Iceland is full of highlights and has sights to offer that are rarely found in such abundance. If you are planning a road trip through Iceland, you might ask yourself what are the most beautiful roads in Iceland? If you are planning a round trip through Iceland, you will probably rent a car and drive along the ring road. But which roads should you not miss on a round trip through Iceland? Which roads are the most scenic in Iceland? We will tell you in our blog post, have fun!
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Itineraries for Iceland
If you want to drive the most beautiful roads in Iceland from Iceland, then it makes sense to combine them with an Iceland travel route. We have put together three beautiful itineraries for your Iceland road trip:
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Iceland road trip | 14 days dreamlike round trip incl. highlands
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Westfjords Iceland I 3 days itinerary through Icelands most beautiful region
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The most scenic roads in Iceland
In the following we have compiled the, in our opinion, most beautiful and impressive roads of Iceland. For some of them you need an off-road vehicle with four-wheel drive, but some are also accessible with a normal rental car. On some routes you have to drive through smaller rivers, so you have to ford them.
This is not always easy and neither possible nor allowed with a normal rental car. You need a real four-wheel drive car. What you have to pay attention to when fording rivers, we have described in a separate article:
#6 Möðrudalsleið in Northern Iceland
- passable with normal rental car? yes
- Difficulty of the route: easy
- are there fords? no
Because the track is not an F-Road and therefore it is not mandatory to use a four-wheel drive vehicle here.
Partly you drive up serpentine roads and otherwise maneuver your car through deserted areas on which probably no other car will meet you.
If you drive along the ring road in the north of Iceland, make sure you take this little detour. You will not regret it.
#5 Pakgil
- passable with a normal rental car? probably
- Difficulty of the route: simple
- are there fords? no
But even if you don’t want to spend the night here, you should drive this road, because the track to Þakgil (sometimes spelled Pakgil) is one of the dream roads of Iceland.
You’re not quite in the highlands of Iceland yet, but it certainly feels like it.
Often the ground is very uneven and you drive over very sharp rocks. Sometimes you can only drive at walking speed.
This sounds very funny, but it comes very close to reality. It is really incredibly beautiful here.
#4 Öxi Road
- passable with a normal rental car? yes
- Difficulty of the route: simple
- are there fords? no
The small detour is worth it though, because the road feels like a highland road and awaits you with spectacular views.
You drive here on gravel roads, but at the beginning (coming from the south) up a steep serpentine road. Once at the top, a phenomenal view of the valley stretching for miles in front of you and the waterfall next to you reveals itself. Simply fantastic!
#3 Road to Látrabjarg (Westfjords)
- passable with a normal rental car? yes
- Difficulty of the route: simple
- are there fords? no
When you drive through the Westfjords, you feel super secluded and can enjoy the beautiful landscape almost alone.
You constantly drive along the turquoise blue fjords and just before you get to the cute puffins in Látrabjarg, the route gets really tough again.
#2 F206 & F207 to Laki Crater
- passable with a normal rental car? no
- Difficulty of the route: medium
- are there fords? yes some
The largest and most famous eruption of Laki dates back to 1783 and was one of the largest eruptions of a volcano in the history of Iceland.


The way to the Laki craters is via the F-Road F206 and F207, which turn off from the southern ring road. The two F-roads are only passable with an off-road 4×4 vehicle, as there are also some fords to cross.
You will have to use F206 on the way out and F207 on the way back, as the entire route is planned as a one-way road. The reason for this is that everything here is so narrow that in some places 2 vehicles would never fit side by side. As you can see, the road to Laki is quite adventurous.
And it is beautiful on top. It is again very barren here and often you have to struggle at walking speed over sharp stones and boulders or ford long rivers. The route is also doable with a normal SUV like the Dacia Duster and offers really phenomenal landscapes.
Apart from the actual hike at the destination of your trip, which is of course also totally impressive. Attention: The track is not completely marked on Google Maps. But there is enough signage on site. You can read more about this in our travel report on the Laki craters in Iceland:
#1 F208 (south) to Landmannalaugar
- passable with normal rental car? no
- Difficulty of the route: medium
- are there fords? yes, many
The mountains and lava fields are the result of thousands of years of volcanic activity.
The huge Laugahraun lava field, for example, was formed after a volcanic eruption in 1477.
One risk with this route is the many fords along the way. There are probably 40-50 rivers and streams that you have to cross. But only a few of them are really challenging.
If you want to know what other routes there are to Landmannalaugar and what you should consider when getting there, then read our travel report: