The Ring Road

Hello everybody!

In this article I'm going to talk about the "Ring Road", in Icelandic "Hringvegur".

This is the most beautiful road I have ever travelled on in my life and that is why I want to share with you some photos that I took while I was driving down in a Dacia Duster, during my nine-day holiday in Iceland, along with my son Peter, my great adventure companion!

Before leaving for this trip, I was very worried about having to face alone many miles with my son, who's only 5 and a half years old, in a rental car (without even having paid full insurance), in a place I did not know, driving along roads I didn't know, which most likely would have been covered in snow.

I became even more anxious when we landed at the airport of Keflavic and went to pick up the car, which was completely covered by snow, at the agency "Geysir", which I highly recommend, whenever you want to rent a car in Iceland! The car, a 2017 model, costed me very little: 384 euros, with the car seat for my son Pietro included in the price. I should warn your, however, that you definitely should not book the car on the main site of the company, as it will be more expensive and you will not even have the possibility of cancelling your reservation for free, in case you encounter some inconveniences. I used website www.northbound.is and I must say I was very satisfied with the service! On the website, there is a live chat where you can ask all the questions you have. Even when it comes to responding to emails, they are very quick and accurate. They had a lot of patience with me. I must have made about five hundred questions: it was the first time in my life that I rented a car and I did not even have a credit card to do so. That is why, I had to ask for the car rental companies that offered an alternative solution for those who do not have a credit card. In the end, I solved it by using my sister's credit card, and she was not even with me... but be very careful, because not all companies allow to use a credit card of a relative or a friend who is not there with you. Geysir allows it and I think it's great. Other companies make it possible to rent a car without a credit card, but only as long as the complete insurance for the car is paid... which costs between 15 and 25 euros per day, depending on the car and the company. Other companies, allow you to rent the car without a credit card, only if you pay the full insurance and additionally leave a deposit in cash of over a thousand euros. Geysir is a really great company! I'll always recommend it.

As soon as I started the car and turned on the radio, my adrenaline increased, and my anxiety disappeared. The car was perfect and, as far as I noticed, in Iceland there are almost only Dacia Dusters and there must be a reason for that! Clearly they are stable, safe, and suitable to travel the most varied types of roads, from the bumpy and dirty ones of the region where the volcanoes are, to those which are icy and slippery because of the ice. For the Dacia Duster snow won't pose a threat! Several times, during my trip, I found myself on roads covered with abundant snow, but the car drove past without problems, while the Jeep rented by two Italian boys I met, got stuck in the snow twice! In addition, Dacia Duster is not only aesthetically pleasing from the outside, but it also has very beautiful interiors. It is comfortable, wide and super-spacious! My son and I slept inside for three nights, so you can also use it as a mini-caravan, and you will be able save quite a lot of money by avoiding having to pay expensive hotels, plus you will have much more opportunities to admire the Northern Lights! I'm attaching a few pictures of my little baby and the polar lights.

My son and I travelled over 2, 000 kilometres. We spent about 200 euros on petrol, while I also sometimes turned on the car at night, to warm us up. We were travelling for almost 24 hours. We helped several random met people who were hitchhiking. Two Latvian girls, a French girl, a Russian boy, and a couple of Polish photographers. We took hundreds and hundreds of photos and I can say, for sure, that the Ring Road was the most exciting and exhilarating thing of the holiday, perhaps even more than the view of the polar lights. You pass by unique, magical scenarios. And it seems to move from one nation to another within a few miles.

Here are the various stages of our itinerary:

1. Keflavic (airport-car pickup);
2. Hveragerði (hot river of Reykjadalur);
3. Þingvellir National Park;
4. Geysir;
5. Gulfoss;
6. Flúðir (Secret Lagoon);
7. Seljalandsfoss;
8. Skógafoss;
9. Reynisfjara;
10. Vik;
11. Skaftafell;
12. Jökulsárlón;
13. Hofn (Hoffel Hot Tube);
14. Egilsstaðir;
15. Namafjall;
16. Dettifoss;
17. Mývatn (Nature Baths);
18. Godafoss;
19. Akureyri;
20. Kirkjufell;
21. Borgarnes;
22. Reykjavic;
23. Grindavik (Blue Lagoon);
24. Keflavic (car drop-off-airport).

And here you'll see the photos that represent the ring road, the main road of Iceland, a ring-shaped road that runs all over the island and from which smaller lanes branch out, allowing you to reach fjords, villages, peninsulas, and highlands. Unlike most countries, whose main roads are huge multi-lane highways, the Ring Road is a simple two-lane road, in many parts even unpaved, but very, very picturesque... characterised by a breathtaking panorama, to say the least, and... changeable as well! See yourselves!

You'll just need to drive along the Ring Road, without taking small streets, to immerse yourselves in an idyllic landscape and enjoy your journey! You can admire fields, mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, lakes, rivers, seas, hot springs, tiny villages, islets, and you can also meet many animals, such as reindeer, horses, sheep, birds and seals!

All I have left to do is to wish you a great trip to Island!