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12 days - Independent premium self-drive tour in Iceland
Iceland is where glaciers reach for the skies, deep blue mountain lakes fill steep valleys with sharp green peaks on all sides. Come with us to explore these iconic sights of Iceland. This self-drive journey allows you to explore the sights at your own pace and includes countryside boutique accommodation that let you fully recharge for each day’s adventures.
Let hot springs relax and calm you as you take in the spectacular views. This Iceland itinerary can be tailor made to suit your plans.
Read Tatyana's story about visiting the hot springs in Iceland last October with us here.
As a Certified B Corporation, 50 Degrees North has designed this tour using handpicked local hoteliers and suppliers who share our ethos of delivering services and activities of high social and environmental standards.
The CO2-e per person per day of all tours is carefully measured following each season. We fully offset all emissions of our tours on your behalf, and we constantly look at ways to reduce emissions where possible.
Transfers & self-drive car, Car Skoda Octavia or similar Automatic.
(Drinks paid locally)
Optional activities such as the Irarfoss horseback riding, GeoSea hotsprings, Puffin tour and Vatnshellir cave tour can be arranged before you leave. During peak season, they can book out early so please ask us for further details.
On arrival, you'll be met by your private driver and taken to your hotel. After settling in, meet your guide for a private guided tour, exploring this lovely capital. Be sure to check out the design stores and cool cafes in central Reykjavik.
In the evening you can enjoy a gourmet dinner at one of Reykjavik's many fine restaurants - taste the fresh Atlantic seafood or free-range lamb that Iceland is famous for.
Reykjavik is an easy city to explore on foot or bike. Feel the fresh air on your face with a visit to the harbour and perhaps enjoy a food tour of this small capital. If you're interested in experiencing the city's thriving coffee culture, head to the main street, Laugavegur, to enjoy its various shops and cosy cafes.
We have included a visit to the Sky Lagoon with Saman Experience with transfers. Follow the seven step step ritual including saunas and the signature Sky Body Scrub.
Pick up your hire car at 9.00am in the morning.
Today is known as driving the Golden Circle: erupting hot springs at Geysir, Gullfoss waterfalls and Þingvellir National Park. The Gullfoss waterfalls are Iceland's most popular and easily accessible from Reykjavik, therefore, rather crowded in the peak season. These two-tiered waterfalls are spectacular and involve a short walk from the car park.
Þingvellir is one of the most frequently visited tourist sites in Iceland where you can become better acquainted with Iceland's history and traditions. You can join guided tours of the site and also find short hiking trails to help you explore Þingvellir National Park.
Tonight, stay in manor house located in the very heart of southern Iceland, surrounded by stunning nature in the tranquility of the countryside. Just under the wide expanses of the Icelandic highlands and in the vicinity of glaciers and volcanoes, overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean.
This morning, before leaving your manor hotel, those who enjoy horseback riding have the opportunity to book an easy 1‑hour ride on the gentle and iconic Icelandic horse, exploring the peaceful farmland surroundings all the way to the Írárfoss waterfall. This activity is entirely optional and can be enjoyed in the morning before you depart the hotel.
Afterward, travel toward South Iceland, where you’ll spend two nights in a hotel perfectly positioned for nature lovers - set right between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, two of the country’s most spectacular natural wonders.
Over the next two days, you will have time to explore this dramatic region at your own pace. Activities available today or tomorrow include:
The order of activities is completely flexible, allowing you to tailor your day to weather and preference.
During today's easy Glacier Walk, you will explore a stunning outlet glacier in Skaftafell. This icy giant is a breathtaking outlet glacier that extends from the mighty Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. Your adventure starts off with meeting your certified and experienced glacier guide in Skaftafell. Your guide will instruct you on how to use the basic and required glacier equipment that we provide, like crampons and an ice axe. Once you step onto the ice field it will feel as if you have been transported to an icy, foreign planet. As you walk through a wonderland of glacial ice sculptures, ice ridges and deep crevasses on the glacier, you will witness stunning scenery as far as the eye can see.
There will be an experienced and qualified guide with you along with glacier gear and safety equipment that will be provided. Make sure to bring warm clothing, rain gear and hiking boots.
Be surprised by the small village of Fáskrúðsfjörður. The French had heavily fished Icelandic waters since the 16th century and street signs here are in Icelandic and French. There is a French cemetery outside town filled with too few of the many thousands of French sailors who lost their lives in 100-plus shipwrecks, and the former French hospital is now a fine hotel with an excellent museum detailing France’s long history of Icelandic miseries.
This village is on the Iceland's east coast, renowned for magnificent nature and landscape.
Included today is a classic boat tour on the glacier lake, Fjallsárlón.
You will be met by an experienced guide who will lead you through a mossy otherworldly like landscape to the lagoon and your boat. After take-off you will circle icebergs of all shapes and sizes that ever so often turn or flip over. Grab the opportunity and taste the ancient ice. The tour continues towards Vatnajokull Glacier, the largest glacier in Europe.
Occasionally huge icebergs can be seen breaking off the glacier edge falling dramatically into the lagoon before drifting away. The guides make sure that you receive a good insight into the history of the area, nature, the glaciers and icebergs.
On the drive today from the East of Iceland to the North, we suggest you take a detour to Seyðisfjörður, a picturesque fjord town known for its colourful wooden houses and dramatic mountain scenery. You can also stop at the Gufu waterfall, a beautiful photo opportunity and a refreshing break along the route.
For lunch, stop at the Vök Baths for a geothermal dip and a meal, or alternatively, if travelling midweek, plan your day to enjoy a cosy dining experience at Nielsen Restaurant.
