2 week itinerary

£££

Day itinerary: Flight to Keflavik airport from London Gatwick/Heathrow.

Accommodation: Airport Hotel Smari (5 minute walk from Keflavik airport - ideal if flight gets in late)

Day itinerary:

• Rent a 4x4 from the airport and drive to Thingvellir.
• En route to Thingvellir stop off at a supermarket and pick up basic essentials for your trip. If you intend to stay at self catering accommodation along the way then you may want to get some quick and easy meals.
• Once at Thingvellir, walk between the tectonic plates and around the rest of the historical national park.
• After lunch drive to Geysir and see the incredible Strokkur (which erupts on average every two to three minutes).
• Dry off in the car and drive to Budir in the Western Fjords.
  

Accommodation: Hotel Budir is an excellent hotel, incredibly well located for hikes to the glacier. The restaurant there is also superb - try the monkfish if available.

Day itinerary:

• Take a day hike across the lava fields to the huge volcanic crater at Budaklettur (passing the old black church on the way).
• If you have time you can also hike to Arnarstapi and Hellnar which are further down the coast.
• Hotel Budir can also organise a trip up to the Snaefellsnes glacier if the weather is good enough. 
  

Accommodation: Hotel Budir

Day itinerary:

• After breakfast, drive east around the Snaefellsnes penninsula and around to the stunning Kirkjufell (apparently the most photographed mountain in Iceland). If you are organised enough you could have a picnic there.
• Head back to Route 1 and making the journey up to Olafsfjourdur. This the longest drive we did on our trip so you might want to consider breaking the journey up. If you are in Iceland during summertime then you might want to consider visiting Osar (which is sort of en route) and visiting the seal colony there. The tunnels through the mountains to Olafsfjordur are impressively long (one of which is approximately 6 km) and only opened in 2010.
  

Accommodation: Olafsfjordur

Day itinerary: 

• Take a drive through the mountain tunnels and arrive in the remote fishing village of Siglufjordur.
• Visit the incredible herring museum (even for those who are less enthusiastic about herrings as we are) and ask the owner for a map of local walks.
• We took a walk along the avalanche breakers up in the mountains above the village for a few hours and it was well worth the climb.
• Take a drive along the route north around the headland and if the route is open (it was impassable in April so we had to turn back) you can work your way back in land to Olafsjordur in time for a bathe in a hot tub! 
  

Accommodation: Olasfjordur

Day itinerary: 

• Drive back down the coast and make your way to Akureryi for a lazy day.
• Stock up at the VinBudin (off-licence) in the centre of town (just beyond the back of the football pitch as you are driving in), it will be your last opportunity for a while!
• Visit Akureryi's iconic church and the museums. There are several good coffee shops, bars and restaurants to keep you amused.
• Enjoy an afternoon/evening sampling the bars and restaurants that Akureryi has to offer looking out over the fjord.  
  

Accommodation: Akureryi

Day itinerary: 

Set off early as there is loads to see and do at Lake Myvatn:

• We started the day at the pseudo-craters at Skutustadir and did the circular trip around the large (frozen) pond (approx 1 hour);
  
• Make your way to Dimmuborgir to see the peculiar and impressive  lava towers. You can spend anywhere between 15 minutes to 1-2 hours on different trails around here;
  
• Take a relatively easy hike up to the Hverfjall volcano for both the view inside the crater and across the lake itself. Good place for a picnic lunch (which can be bought from the supermarket in central Reykjahlio and there are also facilities at the N1 petrol station);
  
• Head up to Krafla to see the huge volcanic crater and the rampant steaming Viti (translates to 'hell'). You can probably drive up to the car park (passing through an ominous looking power station) without a 4x4 but it largely depends on the conditions. The road was quite icy in early April.
  
• Drive a short distance to Hverarond to see the violent hissing steaming rock mounds and bubbling mud pools.
  
• Finally, drive about 35km to Dettafoss where you can take two short hikes to view Europe's most powerful waterfall and its slightly weaker cousin Selfoss (although you can get a lot closer to this one). You will be pleased to note that neither of these attractions emits sulphur. 
  

You could also try and include (although we ran out of time) the hot natural baths on the way to Krafla, which everyone we have met subsequently has highly recommended.

