Around Iceland in 5 Days: Our Own Photos from the Road

Quick facts

• When: 18 to 22 May 2025, five days, long light evenings and almost no darkness.
• Route: Golden Circle and the South Coast, Jökulsárlón, back west to Snæfellsnes, north to Hvítserkur, Mývatn and Dettifoss, then south to Þingvellir and the Blue Lagoon.
• Distance: well over 2,000 km. This was a fast trip; we explain below how to do it at a calmer pace.
• Photos: all taken by us on the day. The white card you see in some of them is our Google review card, which travels with us everywhere.
• Want something similar? Day tours from Reykjavík cover the south and west; multi-day private trips are possible on request.

We spend our days on Iceland's roads: airport runs at 4 am, Golden Circle days, long transfers to the north and east. Over the years you learn what no guidebook tells you: which viewpoint is worth the extra ten minutes, where the wind hits hardest, when a waterfall is in the sun and when it is just grey. This trip was a chance to put some of that on camera.

Day 1: Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss

We started on the Golden Circle and reached Gullfoss around noon. In May the paths are usually clear of snow and the upper viewpoint gives the best overview of the two drops into the canyon. Arrive before the tour buses or late in the afternoon for a calmer visit.

From Gullfoss we drove south to the coast. At Seljalandsfoss the path around the back of the waterfall was open; bring a waterproof jacket, because you will get wet. Half an hour further east, Skógafoss showed what makes the South Coast special in good weather: a full rainbow in the spray, right at the foot of the falls.

Both waterfalls are on our South Coast private tour, and Gullfoss is on the Golden Circle tour. For more detail, read our Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss guide.

9–10 hours · private

South Coast & Vík

Seljalandsfoss · Skógafoss · Reynisfjara · Vík

Car

1–4 people

125,000 kr

Van

5–7 people

160,000 kr

Book this tour

Night into day 2: Jökulsárlón at midnight

We kept driving east and reached Jökulsárlón after midnight. In the second half of May the sun sets around 22:30 to 23:00 and the sky stays light all night, so icebergs at half past midnight look like this: pink, orange and blue, with almost nobody around. It is one of the best reasons to visit Iceland in late spring.

The glacier lagoon is about five hours' drive from Reykjavík each way, so as a day trip it makes for a very long day. Our Jökulsárlón private tour does it in one go; with more time, staying a night near Vík or Höfn is more relaxed. See our Jökulsárlón day trip guide and the nearby Diamond Beach.

Day 2: back west to Snæfellsnes

Day two was the longest drive of the trip: from the glacier lagoon all the way back west to the Snæfellsnes peninsula. We would not recommend this pace to anyone on holiday, but it shows how far you can get in a day in good weather. The reward was the evening light at Lóndrangar, two basalt stacks rising from the sea on the south side of the peninsula, with the Atlantic completely calm.

From Reykjavík, Snæfellsnes is a great full day trip: Kirkjufell, Arnarstapi, Djúpalónssandur and the glacier on the horizon. Read our Snæfellsnes day trip guide or book the Snæfellsnes private tour.

10–11 hours · private

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Kirkjufell · Arnarstapi · Djúpalónssandur · Snæfellsjökull

Car

1–4 people

123,000 kr

Van

5–7 people

151,000 kr

Book this tour

Day 3: the north, from Hvítserkur to Dettifoss

On day three we headed north. Hvítserkur, a 15-metre basalt stack that looks like a dragon drinking from the sea, is a short detour from the Ring Road on a gravel road along the Vatnsnes peninsula. A steep path leads down to the black beach. More in our Hvítserkur guide.

In the early evening we reached the Mývatn area and stopped at Hverir, where the ground is orange, yellow and grey and mud pots bubble next to the path. Stay on the marked paths and boardwalks: the crust can be thin and the water is boiling. See the Hverir and Námafjall guide and our Lake Mývatn guide.

Then on to Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe, and a short walk upstream to Selfoss, where the river splits into dozens of falls over a wide basalt edge. At 20:30 in May the sun was still high enough to throw a rainbow over the spray. The canyon below, Jökulsárgljúfur, is part of Vatnajökull National Park.

Days 4 and 5: Þingvellir and the Blue Lagoon

Driving back south, we finished where most trips start: Þingvellir, the rift valley where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart and where Iceland's parliament met for centuries. In late May the moss is turning green and the light stays soft all evening. On the last day, a soak at the Blue Lagoon close to the airport closed the loop. More in our Þingvellir guide.

What this trip taught us (again)

• Too much driving spoils the day. Five days for the whole loop is too fast for a holiday. Seven to ten days is a much better pace; see our 7-day itinerary and Ring Road planning guide.
• May is underrated. Long light evenings, roads to the north usually open, and far fewer people than in July.
• Timing beats luck. Rainbows at Skógafoss and Dettifoss come with the afternoon sun; empty viewpoints come early or late in the day.
• The weather changes fast. We had sunshine almost every day, which is not normal. Always pack a waterproof layer, even in summer.
• Distances are real. Jökulsárlón is about five hours from Reykjavík, Mývatn about six. Plan nights along the way rather than racing back.

How to do a trip like this with us

You do not need to drive two thousand kilometres yourself to see these places. From Reykjavík, our private day tours cover the south and west with your own driver:

• Golden Circle: Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss.
• South Coast and Vík: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and the black beach at Reynisfjara.
• Jökulsárlón: the glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach in one long day.
• Snæfellsnes: Kirkjufell, Arnarstapi and Lóndrangar.

For the north, we drive private transfers from Keflavík Airport or Reykjavík straight to Mývatn or Akureyri, and multi-day private trips are possible on request. Send us your dates and ideas on WhatsApp and we will reply with a fixed price per car.

Are these photos really yours?

Can you see all of Iceland in 5 days?

Is May a good time to visit Iceland?

Can Drive Reykjavik drive a multi-day trip?

What is the white card in the photos?