We’re almost back to where the journey began. Welcome to the second to last part of our Iceland Ring Road adventure! After taking in the wild and windy landscapes of eastern and southeastern Iceland, we’re now heading towards the southern coast and the famed Golden Circle to explore some of the most travelled to parts of the country.

This was the part of the trip that we were most excited for as many of our “must-see” sites were located in this region. We were also hopeful that we may see some puffins, even though September is fairly late in their nesting season.

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, our initial plans were to drive counterclockwise from Keflavík, hitting the south coast and Golden Circle first, but a massive wind storm alternated our plans and caused us to do the entire trip in reverse. As we approached Vik, it was becoming clear that the rerouting paid off as we were greeted by gentler breezes and sun!

In this post, I’ll cover days five through eight of our trip. Just like in previous parts of our journey, I’ll provide detailed insights on where to stop, including a downloadable map with each site and detailed information on driving times and daily mileage. Whether you’re seeking adventure, tranquility, or stunning photo opportunities, this leg of the trip has something for everyone.

We had a late start to the day since we didn’t have that many things on the itinerary and they were all fairly close together. We started the morning by trekking up the hill to Prjónastofa Katla, a local yarn studio. I’ve mentioned before on the blog that something I love doing in Europe is finding little yarn shops (LYS) to visit. I always try to get something local if they have it, and I knew I would be needing some Icelandic wool. Much like the Icelandic horses, Icelandic sheep and their wool are very special. Since the sheep live on an island, they haven’t been allowed to crossbreed like sheep in other countries. Over time their wool has adapted to the rainy and windy weather. Unlike wool from other sheep, Icelandic wool has two different types of hair. The outer layer is coarse and long, known as tog in Icelandic, and creates a tough, water-resistant layer. The undercoat is shorter and softer, and is called þel. Because of this, any garment made out of Icelandic wool will not only be incredibly warm, it will also stand up to rain and mist better than your traditional merino. It is not the softest of yarns, so most people wear a layer underneath their sweaters.

As we approached the studio, we were greeted by the sweetest shop puppy. The entire time we were there, she was bounding from room to room looking for anyone who would pet her. This little shop was so cute, selling both handmade knitwear and yarn. For the knitwear, you could actually walk through their workspace. Some of the items were knit on large machines and then finished by hand.

If you’re looking to buy an Icelandic sweater, know that they are pricey, often costing close to $400. This may seem steep, but understand that any hand-knit sweater takes most knitters at least 20 hours to complete. This time obviously increases with larger sizes and complicated patterns. If you’re a knitter like myself, half the fun is creating your own. I was able to scoop up an entire sweater quantity of yarn from Katla for about $45, which honestly felt like a steal.

Yarn in-hand, we made our way to Skool Beans Cafe, which was right next to our campsite. I feel like everyone stops by Skool Beans since it’s a converted school bus that serves pastries and coffee. They had a pumpkin spice latte special, so of course I had to kick off the autumn season with one. Fully caffeinated, we packed up camp and headed to our first stop of the day, Reynisfjara Beach, more popularly known as Black Sand Beach.

All of the sites in the south were significantly busier than those in the north, as many visitors to Iceland only do the southern portion of the island. While we were taking in the scenery, we noticed some fast-flying birds out at sea, almost like a speedy duck. Using the zoom on the camera lens, Mark was able to tell that it was about 20 puffins fishing out at sea. Prior to our trip, we were hopeful that we might see some puffins, but knew that it was highly unlikely since they had probably already migrated south for the winter.

Now knowing that puffins were a possibility, we decided to scrap our previously-laid plans and do whatever we could to catch them on the shore. After researching, we saw someone had spotted puffins on the coast near Dyrhólaey a few days prior. Most blogs said the puffins were most active during the morning and sunset as they went out to sea to fish during the day. We had obviously missed them in the morning, so we decided that we would see Skógafoss, have an early dinner, and then backtrack to Dyrhólaey to catch the puffins at sunset.

Since it was midday, Skógafoss was fairly crowded, but it was still beautiful. We grabbed dinner at the nearby Freya Cafe. I wish we would have been there a little earlier since they had a charming afternoon tea setup, but our biggest priority was the puffins.

