10 Days in Iceland: The Full Ring Road, Unhurried

Ten days gives you the full Ring Road at an unhurried pace, with room to add a genuine detour — the Westfjords or the highlands — rather than just completing the loop.

Days 1–3: South Coast to the glacier lagoon

Waterfalls, black sand beaches, and on to Jökulsárlón — with enough days to add a glacier hike or an ice cave in winter rather than just driving past.

Days 4–5: East fjords and the north

The quiet, dramatic east fjords, then on to Lake Mývatn’s volcanic landscape and Akureyri as a comfortable base in the north.

Days 6–7: A genuine detour

This is the extra time a shorter trip doesn’t have. Add the Westfjords for genuinely wild, uncrowded scenery, or — in summer only — the highlands around Landmannalaugar for landscapes unlike anywhere else on the loop.

Days 8–9: Snæfellsnes peninsula

Often called "Iceland in miniature" — a glacier, lava fields and coastline packed into one peninsula on the way back toward Reykjavík.

Day 10: Reykjavík and departure

Close the loop with a relaxed day in the capital and a final geothermal soak before your flight.

The extra days on a 10-day trip aren’t for seeing more of the same — they’re for the one genuine detour a 7-day trip can’t afford.

Planning to self-drive the longer loop? The Ring Road car hire guide covers class, insurance and cost ranges; the shorter 7-day Ring Road itinerary is the compressed version of the same circuit.