The Ultimate 4 day Self-Drive Iceland Itinerary

If you’ve decided to DIY Iceland but only have a few days, this 4‑day self‑drive itinerary is a realistic way to experience some of the country’s most iconic landscapes without feeling rushed. This plan focuses on manageable driving distances, must‑see highlights and flexibility for weather — something that’s essential in Iceland.

This itinerary is based on our own trip and is designed to work well for families, first‑time visitors and anyone who wants to explore Iceland independently rather than on organised tours. It covers Reykjavík, the Golden Circle and parts of the South Coast, with time built in for stopping, exploring and simply enjoying the scenery.

If you’re looking for a slower‑paced, do‑it‑yourself introduction to Iceland that fits into four days, this itinerary is a great place to start.

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Quick 4‑Day Iceland Itinerary Overview

Short on time? Here’s the quick version of our 4‑day self‑drive Iceland itinerary. Below, you’ll find the full breakdown with driving tips, where to stay and what to prioritise each day.

Day 1: Arrival, grocery shopping, check‑in & Blue Lagoon
Day 2: Golden Circle – Þingvellir, Geysir & Gullfoss
Day 3: South Coast – Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss & Reynisfjara
Day 4: Kerid Crater, Reykjavík sightseeing & departure

⬇️ Scroll down for the full day‑by‑day itinerary ⬇️

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Day 1 – Arrival, Grocery Shopping & Blue Lagoon

You might read that the Blue Lagoon is overpriced, too touristy, not worth it as man-made etc. But we really enjoyed it and totally felt that it was worth what we paid. There are lots of thermal baths and more natural ones that you can visit throughout Iceland, but as we were going with our 7-year-old at the time, we wanted to go to one where the water temperatures were controlled.

I would definitely recommend booking this experience in advance. You can book on the Blue Lagoon Website. We went for the Comfort package, which includes entrance to the Blue Lagoon, a silica mud mask for your face, use of a towel and a free drink of choice. The cost was €84.61 per adult and children are free. Children under the age of 8 are required to wear arm bands. They share a locker with the parent and don’t get a free drink. However, you can buy juice when collecting your free alcoholic beverage. You can choose to eat at the spa itself, but prices were bananas!! We have a few snacks in the car after the Blue Lagoon and then headed back to our cabin to cook dinner!

Top tip: Put a hair mask in your hair and tie it up high. The Sulphur in the water can really dry out your hair.

Day 2 – Geysirs, Waterfalls and Lunch at a Tomato Farms and Tectonic Plates

Each day we got up at around 8am and had brekkie in the cabin then made sure to be on the road for sunrise, this was 9am in November. It was so lovely driving through the Golden Circle as the sun was rising!

Geysir Centre

Our first stop was the Geysir Centre. We used Google Maps on our phone to navigate us everywhere and we never had any issues. We had a paper map in the car too, just in case, but never needed to use it. The internet in Iceland is superb, we always had 4g no matter where we were (Ireland please take note!!!) and all coffee shops and restaurants etc. had Wi-Fi.

Strokkur is Iceland’s most visited geyser due to its activity, and it definitely will not disappoint!! It is found in a geyser geothermal area and blasts water up to 40 meters high every 10-15 minutes.

I won’t go into the science behind geysers and why they erupt, but it is definitely something worth reading into if going to Iceland as it’s fascinating!!

Here you will also find the Geysir Centre, which has plenty of information about this rare phenomenon, a lovely gift shop and a coffee shop. We stopped here for coffee and some cakes and found it to be very reasonably priced.

Gulfoss Waterfall

Next stop was the first of many amazing Waterfalls of our trip:

Gullfoss Waterfall. Did you know that Foss means waterfall in Icelandic, so all of the waterfalls in Iceland will be called something Foss. In this case, Gullfoss, which means golden waterfall.

This waterfall is beautiful to visit and is quite unique in that you will view it from above, compared to the other ones you will see on your trip. This actually makes it look like the waterfall is going into the ground! This is because the waterfall plunges right into a gorge, thereby looking like it’s disappearing into the earth… How magical is that!!

There are multiple viewpoints for seeing this waterfall, the lower points are open year-round, but some will be closed off in winter, so bear this in mind when trying to decide when you want to go. Also, it can get quite icy and slippery here so definitely where appropriate footwear and maybe invest in crampons for the kids…the first time you fall on your butt will be funny, but the 3rd and 4th time will literally be a pain in the butt 😉😉

Fridheimar Greenhouse

Next stop… Lunch time!!

For lunch we went to the incredible Fridheimar greenhouse. The theme of this family run farm style restaurant is tomatoes!! From tomato beer to tomato soup to tomato cakes, you can experience all things tomato here while sitting in the greenhouse amongst all the cultivated plants. You can even go on a free tour of the greenhouse, where they will tell you all about how they grow the tomato vines and also show you their very hard workers… the bees!!

