The Ring Road: Should You Drive It or Take a Guided Tour?

Route 1 runs roughly 1,310 km around the island, and both options cover the same road. The difference is who spends the week behind the wheel. An Iceland Ring Road tour hands that job to a local guide and takes care of the accommodation, securing hotels where availability can be limited and in locations that make sense for each stage of the journey.

Driving it yourself gives you the freedom to stop anywhere, at the cost of four to five hours a day of concentration that somebody in your group has to supply.

Key Takeaways

• The full circuit is roughly 1,310 km. With the detours that make it worth doing, the tour averages around 300 km and four to five hours on the road a day.
• The 6 Days Around Iceland Ring Road Small Group Tour starts at ISK 249,990 and includes five nights of hotels with breakfast.
• The seven-day version adds the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and the eight-day version adds Snæfellsnes plus a volcano hike on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
• On a self-drive trip, whoever takes the wheel spends most of the week watching the road.

How Long Does the Ring Road Take?

Six days is the realistic minimum for the full circle. If you have not traveled this way before, our guide to what to expect on a multi-day tour lays out how the days are structured. The route splits into the Golden Circle and South Coast, the glacier lagoons, East Iceland, the Diamond Circle, the northwest, and West Iceland back to Reykjavík.

Compressing that into four or five days means driving through the parts you came to look at. Distances in the east and north run longer than first-time visitors expect, and services between towns thin out once you leave the south.

What Does Driving Yourself Cost You?

The main cost is time and attention. Four to five hours a day across six days is the better part of thirty hours, and whoever takes the wheel spends the week watching the road surface instead of the landscape on either side.

That matters more here than on a day trip. On a Ring Road trip, the driver cannot call it a day halfway, because tonight’s hotel is already booked further along the road. Our honest comparison of self-drive and guided touring in winter covers road conditions in detail if you are traveling between October and April.

What Is Included If You Take the Tour?

The 6 Days Around Iceland Ring Road Small Group Tour covers transport, a professional English-speaking guide, five nights of hotels with private bathrooms and breakfast, and Wi-Fi on board. Food beyond breakfast is not included, and the guide picks lunch stops with a range of options.

Booking six hotels in the right places and on the right dates is one of the hardest parts of planning it yourself. Accommodation availability varies considerably around Iceland, so you have to balance what is available with sensible driving distances and the best location for each stage of the journey. One change can affect every booking that follows.

Six Days or Seven?

Six days covers the Ring Road, and for most first-time visitors that is the best way to see the Ring Road without spending the week at the wheel. If you also want the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the seven-day Ring Road and Snæfellsnes tour adds it without lengthening the other days. Either way, start at least a day after you land, since a delayed flight otherwise costs the whole trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Ring Road difficult to drive?

Route 1 is paved for its full length, and most of it is straightforward in summer. Winter is different, with ice, wind, and short daylight hours. Conditions in the east and north change faster than in the south.

What is the minimum age on the six-day tour?

Six years. Guests from six to ninety-nine join the multi-day tours, with most groups falling between mid-twenties and mid-sixties. Solo travelers, families and groups of friends all travel on the same departures.

Will I see the northern lights on the Ring Road tour?

Many of the hotels sit far from light pollution, which helps considerably. The best window for the northern lights runs September to March, when skies are dark enough. No operator can guarantee an appearance, since it depends entirely on conditions.