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Itinerary for Iceland’s Ring Road - Self-Guided Tour of Iceland’s Ring Road

Iceland’s Route 1 is also known as Ring Road, or in Icelandic: Þjóðvegur 1.  It is 821 miles (1,322km) long and circles around the island connecting Iceland’s biggest cities and many attractions outside the Reykjavik area and the Golden Circle. 

The road is fully paved and 2 lanes wide (=one lane in each direction) for almost its entire length.  The speed limit is typically 90 km/h (55 mph) and there are several tunnels with a length of up to 4.6 miles (7.4km).  The Ring Road is open year-round, but some areas may get periodically closed after heavy snow fall.

For more detailed information incl. links to google maps locations, more photos, reviews, website links, etc., check out our Iceland Highlights Purple Guide.

Some of these areas are very rural and gas stations can be far in-between and may close early.  So, make sure that you always start your day with a full tank of gas and read our advice about driving and gassing up in Iceland.

The Ring Road can be experienced in as little as 6 or 7 days, but our recommendation is to take it slower so that you can actually enjoy the sights you are seeing.

The itinerary below is an 11 day self-driving itinerary for Iceland’s Ring Road, which includes Iceland’s Diamond Circle.

For Pinterest users, here are some pins that you can use:

Our Iceland Travel Guide has detailed information about the individual destinations, links to their locations in google maps, reviews and websites (if available).

Please see the Backpack & Snorkel Travel Store for more information.

Here are more Iceland destinations to explore:

Click here to go to Day 1 of your Iceland Ring Road tour.

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