Iceland Highlights Self Drive Holiday

Fourteen nights in a circuit of Iceland, self-guided and tailor-made, from Reykjavik round the island and back to the Blue Lagoon.

Fourteen nights is what separates this from the usual Icelandic week: it allows the East Fjords and the north, which the Golden Circle and south coast itineraries skip entirely and which hold the emptiest roads on the island.

Reykjavik opens it with a whale watching trip, then the Golden Circle, taking in the rift at Thingvellir where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart, and the oldest thermal baths in the country. Vik follows past Hekla, with the Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls and a viking farm. Skaftafell comes next under Vatnajokull, the largest glacier in Europe, with the Fjadrargljufur canyon and ice caves. The East Fjords follow, then Akureyri in the north with another whale and dolphin trip, and Snaefellsnes, with a locally owned guesthouse and riding along the coast.

Breakfast, local assistance and the flexible tailor-made itinerary are included; flights are not, though the operator will quote for them. The carbon from the trip is offset through a named partner’s seaweed farm in Cornwall rather than an unspecified scheme, which is worth more than most offsetting claims. The price shown is per person excluding flights. June to September keeps all the roads open, while the winter months bring the northern lights and close the interior, so the season chosen changes the trip substantially. No wildlife sighting can be promised on either boat trip. Fifteen days also means the ring road can be driven in short legs rather than long ones, which is the right way to do it.