wildlife is also different around the Island. Whales are more likely found on the Northern coasts, and reindeer are in the East.

If you’re were interested in either of these destinations, you could always stay one or two night in Vik to explore more of the Southern coast, or even Húsavík to explore more of the North.

driving by selffos at sunset on the ring road over a bridge. There's a reflection of the sunset in the water below. The sunset is golden yellow and different shades of blue above. There's a car driving in front.

And P.S. You Still Get a Taste Of Driving The Ring Road In Iceland

By staying in Reykjavik, you’re not actually missing out on actually driving the Ring Road in Iceland. Route 1 starts from Reykjavik, so as long as you head out on one day trip, you’ve driven on Route 1 Iceland!

And these will also be the best and most well maintained driving conditions in Iceland. Due to higher traffic and population, the roads are better kept. Even though it’s all paved, you don’t know what you’ll find the farther you go (not to mention the weather is worse on the opposite side of the Island – especially in the spring and winter!).

Renting a Car in Iceland

You don’t need a car in Reykjavik, but if you’re planning on doing day trips from the city, you’ll need a car or you can book organized tours.

I rented a car from the Keflavik Airport at Blue Car Rentals. It was easy pick up, and they had after hours drop off (which is why I needed to book with them).

Even if you are only planning on driving on the paved Ring Road, rent a raised SUV. You’ll end up on some gravel roads at some point driving in Iceland. See more of my rental car tips for Iceland in my post.

a super jeep driving down a curved Iceland's ring road going downhill towards the valley below. It's a clear day with blue skies and a bit of clouds.

Where To Stay in Reykjavik

We stayed in Reykjavik our whole time in Iceland at the Skuggi Hotel by Keahotels. They offered free parking (upon availability), breakfast, and a modern room. Check updated prices and availability on Booking.com.

If you’re interested in spa services at the tip of your fingers, ( I mean, you’re in Iceland after all!), stay at Midgardur by Center hotels. My parents stayed here and highly recommend it. Check updated prices and availability on Booking.com.

If you’re staying in Reykjavik for one night before heading out to drive the Ring Road, my sister stayed at the Hotel Frón and would recommend it for a one night stay. Check updated prices and availability on Booking.com.

Or, check out more hotel options on Booking.com in Reykjavik, Iceland

Printable Reykjavik Iceland Travel Guide

Make the most of your first trip to Reykjavik with my printable travel guide. It includes 14 pages to plan the perfect trip to Iceland, with top things to do, eat, and buy plus a packing guide and common phrases translated to Icelandic!
Start planning your perfect trip to Reykjavik, check it out on Etsy.