We’ve had a few people ask us the details of our itinerary, so I’m listing it here.  Most of the credit goes to Rick Steves, whose suggested path we followed pretty faithfully.  We added in a few stops and took out a few others (mostly museums), and we didn’t visit too many of his recommended lodgings or restaurants (mostly due to price and/or availability), but we drove the route he told us to drive and slept in the towns he told us to overnight in.

And we all agreed that we would do it pretty much the same way again.  I don’t think there was anything on this list that we would skip, and not much we feel we missed out on either.  Most of the places we visited were right on the main route, with ample free parking, bathrooms, well laid-out paths, and informative sign boards.  Everything was clean and safe, and everyone was friendly and helpful.

Our itinierary did involve a lot of driving, but the driving was so scenic that it could often be considered an attraction in and of itself.  Our full-sized sedan managed to fit five of us, plus all our stuff, in semi-comfort, and the middle-seat-rotation system that we worked out with the girls prevented too much strife in the back seat.

Making it all the way around the ring in 9 days meant staying on the move.  We spent only one night in each place, except for Lake Myvatn, where we stayed one extra night to see the many attractions in the area.

We stayed mostly in guest houses, which are kind of a cross between a hostel and a hotel.  We had our own room or rooms, but usually shared a bathroom and had access to shared kitchen facilities.  This proved to be valuable since restaurants in Iceland are so expensive, and for occasions where we were too late/too tired to go out.

This was an excellent destination during Covid times.  Iceland’s vaccine rate is very high and Covid rate was low (though this was starting to change towards the end of our trip).  Vaccinated Americans (as of this time) can enter the country without needing to test or quarantine.  To get back to the US, we had to present a negative Covid test, but Iceland simplified this by having a rapid test site (15 minute results) right next to the airport.  We spent the vast majority of our time outside — for the most part, we were only indoors in our hotel room (we even ate mostly outside) — so our exposure risk was low in any case.

For most of our trip, we were able to almost forget about the pandemic.  Other than hand sanitizer prominently displayed at the entrances to many hotels and restaurants, there didn’t seem to be many precautions in place.  But in the last couple of days, we saw a change — more masks and more caution.  We’re not sure if this is because we were in the more populous capital area, or because the state of things had worsened during our week.

Day 1: Keflavik airport to Borgarnes

• Fagradalsfjall volcano
• Blue Lagoon
• Lodging: Seaside airbnb

Day 2: Borgarnes to Siglufjordur

• Hraunfossar & Barnafossar waterfalls
• Haalfell Goat Farm 
• Grabrok Volcano Crater hike
• Stroll around Siglufjordur
• Lodging: Herring House guesthouse

Day 3: Siglufjordur to Lake Myvatn

• Akureyri – botanic garden & walk; lunch
• Godafoss falls 
• Namafjall Geothermal Area 
• Krafla Geothermal Valley
• Leirhnjukur Volcanic Cone hike
• Viti Crater
  
• Lodging: Elda Guesthouse

Day 4: Around Lake Myvatn

All the attractions below except the nature baths are on a loop right around the lake.  I was originally hoping to do this by bike, but we were daunted when we saw the narrow, shoulderless road and fast-moving traffic.  It was just as well, since we encountered a fair amount of rain in the afternoon and ended up not having a lot of extra time (partly due to our kids’ chronic inability to get up early in the morning).

• Hverfall Crater rim hike
  

  The Old Hospital was the loveliest place we stayed.

• Dimmuborgir Lava Formations
• Hofoi Promontory
• Skutustadir Pseudocraters
• Myvatn Nature Baths
• Lodging: Elda Guesthouse

Day 5: Lake Myvatn to Seydisfjordur

• Horseback ride at Safari Stables
• Dentifoss Falls
• Rjukandafoss waterfall
• Stroll around Seydisfjordur town & lagoon
• Lodging: Halfadan Old Hospital Hostel

Day 6: Seydisfjordur to south of Hofn

• Roadside stop at unnamed pebble beach
• Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
• Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon boat tour on Zodiac raft
• Diamond Beach
• Lodging: Gerdi Guesthouse

Day 7: South of Hofn to Hafnarfjörður (Reykjavik suburb)

• Skaftafell Natl Park 
• Reynisfjara Beach
• Seljalandsfoss waterfall
  
• Lodging: T10 hotel

(We intended to stop at the Lava Center museum at the end of the day — Rick Steves claimed it was open late — but found that it unfortunately had closed at 4.)

Day 8: Hafnarfjörður to Keflavik airport

• Downtown Reykjavik
• Covid test
• Flight home!