Around Iceland: the Ring Road and life in a camper van

A camper-van journey through Iceland: waterfalls, ice caves, puffins, comfortable campsites, and several nights of powerful northern lights.

Pink and orange sky above a shoreline and snow-covered mountains in Iceland

Iceland’s shoreline beneath a colorful sky. Photograph by Brandon Wichmann.

From April 13 through April 21, 2026, we traveled around Iceland, driving the Ring Road and camping in a van. There were a ridiculous number of waterfalls, a large herd of reindeer, and a ferry ride to Grímsey Island, where the puffins had just arrived. My favorite stop was the glacier lagoon and the ice caves tour, but the places between our destinations became a big part of the trip, too.

Beginning with Kirkjufell and Snæfellsnes

We spent our first day visiting Kirkjufell and exploring the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It was the beginning of a journey that combined driving, sightseeing, and van camping, with plenty of reasons to get out and look around.

Waterfall and a distinctive pointed mountain beneath a blue sky — Kirkjufell above the falls on the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

From there, the Ring Road connected the rest of the trip. We had places we wanted to see, but the drive itself kept giving us more reasons to stop.

Waterfalls along the way

The number of waterfalls was almost ridiculous. We stopped at them frequently, and they became a recurring part of the journey rather than one destination to check off a list. When I think about driving around Iceland, those repeated stops are part of the memory.

A waterfall viewed through a rounded opening in dark rock — Another waterfall stop, this time framed by the surrounding rock.

We also spotted a large herd of reindeer. Along with the waterfalls, that encounter stands out among the things we saw between the bigger destinations.

The glacier lagoon and the ice caves

The glacier lagoon and the ice caves tour were my favorite stop. Even with so much to see around Iceland, that experience stood out from the rest.

Blue-white icebergs floating in water beneath snowy mountains — Floating ice and snow-covered mountains at the glacier lagoon.

The southeast was absolutely stunning. It had the iconic scenery I associate with Iceland, and it is one of the parts of the trip I most want to revisit through my photographs. The lagoon and ice caves belong at the center of that story.

Sculpted blue-green ice framing an opening in an ice cave — Inside the ice — patterns, color, and light. Photograph by Brandon Wichmann.

A ferry to Grímsey and newly arrived puffins

We took a ferry to Grímsey Island, where the puffins had just arrived. The timing made that visit especially memorable. Alongside the waterfalls and ice, the trip included this chance to see wildlife as the birds returned to the island.

The reindeer and puffins became two very different wildlife memories from the same journey: one encountered along the road, the other on an island reached by ferry.

A puffin standing on a grassy coastal ledge above the sea — A puffin on the coastal grass. Photograph by Brandon Wichmann.

An easy way to camp

Van camping was very easy and accessible on our trip. We found campsites everywhere we went, and the shared dining areas were comfortable places to spend time. Some campsites also had showers.

A seated traveler in a red chair facing a broad mountain landscape — Taking a quiet break among Iceland’s mountains.

Those common areas made a real difference. Camping in a van did not mean spending all our downtime inside it; we could use the shared facilities at the campsites as we traveled around the country. That was one of the practical details that made this way of seeing Iceland work well for us.

Keeping an expensive trip affordable

Prices felt very expensive across the trip, so we did our best to keep our spending down. Making use of the campsites and their shared common areas was part of that approach.

The facilities were useful in their own right, not just a compromise to save money. Comfortable dining areas and access to showers at some stops helped make van camping an accessible option for us. This is a reflection on the campsites we used in April, rather than a promise that every campsite has the same facilities.

Chasing the northern lights

Iceland gave us reasons to keep looking long after the day’s drive was over. We saw very strong northern lights on multiple nights of the trip. It was not a single brief sighting that we had to make the most of; we had several nights when the sky became a memorable part of the journey.

Green and purple aurora sweeping across a night sky above bare branches — One of several nights when the northern lights filled the sky.

The days had been full of waterfalls, mountains, and stops along the Ring Road. At night, there was something entirely different to watch. Seeing the northern lights repeatedly added another part to the trip—one that belongs alongside the glacier lagoon and ice caves when I think about what made Iceland special.

A night beneath the aurora in Vík

On my second-to-last night, I watched the northern lights from Vík cemetery as they streaked across the sky. That is one of the moments I most want to share from the trip. A photograph can hold a particular shape, but the movement was part of what made the experience memorable.

Green northern lights above gravestones and a nearby building — Northern lights above the cemetery.

I recorded video that night, too. It gives me a way to return to the display as it moved, rather than remembering it only as a still image. After several nights of strong northern lights, watching those streaks above Vík became one of the experiences that marked the end of my time in Iceland.

Northern lights in motion — a minute beneath Iceland’s night sky.

Green arcs and curtains ripple across the dark sky in this silent film.

Our route, day by day

Illustrated itinerary: Kirkjufell and Snæfellsnes, Dalvík and Grímsey, Reykjahlíð, Höfn, ice caves and Vík, airport drop-off and Skógafoss, waterfalls and Kerið, then Keflavík and the flight home. — AI-generated illustration of our itinerary, not trip photography or a navigation map. Open at full size; the day-by-day account follows below.

Day 1: Kirkjufell, followed by camping on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

Day 2: A stop in Dalvík and the ferry to Grímsey Island, where the puffins had just arrived.

Day 3: An overnight stop in Reykjahlíð.

Day 4: An overnight stop in Höfn.

Day 5: The ice caves tour, then Vík for the night.

Day 6: I dropped my girlfriend off at the airport, then drove back toward Skógafoss and other waterfalls before spending another night in Vík.

Day 7: More waterfalls and Kerið crater, followed by a night in Keflavík.

Day 8: Fly home.

Snow-covered Icelandic mountains across water beneath blue sky and clouds — Snow-covered mountains and changing light in Iceland. Photograph by Brandon Wichmann.

What stays with me

The glacier lagoon and ice caves are the first things I think of, followed by the scenery in the southeast. The strong northern lights on multiple nights, especially watching them streak across the sky from Vík cemetery, also belong among those highlights. The trip was made up of smaller, repeated moments, too: stopping for another waterfall, spotting reindeer, and settling into a campsite after a day on the road.

From Kirkjufell and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula to Grímsey and the Ring Road, this trip gave us a way to experience Iceland through both its major sights and the places in between. Traveling by van made the camping part straightforward, leaving the landscape—and those frequent stops—to shape the memories.

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