Accommodation: Drive back to Akureryi for one more night

Day itinerary:

• Take a leisurely drive up to Husavik.
• Spend the afternoon in the highly informative whale museum before dining at one of Husavik's fish restaurants. Please note that there were only two restaurants open in early April - Salka and the cafe below North Sailing's ticket office.  
  

Accommodation: Guesthouse Arbol. Well worth a stay, good value, friendly helpful owner and totally spotless.

Day itinerary: 

• If the conditions are right go whale watching in the morning. April is the beginning of the season but we still managed to see two Humpback whales, a Minke Whale, a Harbour Porpoise and a Harbour Seal (3 hour trip). We also had time to rescue another boat that was on fire!
• In the afternoon head to Asbyrgi to see the beautiful horse shoe shaped canyon, forest and lake (circular walk takes about 1-2 hours).
• We also drove north along the coastal road on the look out for seals, but without success (you may have better joy in the summer months). 
  

Accommodation: Guesthouse Arbol

Day itinerary: 

• Follow the ring road round to the small village of Seydisfjordur (approx 4 hours). The drive down into the village is incredible as is the fact that such a small place is a transport hub for the Faroe Islands, Denmark and Norway.
• There are a number of treks and hikes that can made around the fjords ranging in difficulty levels. We recommend that you plan your hike in advance so you can make sure you have got enough time to complete it. You should also let someone in the town know where you are planning to go and when you plan to return so they can look out for you. We took a challenging trek across the Hjalmardaksheidi moorland starting at the old road at  Kolsstadir (northern side of the fjord) and worked our way up a steep mountain path. This route can really only be done when there is no snow on the ground as otherwise you can't really see where the trail leads or where you can step to cross a number of streams and brooks.  
• In the evening we dined at the excellent Bistro Skaftafell (which was the only real bar/restaurant that was open when we were there). The owner of the restaurant is also opening up a new sushi restaurant in June so that might be worth a visit.

Accommodation: Hotel Aldan. 

Day itinerary: 

• After a brief walk around Seydisfjordur (and in particular examining the striking blue church in the centre of the village) we made our way to Reydarfjordur for some lunch. It turns out the cafe we pitched up in was used as one of the settings for the series Fortitude (Cafe Midnight Sun) and is next door to the Blue Fox bar.
• After a brief drive around town and alongside the stunning fjord we got back on the ring road and headed down to Hofn. The drive itself is incredible and there are plenty of opportunities for photographs along the way. It is likely you will see a number of reindeer standing on the side of the road so be careful!
• If you are in Iceland during high season, it is well worth going into Hofn to sample a number of the fish/shellfish restaurants there. 
  

Accommodation:  Fosshotel Vatnajokul. This new branch of the Fosshotel chain is in an ideal location for exploring the surrounding glaciers.

Day itinerary:

• Drive along the ring road to Jokulsarlon and spend an hour or so wandering along the banks of the incredible glacier lagoon. It is also worth wandering over the road once you have finished to look at the icebergs that float along the edge of the sea (a good place for a picnic lunch if you're that organised).
• Next, head to Skaftafell National Park and book yourself onto one of the glacier walking tours (approx 3 hours). We went with Iceland Mountain Guides who were very good.
• If you don't want to double back on yourself you could try and find lodging around Skaftafell (there is a hotel there) but we decided to stay another night at the Fosshotel for more of the delicious seafood on offer in Hofn.
  

Accommodation: Fosshotel Vatnajokul

Day itinerary:

• Drive back along Route 1 to Solheimasandur (about a 30 minute drive after you have been through Vik). We found an excellent website that gives you good directions for getting to the famous US Navy plane wreck - go to www.expertvagabond.com/airplane-crash-wreckage-iceland. 
• Once you have completed your photo shoot get back on the road and head to Skogafoss waterfall which is clearly signposted. Once you have climbed the steep steps and looked down over Skogafoss, climb over the style and walk further up the hill to take in the other (less well-documented) waterfalls.
• Finally, continue on to Reykavik for a night out on the tiles and an abundance of good restaurants to choose from.
  

Accommodation:  Reykjavik Residence Hotel. These apartments are centrally located, spotlessly clean and have all the facilities you need for the last few days of your holiday.