Our trip was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, so we planned for only 4 days in Iceland. We found housing in Reykjavik, so our itinerary involved only southern Iceland. Lucky for us, and for you if that’s your plan, a LOT of the sights that are worth visiting are located in Southern Iceland. Follow our 4-day itinerary to Iceland to make the most of your trip! Below you will find:
- What we did on our days in Iceland
- The drive time from Reykjavik each day
- Screenshots of the routes we took on each day
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Day 1: Arrival and the Blue Lagoon
Fly into Reykjavik and arrive in time to be able to do the Blue Lagoon on your first day. After picking up our rental car, we headed straight to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is only about a 22 minute drive from the Reykjavik airport. Prepare for about 2-3 hours to get your ticket, get dressed and enjoy the thermal waters, but spend as much time as you would like!
day 2: Southeast Iceland
Wake up early and drive to Solheimasandur beach to see the plane wreck (about a 2 hour and 15 minutes drive). It’s bizzare that the plane is still sitting there; however, know that there were no fatalities at the plane wreck, so it is something cool to see with no distaste or insensitivity to the situation.
- The plane wreck is a 2 mile trek, one way or about 40 minutes to an hour each way. So prep for around 3 hours to enjoy the plane crash.
After Solhemasandur beach, drive 30 minutes to Reynisfjara Beach to see the black sand beaches and basalt columns. This is really a MUST DO item. Reynisfjara is an AMAZING and unique beach with fine, black sand. It is also a filming location for Game of Thrones, if that’s something that piques your interest.
- The drive back to Reykjavik is a little under 3 hours. If you are visiting in the summer, there will be plenty of time to sightsee on the way back.
- If you are visiting off-season (like us), it will likely get dark early (by 5:30 or 6 for us). So, be on the lookout for Northern Lights on your way home!
day 3: The Golden Circle
On Day 3, drive around the Golden Circle! The Golden Circle connects three of the most-visited sights in southern Iceland. It takes about 3 hours to drive non-stop, but be prepared to take a whole day to enjoy everything on the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle needs to be on EVERY itinerary.
Click here for everything you’ll need to know about driving the Golden Circle.
Day 4: Southwest iceland
On day 4, drive west to explore the Snaefellness Peninsula. It is about 2.5 hours from Reykjavik to Arnarstapi fishing village , home of the famous Gatklettur rock formation. Explore the village then make your way along the coast of the peninsula in Snaefellsjokull National Park.
- Take your time to see the Snaefellsjokull glacier-capped volcano, appreciate the lava fields and coast and see the Kirkjufell mountain (another Game of Thrones filming location)!
After exploring east Iceland and the Snaefellness peninsula, make your way back toward Reykjavik (look out for the northern lights if you are visiting during off-season!) The more you look, the more likely to see them. Click here for updates on the aurora forecast!
Day 5: Travel day home
Day 5: travel day. We flew back on a Sunday in order to be back to work on Monday😉. We flew out in the morning, but it is possible to fill your morning with activities before flying out in the afternoon if your schedule allows!
4-Day Itinerary to Iceland Recap
This is a quick itinerary to Iceland, but it makes it a great PTO-friendly option! However, due to the limited days, we were unable to explore northern Iceland and I would have liked to do a few more activities. Therefore, if you have more PTO, take Monday and Tuesday and extend your 4-day itinerary to Iceland to include northern Iceland and see everything Iceland has to offer! Click here for a list of 10 recommended activities to do in Iceland and for photos of what we were able to see with this itinerary!