Fueled up, we headed back towards Vik to puffin watch. We hiked around Dyrhólaey for a couple of hours, which by itself was beautiful and definitely deserved a visit, regardless of the puffins. After standing there for an hour or so, making small talk with some other American tourists, we finally saw a pufffin quickly dart in and out of his home! Getting pictures of them proved difficult since they move so swiftly, but we ended the day mission accomplished after seeing two puffins. It was definitely at the bitter end of puffin season, so if this is a must on your list, you need to visit earlier in the summer. June and July are the best months for the puffins.

Since our plan was to do the Golden Circle the following day, we camped slightly off the beaten path at Hellishólar. Other than us, there was only one other camper in the lot. They had a grand log cabin restaurant on site but since we were still full from our dinner at Freya, we didn’t have a chance to try it.

After a nice, hot shower at the nearly empty campsite, we packed up and headed toward the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a loop that boomerangs to and from Reykjavik and is so named because it’s basically Iceland in a nutshell. If you don’t have the time or budget to do an entire Ring Road trip, the Golden Circle is a great way to make sure you get a taste of Iceland. It has waterfalls. There’s a picturesque crater. The national park is even along the route, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Since it’s my mission to visit as many LYS as I can on vacation, our first stop was Þingborg Ullarverslun. Much like Katla, this shop had both yarn and finished sweaters available for purchase, but was definitely more of a knitter’s shop than a consumer. What I loved about this store was that they had some beautiful local hand-dyed yarn so I scooped enough to make either a beanie or a cowl; I don’t have a pattern in mind yet.

We drove on through the small town of Selfoss that looked like it would be a cute place to visit for dinner. This is where we officially entered the Golden Circle, heading toward Kerið Crater. The colors were so vibrant here. I loved the mix of reds and burnt orange contrasted with the blue of the lake and the surrounding mossy lichen. We walked around the top first and then followed the path down towards lake level. Since it was early in the afternoon, there weren’t too many other people around which was great for photos.

Our next stop was Geysir, a geothermal hotbed with tons of active geysers. This was easily one of the most touristy parts of the trip and it was crowded with tour buses. Having already visited Yellowstone, I could have skipped this stop, but Mark enjoyed seeing the geyser, so it wasn’t a waste for us. If you were looking to trim down your itinerary and you’ve already seen Old Faithful, this would be an easy cut in my opinion.

As the day inched closer to dinner-time, we decided to drive toward Friðheimar, a lush greenhouse that serves fresh tomato-based dishes. This spot was recommended by friends and almost every blog written about Iceland and reservations are essential. When I was planning our trip back home, I had looked for reservations, but they were completely booked for the month. We decided we would just try to see if we could get in, thinking that maybe other people’s itineraries had shifted with the storm as well, fully expecting to get turned away.

The way Google routed us to Friðheimar was definitely off the beaten path. The road was gravelly and rough and we came to a narrow bridge. There was no way Hermie was going to fit, even with the mirrors folded in. In order to reroute to Friðheimar, we would have had to double back and would have arrived after the restaurant closed. We decided to turn back and find camp early so we could hit up another thermal bath.

The site we found was directly across from Laugarvatn Fontana, a thermal spa with views of the lake. What’s unique about Laugarvatn Fontana is they are also a thermal bakery. Each day, they bury loaves of rye bread in the ground using the geothermal activity to bake it. Once I learned that they offered a tour, I knew we needed to see it in action. We booked our tour for the following morning since they were finished for the day and hit the thermal baths. Some low clouds had moved into the area, so it was moody looking out across the lake. This spa was even less busy than Mývatn, which I found surprising since it’s right along the Golden Circle. Both Mark and I enjoyed these baths and saunas. As we walked back to our campsite, we noticed that only one other car had decided to spend the night there. We truly were visiting during the shoulder season.

The next morning, we popped back over to Laugarvatn for the thermal bread tour. There were a bunch of travel brochures that we leafed through while we waiting, and one in particular caught my eye— how to travel the Woollen Circle! The brochure outlined a few LYS that were near the Golden Circle. We had already visited one of them the previous day, but there was another that wasn’t on my radar located near Selfoss. Since we had to drive back through Selfoss to get to Reykjavik, it made sense to stop by along the way.

The bread tour was well worth the ticket price. It was so cool to learn how to use thermal heat to bake bread. Rye bread is one of our favorites, so I was delighted that they gave us the recipe to make at home, including instructions on how to use your oven to mimic the geothermal heat and humidity.

