Slow-Paced 10-Day Summer Self-Drive Tour of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Golden Circle & South Coast

On the second day of your self-drive tour of Iceland, you will head to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. This 56-mile (90-kilometer) stretch of land is home to many wonders, and the scenic drive there takes you past mighty mountains, long fjords, and rolling hills.

You'll get to see a wealth of geological formations as you enter the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, such as the Eldborg crater, the Gerduberg hexagonal basalt cliffs, and lots of animal life. 

The peninsula is home to a wealth of seabirds, and at Ytri Tunga beach, you may get to see a colony of seals.

You'll then come to the charming fishing villages of Arnarstapi and Hellnar, where you can enjoy a stop for coffee, ice cream, or Icelandic pancakes at a local café.

The coastline will only get more dramatic as you travel, culminating at the enormous basalt plug of Londrangar. While this site is spectacular, it is overshadowed by the Snaefellsjokull glacier and volcano that crowns the tip of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

Snaefellsjokull glacier, which sits in the national park of the same name, gained fame when it was used as the setting of the Jules Verne novel 'A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.'

While you cannot follow directly in the footsteps of the novel's adventurers, you can opt for a caving tour this day and enjoy the otherworldly space of a lava tube on your subterranean journey.

If you'd rather stay above ground, you can take a whale-watching tour from Olafsvik. Though there are no guarantees, more orcas, pilot whales, and sperm whales are found around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula than in most other parts of Iceland.

After a day of adventure that will no doubt extend long into the hours of the midnight sun, you will head to a nearby hotel for a well-deserved rest.

On the third day of your summer self-drive tour of Iceland, you'll have another day to explore the wonderful Snaefellsnes Peninsula. You'll drive through the peninsula's stunning northern coast to explore its top attractions this time.

Due to the enormous wealth of sites on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, you can pack another day full of adventure here.

You could start by heading to Bjarnahofn farmstead, home to the Shark Museum. Icelanders have for centuries enjoyed fermented Greenlandic shark as a delicacy, and here you can see the processes used to create it and taste the results. Just note that the smell can be pretty intense.

You could also enjoy more natural sites, such as the Raudfeldsgja gorge, a cleft in a giant cliff face you can climb into to reach a waterfall. 

Bring waterproof clothes and shoes as you will get wet.

You can also see the iconic Kirkjufell mountain and its adjacent waterfall, Kirkjufellsfoss. Kirkjufell is one of the most photographed mountains in Iceland, thanks to its distinctive look, which resembles a church steeple.

An option that blends nature and history is to visit Djupalonssandur beach. Here, you can find rusty pieces of metal from an old shipwreck on the beach's jet-black pebbles, as well as four lifting stones, against which fishermen of old used to test their strength.

The largest town on the peninsula is called Stykkisholmur, filled with folklore and culture. 

From here, you can take a boat tour into Breidafjordur fjord. Your guide will catch some shellfish for you and prepare it to eat right in front of you in the form of sushi. This tour also provides more opportunities to see whales, seals, and seabirds, including puffins.

With the sites of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula enjoyed in-depth, you'll return to your hotel for one more night.

On your fourth day, you will explore some of the natural landmarks of West Iceland, including waterfalls, hot springs, and glaciers.

You will head towards the Golden Circle sightseeing route, home to some of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions. This tour emphasizes a slow and steady pace, so you'll be able to enjoy all the sights en route first.

West Iceland has incredible natural landmarks. It is home to the highest-flowing hot spring in Europe, Deildartunguhver, and two iconic waterfalls, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. 

Deildartunguhver is one of Europe's most voluminous hot springs, and its geothermal waters provide heat for nearby towns.

You can explore the Hvalfjordur fjord and even hike to see the second tallest waterfall in the country, Glymur. Glymur waterfall plunges down a narrow canyon from around 198 meters (650 feet).

You can access the waterfall via a scenic hike, and it has a serene natural setting with breathtaking views.

West Iceland also has many historical sites. The town of Borgarnes is in a beautiful coastal setting and houses the Settlement Center Museum. 

Reykholt, meanwhile, has the Snorrastofa Research Centre, an institution based on the life and works of the village's most famous son, Snorri Sturluson. He wrote the Bible of Old Norse mythology, Edda. 

While booking, there are three tours you can opt for today. You could head to the mighty Langjokull glacier, take a monster truck journey to its peak, and explore artificial ice tunnels that lead into its depths. 

If you missed caving on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, you could take a tour of the Vidgelmir lava tube, the largest cave in Iceland.

If you'd prefer to relax, you can book admission to the Krauma Spa, where hot water from Deildartunguhver is mixed with cold water from Iceland's smallest glacier, Ok, to create the perfect bathing temperature.

You'll finally reach your hotel in Southwest Iceland, perfectly poised to explore the nearby Golden Circle in depth tomorrow.

On day five of your self-drive tour of Iceland, you will embark on the country's most renowned and beloved sightseeing route, the Golden Circle. The trail consists of three points, all equally beautiful.