Continue on to the Lake Mývatn region, where you’ll have flexibility to explore this extraordinary volcanic area, a hotbed of geothermal activity and unique landscapes. Highlights include the steaming geothermal fields of Námaskarð Pass, the striking Skútustaðagígar pseudo‑craters, the dramatic Dimmuborgir lava formations, and Mt. Krafla, one of Iceland’s most intriguing volcanic systems.
This evening, you may choose to visit the Mývatn Nature Baths, where you can unwind in naturally heated geothermal waters drawn from deep underground — a peaceful way to end the day under the midnight sun.
Continue your time in the Lake Mývatn area with time dedicated to exploring at your own pace.
Included today is a silent whale watching tour, offering a sustainable and peaceful way to observe whales in their natural habitat. You also have the option to visit the Geosea Hot Springs Resort, where geothermal seawater pools overlook the Arctic Ocean.
If you didn’t yesterday, or would like another soak, you may end the day with a relaxing session at the Mývatn Nature Baths, enjoying the warmth and the lingering glow of the midnight sun.
Drive towards Akureyri, enjoy lunch in the small town centre, or head to the art centre on the harbour for a panoramic lunch before travelling further east. Included today is the Forest Lagoon spa resort.
Tonight, you will enjoy special accommodation with magnificent views across the open North Atlantic Ocean to the Westfjords peninsula beyond, delicious home-cooked meals, and authentic Icelandic hospitality.
A 3-course meal is included with your accommodation, served from 7.30pm.
Before departing the region today, an optional experience is to join a Drangey island boat and puffin tour, departing at 10am. Drangey island is a birdwatching paradise. The island is a nesting colony for thousands of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots, gannets, kittiwakes, fulmar, shearwaters along with ravens and gyrfalcons. The island is a sheer-sided palagonite rock approximately 180m high and provides a wonderful view over the whole fjord.
After a quick lunch, drive to the edge of the Snæfellsjökull National Park, the first national park that was established in Iceland, the boundaries of which reach out into the sea. On the water's edge, your hotel this evening is a small boutique hotel with a lovely restaurant & relaxed ambience.
Visit the lovely little country church in Búðir, just a short walk from the hotel. It is extremely picturesque & a well known wedding spot. Activities depending on your time of arrival and departure tomorrow can include golf, horse riding, snow mobile tours & glacier walking.
This morning, make your way to the Blue Lagoon, the ultimate hot spring experience. Set in the heart of a stunning lava landscape, Silica Hotel is just a ten-minute walk from the Blue Lagoon. The hotel offers its own private bathing lagoon, which is available for hotel guests every day from 09:00 to 22:00.
You have the option to include the Vatnshellir Cave tour today.
Drive to Keflavik International Airport and return your hire car before flying out.
Price per person. Due to the current volatility of the Icelandic Króna (ISK) and car hire costs, this price is indicative. We are happy to individually quote this tour for you. Hotels are in very short supply in Iceland during the peak of summer. Please contact us early.
The accommodation in this itinerary comprises Iceland’s best countryside boutique properties, which are in short supply during the peak summer season Jun-Aug. Booking early is essential. Should our selected properties not be available for your specific dates, we will look for alternatives, which in most cases will mean a downgraded standard.
Please note that the authorities of Reykjavik City has announced changes to the current arrangement for tour bus traffic in Reykjavik City Centre. The area where buses are not allowed to drive has been increased in size, and locations, numbers and names of the designated bus stops have been changed.
This may affect the pick-up and drop-off locations for your activities and transfers. If you have airport transfers with FlyBus, you will need to carry your luggage (200 metres to 300 metres) to / from the bus stop to your hotel.
Driving in Iceland:
A hire car cannot be driven in the Highlands area. In regards to gravel roads; technically you’re not recommended to take a hire car on gravel roads, but in Iceland you may not have a choice. Some guesthouses are located on gravel roads. Consider getting extra car insurance with gravel protection if it is something that might worry you. Ask us about what car would suit you - as it depends on the time of year and where you want to go!
When driving in Iceland, plan that all your destinations are going to take longer to reach than planned. Most of the time it is because you are going to make unanticipated stops to check out a waterfall, a viewpoint, a museum, or a shop. Sometimes it is also that traffic is just slow, animals may be crossing the road, or there is bad weather. If you build some extra time into your day, you won’t have to be rushing around at the end of the day.
For more Iceland driving rules and tips and to stay up to date on road conditions, check out the Road Conditions website and for all kinds of safety and travel information in Iceland check out the Safe Travel website. Bookmark both of these websites before you start your drive in Iceland.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Weather conditions may occasionally affect certain activities, and as a result, the schedule may be adjusted to ensure the best possible experience for all guests. For multi-activity stays, often the order of the activities will be confirmed locally on arrival. Activities might vary slightly in their duration or location due to the weather and local conditions. Any activities that are unable to be re-scheduled due to weather conditions will be refunded as a general practice, as determined by the activity provider.
This new hot springs centre has eight natural hot springs that evolve into the ocean with temperatures ranging from ocean temperatures (around 10°C) to 42°C in the old original hot spring. It is included in many of our tours and was awarded 'best thing to do in the world' by TIMEOUT magazine in 2023.
Our guest, Barry Stone, spent 8 days on our Iceland Circle self-drive this year. Here is his story.
No-one has missed the beautiful black beaches of Iceland on Instagram. Wanting to know more about how to visit this spot? See our ultimate guide to Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all tours with 50 Degrees North. The safety of our travellers, staff and operators is a major priority of 50 Degrees North. With an operational office in Norway, 50 Degrees North has access to an up-to-the-minute flow of information regarding the countries we work in. We are also in regular contact with the various operators we use. Their in-depth knowledge and understanding of their various areas is vital.
