Are you driving on Iceland’s ring road – clockwise or anti-clockwise? /

A common question for visitors to Iceland is whether it is best to drive Iceland’s Route 1 ring road clockwise or counterclockwise. While we didn’t drive the entire ring during our trip (we probably covered about a third of it), I initially intended to, so spent quite a bit of time researching this issue. I hope my findings will help you make an informed decision about which route is best for you.

First things first

Before going into the question of whether you should drive the ring road clockwise or counterclockwise, I first ask whether you really want to travel the entire route. It’s 1,317 miles and if you’re limited to just a week or so I’d seriously step back and look at the main things you want to cover. See my previous post explaining why we chose not to drive the entire ring road with the time available.

Many of Iceland’s main attractions are located in the south and west of the country and since you will no doubt arrive at Keflavik Airport, close to the capital city of Reykjavik, in the southwest of the country, many of you will want to see within a few hours drive from there. I understand that you may want to see as much as possible, but if your time is precious and limited, does it really make sense to spend so much time in a vehicle?

OK, so you’ve considered the above, but still want to drive the ring road but aren’t sure which way to go? Read more!

Clockwise versus counterclockwise

If you read up on this topic, the consensus is to go the anti-clockwise route and there are a number of reasons for that. The first is that the Golden Circle is a logical starting point, especially if you’re a first-time visitor. Here you will find some of Iceland’s most iconic attractions, such as the Geysir and Strokkur geysers.

There’s a whole host of things to see and do in the Golden Circle, but whichever route you take, assuming you don’t want to get back on yourself, you’ll find that a number of routes tend to spit you out towards the south. This is because the tendency is to enter the Golden Circle via Route 35 from Reykjavik, which takes you just north of the Þingvallavatn Rift Valley lake, and to return via a bypass usually means heading south to get around this lake to come.

Since you are heading south, it makes sense to then explore the south coast along Route 1, starting a counter-clockwise route along the main ring road. It’s also probably no coincidence that tours that go all the way around Iceland also choose to go anti-clockwise.

The other strong reason to go anti-clockwise is that you visit the busier attractions first (along the south coast) and gradually move away from the crowds to some of the more remote and less-visited parts of Iceland. , which feels like a more instinctively logical way to approach things.

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Two reasons to consider a clockwise route

I can think of only two exceptional reasons why you might choose to break the grind and drive the ring road clockwise: the weather and the time of year.

If the weather forecast initially predicts bad weather in the south and good weather in the north, then I think it makes more sense to let the conditions dictate your route and do your best to avoid adverse weather conditions. It may be unlikely that there will be such a clear contrast, but you never know, so it’s worth checking the forecast.

Second, the time of year. I’ve already mentioned that the south can be busy and by traveling counter-clockwise you gradually move away from the crowds, especially as you start to get past places like Höfn. That said, if you’re traveling in late August/early September (the end of summer vacation for many families around the world), then you may be able to avoid the crowds in the south by leaving it to the end of your vacation. trip. If this is when you are visiting, this may be something you want to consider as you may prefer a clockwise journey.

For most people, a counterclockwise route seems to be by far the preferable of the two options.

Have you traveled the entire Route 1 ring road? If so, did you go clockwise or counterclockwise, and what was the rationale behind your route?

Planning a trip to Iceland yourself? Watch a video of our trip to Iceland here:

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Icerental 4×4. Our trip to Iceland was also sponsored by Helly Hansen.