The most famous waterfall in the country is Gullfoss, otherwise known as 'the Golden Waterfall.' Its name is where the sightseeing route's name comes from. 

It is a powerful waterfall, falling in two tiers and plunging into a canyon that slices through the countryside. You can observe and photograph it from one of the many surrounding platforms.

Just ten minutes from Gullfoss waterfall is Haukadalur valley, home to the Geysir geothermal area. It is named after the Geysir hot spring, although it is inactive. 

Instead, you'll be able to see the impressive Strokkur geyser. Every five to ten minutes, it blasts a column of boiling water to heights reaching up to 66 feet (20 meters). Surrounding it are many other hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents.

Finally, you will come to Thingvellir, a fascinating National Park between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. As they pull apart, they tear the landscape up, creating dramatic and beautiful ravines. 

Thingvellir National Park is also the first UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Icelandic mainland. Here, Icelanders founded their parliament in 930 AD, now the longest-running institution of its kind in the world.

After enjoying these sites, you can visit a wealth of other places. Kerid is a crater lake with beautiful contrasts between its crimson rocks and azure waters. You can enter and explore geothermal power plants and many more waterfalls.

You could also use the time to enjoy a tour. Thingvellir National Park has a ravine filled with crystal clear glacial water called Silfra that you can snorkel in for a fantastic adventure between the continents. Snorkeling participants need to be comfortable in the water and be able to swim.

You could also return to Langjokull glacier for a thrilling snowmobile ride on the ice cap.

After making the very most of the Golden Circle sightseeing route, you will return to your accommodation in Southwest Iceland.

On the sixth day of your self-drive tour of Iceland, you will begin your three-day exploration of Iceland's South Coast.

As you leave the Golden Circle sightseeing route, you will find your trail descends to run alongside the ocean. On your right, you can see across to the Westman Islands in clear weather, and to your left, the notorious subglacial volcanoes Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull will begin to materialize.

Your first stop is at Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This beautiful cascade tumbles from over 197 feet (60 meters) and is unique because you can walk around it. This unique viewpoint provides gorgeous views over the south and some fantastic photographs. 

As you have the time to enjoy the sites in-depth, you can also walk over to the mesmerizing Gljufrabui waterfall hidden in a gorge.

Next, you will see Skogafoss waterfall. This one has a more classic shape than the other two. It is also over 197 feet (60 meters) tall but much more powerful. The clouds of spray rising from where it crashes to the earth often produce rainbows where the sun's rays fall upon it.

You will next see some fantastic coastal attractions around the charming village of Vik. The most well-known is the black sand beach Reynisfjara, a beautiful stretch of shoreline. 

Jutting from the water nearby, off the cliffs of Reynisfjall mountain, are the sea stacks known as Reynisdrangar. According to local folklore, these are all that remains of two petrified trolls.

Near here is another famous coastal location. Dyrholaey is a set of cliffs and a gigantic rock arch that juts into the ocean. It is magnificent in its own right but well-known for its bird-watching opportunities. 

Dyrholaey cliffs are one of the closest places to Reykjavik, from which you can observe puffins up close to the land.

Today, you have the option to take one of two tours. You could stop at an outlet of Myrdalsjokull glacier, Solheimajokull, and enjoy an exciting glacier hike. 

Otherwise, you could take an ice-caving tour higher on the ice cap to descend into a beautifully formed feature that sits directly above the Katla volcano.

Finally, you will head to your hotel on the South Coast and spend the night.

On day seven of your self-drive tour in Iceland, you will see two great sites of the southeast, considered by many to be the most beautiful in the country, both located within Vatnajokull National Park.

The first of these is the Skaftafell Nature Reserve. The nature reserve is so otherworldly that it was the first national park in the area. It is a hiker's paradise, with trails leading to many sights through diverse environments. 

It is home to lava fields, rivers, forests, and glacier tongues stretching from the largest ice cap in Europe, Vatnajokull. One of its most famous sights is the Svartifoss waterfall, surrounded by black basalt columns.

If you'd like to breathe in the fresh mountain air, you can opt for a glacier hike in Skaftafell Nature Reserve today. A certified guide will lead you up the ice cap, past deep crevasses and ice formations, to get an incredible view of the surrounding landscapes.

Next, you'll come to the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. Here, mighty icebergs break from an outlet glacier into a gigantic lake and slowly drift across it, making for an ethereal arctic wonderland. 

To add to the beauty, many seals call the lagoon home, and seabirds nest around it. To truly immerse yourself here, you can take either a slow boat ride on an amphibious boat or a faster ride on a RIB speedboat.

Adjacent to the lagoon is the Diamond Beach. This black-sand coastline stretch is where many icebergs end up after finally reaching the ocean. They lie there, scattered on the shore like glistening diamonds.

Although you could spend all day at these sites, you could also head east to Vestrahorn Mountain. 

Vestrahorn Mountain is a beautiful, stark feature that photographers flock to, trying to capture the perfect photo of the mountain reflecting in the surrounding water.

When you've finished exploring for the day, you will check into your accommodation in Southeast Iceland.