If eating here I would highly recommend getting the soup buffet! Here you can have all you can eat tomato soup with sour cream, freshly baked bread, cucumber salsa and butter. It was delicious!!We also tried the tortillas with Basel, mozzarella and tomatoes and the tomato bear. It was all 10/10. After your meal you can walk around outside and see the beautiful Icelandic horses.

Make sure to reserve your table for here in advance on their website.

Þingvellir National Park

Our last stop of the day was Þingvellir National Park –

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the only one on the Iceland mainland, which is surprising as it is probably one of the sites you will hear the least about, or certainly it’s nowhere near as popular as the Geysers and some of the waterfalls.

But this was definitely one of my favourite stops!! This may be attributed to my extreme Game of Thrones nerdiness ;). Remember the ‘Bloody Gates’, the entrance to the Eeyrie where Aunt Lysa lived?? Well, that’s Þingvellir National Park. You will find this on the ‘Oxarfoss trail’, which is the road to the Oxarfoss waterfall.

Remember the brutal battle between Lady Brienne and the hound?? That was also filmed at Þingvellir National Park 🙂

Ok ok, enough GOT, why else is this place worth visiting?

This park is located in an active volcanic area. It’s most famous and most interesting feature is that it is the part of Iceland where you can essentially stand on two different continents. This is because Iceland is divided by the Mid-Atlantic Rift and therefore some parts of Iceland are on the ‘North American Tectonic Plate’ and the rest is on the ‘Eurasian Plate’.

Iceland is actually the only place in the whole world where you can see this rift above sea level and at Þingvellir National Park you can literally walk in it!

As you enter this park by descending a cliff into a valley you are looking at North America and as you go through the park you ascend on the other side at Eurasia. The whole valley in between is known as the rift valley.

Every year these tectonic plates move apart by approx. 2.5 centimeters and have done so for millions of years. This results in the lava fields and this giant gorge that you see when you stroll through this World Heritage Site.

Now don’t worry if Geography and ‘Tectonic plates’ aren’t your thing, there is plenty more to see in this park. From lava fields to an abundance of hiking trails, wildlife to waterfalls, you will not regret spending a couple of hours here!!

Check out Things to do – Thingvellir National Park for a list of things to do and hiking trails in the area.

Day 3 – More Waterfalls, a Plane Wreck, and the Black Sand Beach

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Day 3 of our Iceland adventure and we had a lot to look forward to. We got up for sunrise again and made our way to the amazing Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This was my absolute favorite waterfall because you can walk right behind it, it was everything I imagined when I thought of Iceland!

DC-3 plane wreckage

Next, we headed to the DC-3 plane wreckage located on Sólheimasandur black sand beach. This is the remainder of a US Navy Aircraft that had to make an emergency crash landing in 1973. There’s something so eerie about seeing this abandoned carcass of a plane in the middle of nowhere resting on top of black sand, it’s also the perfect place for getting some really good photos.

Previously this site wasn’t as accessible as you had to walk 4km there and back on very rocky terrain to see the crash, so it really was only suitable for very fit people, especially with the unforgiving winds that will push you back. Now though you can book a shuttle through Arcanum tours for €20.18 per adult and €10.44 per child return. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes, but I would definitely advise to book in advance.

This is absolutely worth seeing, especially if you like photography. You will get out of this world shots here. I recommend wearing a pop of colour going here like red or yellow. It shows up really good in photographs against the eery black sand.

Warning, it is freeeezing here if you go in the winter. It’s also by the sea so the wind is out of this world! I’m adding this picture below of this poor person to the right trying to battle their way through the wind lol!

Black Sand Beach – Vik

After this windy stop we headed to Vik so we could grab lunch and see the famous Black Sand Beach. Vik was the furthest we had gone on our trip so far and is outside of the Golden Circle. Vik is 187 km or approx. 2h 30 mins from Reykjavic, so I would highly recommend that you stay somewhere on the Golden Circle if you’re hoping to visit the famous beach.

After we fuelled up, we headed for Reynisfjara beach or better known as the Black Sand Beach. This beach is super famous because…. you guessed it, the sand is black😁! Black sand is formed when volcanic material, such as basalt, rocks and lava is eroded.

This beach has amazing cliffs of basalt columns that look like pyramids and incredible sea stacks right in the middle of the ocean.

Bonus: it’s also a GOT filming location!! This beach is shown in episode 5 and 6 of season 7. You will also see it in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’.

Note it is windy and cold at this beach so please wrap up warm and be careful, don’t go too close to the water in winter or enter the caves if the tide is coming in.

Skogafoss waterfall

Last stop of the day before we fell into bed was Skogafoss waterfall, one of Icelands largest waterfalls. If you go when the sun is shining, keep an eye out for the amazing rainbows it can reflect due to the contant spray of water, you might even be licky enough to see a double rainbow!

This is the waterfall in Game of Thrones that John and Dani fly to with their dragons. It is absolutely stunning and enormous!! I would highly recommend walking up the steps (all 370 of them) to see the waterfall from the top. On your way up, keep an eye out for the troll in the cliff edge!