Iceland's Ring Road in 7 Days: A Self-Drive Loop

The full 1,332 km loop of Route 1 driven anti-clockwise in seven days, from the south-coast waterfalls to the glacier lagoon, the East Fjords, the volcanic north and back down the west. Every day opens with one explicit driving leg between overnight bases — distance, net driving time and the sub-legs between sights — because on the Ring Road the drive is the itinerary, and the single most common first-timer mistake is booking a base you cannot reach before dark. This is a summer plan: it assumes late May to mid-September, when Route 1 is reliably open and daylight is long enough to keep driving after dinner. The budget is honest about Iceland — it includes a per-person share of a seven-day rental car and fuel, and even at mid-range choices the total lands well above what the same week costs in mainland Europe.