Iceland: Akureyri to Reykjavik on the Ring Road

From the capital of the north to the capital of Iceland. About 385 km on Route 1, the Ring Road. The road leaves Akureyri at the end of Eyjafjörður, crosses the Öxnadalsheiði heath (about 540 m, the highest point of the trip) and runs through the farmland and heaths of the north-west to the Hvalfjörður fjord and Reykjavik. Count about 4½ hours without stops.

The route. Akureyri – Öxnadalur – Skagafjörður (Varmahlíð) – Blönduós – Hrútafjörður – Borgarnes – the Hvalfjörður Tunnel – Reykjavik.

On the way. In Öxnadalur the sharp Hraundrangi rock towers stand above the road. Varmahlíð is in the middle of Skagafjörður, the valley of Icelandic horses. Blönduós is a small town at the mouth of the river Blanda. Borgarnes sits on a peninsula in Borgarfjörður. Near the end the road goes under the fjord in the 5.7-km Hvalfjörður Tunnel, which opened in 1998 and saves the long drive around the fjord.

Good to know. Weather changes fast and the heaths can be icy from autumn to spring: check the road conditions (road.is) and the wind before you leave. Fuel stations are far apart. The music is Icelandic folk.

Picture: Red cliffs along Route 1 in Öxnadalur, Tory Doughty torydoughty, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.