After the tour, we stopped at Hespa, a wool studio that specialized in dying wool with traditional, plant-based methods. I loved this store because it was part workshop, so you were able to learn from the owner how she dyes the yarn. All of the colors were so beautiful and vibrant, Mark had to pull me away before I bought the whole store. I left with two full skeins in a beautiful coral and grass green and a set of mini skeins all in purples and pinks. So far, I made the coral into a 1x1 ribbed hat and it is super cozy and surprisingly warm.

Since we only had two more days of adventures with Hermie, our plan was to do Reykjavik one day and to do the Snæfellsnes Peninsula the other day. While the intense winds had calmed, we were now facing a different, equally annoying weather problem, low clouds. All of the surrounding mountains were completely covered in clouds. Having lived in Alaska, we’re no strangers to this type of weather. We made the decision to do Reykjavik first, hoping the clouds would blow out and we would be able to see all of the beautiful landmarks of the peninsula. The clouds were also the reason we skipped hiking in Þingvellir National Park, which is also near Selfoss.

We decided to establish camp first and then head into town. We camped right in the heart of Reykjavik at Reykjavik Eco Camping. We could definitely tell we were in the city since this was by far the most expensive campsite fee we paid during our entire trip, which still wasn’t that bad considering the location and the fact that they had so many facilities. The best part about this campsite was that it was fairly easy to walk into town from the site. From the campgrounds, it’s about a 40 minute or 3 km walk to the famed rainbow street in the heart of Reykjavik, which was a welcomed amount of activity after so many days on the road.

We didn’t really have big plans for Reykjavik, other than having a nice dinner, so we spent the afternoon walking all of the streets in the downtown area and shopping. Reykjavik isn’t that big, so we were hopeful that the low clouds would lift and we would be able to hit the peninsula for our last full day in Iceland before we had to return Hermie. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. The weather lingered into the following day, so we made the call to spend our last day just relaxing in Reykjavik. Since we had already had some great experiences in the hot springs, we weren’t too keen on doing Blue Lagoon, arguably one of the most popular (read: touristy) springs on the whole island. We spent some time exploring the stunning architecture of the Opera House and then made a stop at Emilie and the Cool Kids for an afternoon pick me up and dessert. Refueled, we drove back to toward the airport to drop off our wheels and stay near the airport for our early morning flight.

This map shows the full route of our 8-day Iceland Ring Road adventure. This post focused on days five and six of the trip in the South region and Golden Circle, including Skógafoss and Black Sand Beach. Download the full interactive map for more details:

DAY 5: SOUTH REGION

• START: Vik

• STOP 1: Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach (11 km from Vik)

• STOP 2: Dyrhólaey (20 km from Black Sand Beach)

• STOP 3: Skógafoss (28 km from Dyrhólaey)

• STOP 4: Dyrhólaey (28 km from Skógafoss)

• END: Hellishólar camping (78 km from Dyrhólaey)

  Total distance for the day: 165 km

DAY 6: GOLDEN CIRCLE

• START: Hellishólar

• STOP 1: Þingborg Ullarverslun (51 km from Hellishólar)

• STOP 2: Kerid Crater (24 km from Þingborg Ullarverslun)

• STOP 3: Geysir (46 km from Kerid)

• END: Laugarvatn camping (29 km from Geysir)

  Total distance for the day: 150 km

DAY 7 & 8: Reykjavík

• START: Laugarvatn Fontana

• STOP: Reykjavík Eco Campsite (76 km from Laugarvatn)

  Total distance for the day: 76 km

NEXT UP: Logistics & Final Tips for Your Iceland Trip

We had a blast exploring Southern Iceland, the Golden Circle, and Reykjavik. From chasing puffins in Vik and marveling at Skógafoss to munching on volcano bread and walking the vibrant streets of Reykjavik, this leg of the trip lived up to the hype.

As we wrap up this part of our adventure, we've experienced some of the best that Iceland has to offer. But don't pack your bags just yet! There's still more to cover before we head home.

Stay tuned for the final part of our Iceland Ring Road series, where I'll share our lessons learned from planning this trip, dive into the best Icelandic eats, and give the lowdown on choosing the perfect camper van and campsites. You won't want to miss these essential insights to make your Icelandic adventure smooth and memorable!

Related posts

• Part 1: Starting Iceland’s Ring Road: West and North Region

• Part 2: Iceland Ring Road Days 3-4: East and Southeast

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