A typical query for guests to Iceland is whether or not it’s finest to drive Iceland’s Route 1 ring highway in a clockwise or anti-clockwise path. Whislt we didn’t truly drive your entire ring on our journey (we most likely coated round one third of it), I did plan to at first so spent fairly a little bit of time researching this difficulty. I hope my findings will assist you make an knowledgeable choice as to what route is finest for you.
First issues first
Earlier than tackling the query of whether or not to drive the ring highway in a clockwise or anti-clockwise path, I’d first pose the query as as to whether you do certainly wish to cowl your entire route. It’s 1,317 kilometres and, in case you are restricted to solely per week or so, I’d severely take a step again and have a look at the important thing stuff you wish to cowl. See my earlier put up which explains why we selected to not drive your entire ring highway with the time we had out there.
Lots of Iceland’s foremost points of interest are within the south and west of the nation and, because you’ll little doubt be arriving at Keflavik Airport, near the capital of Reykjavik, within the south-west of the nation, a lot of need you to see will likely be inside a number of hours’s drive of there. I perceive that you simply would possibly wish to see as a lot as potential however, in case your time is valuable and restricted, does it actually make sense to be spending a lot of that point in a car?
OK, so that you’ve thought-about the above however nonetheless wish to drive the ring highway, however usually are not certain which means round to go? Learn on!
Clockwise versus anti-clockwise
If you learn up on this topic, the consensus of opinion is to comply with the route in an anti-clockwise path and there are a variety of causes for this. The primary of those is that the Golden Circle is a logical place to begin, significantly when you’re visiting for the primary time. It’s the place you’ll discover a few of Iceland’s most iconic points of interest similar to the Geysir and Strokkur geysers.
There’s an entire host of issues to see and do within the Golden Circle however, no matter route you are taking, assuming you don’t wish to come again on your self, you’ll discover plenty of routes are likely to ‘spit you out’ in the direction of the south. It is because the tendency is to enter the Golden Circle through Route 35 from Reykjavik which takes you simply north of the Þingvallavatn rift valley lake and to get again through a round route tends to imply heading south to get round this lake.
Since you end up in the direction of the south, the logical factor to do is to then discover the south coast alongside Route 1, thus initiating an anti-clockwise route alongside the primary ring highway. It’s most likely additionally no co-incidence that excursions that go all the best way round Iceland additionally have a tendency to decide on to go in an anti-clockwise path.
The opposite sturdy reasoning in favour of adopting an anti-clockwise path is that you simply’ll go to the busier points of interest first (alongside the south coast) and thus step by step transfer from away from the crowds to among the extra distant and fewer visited elements of Icelandic, whcih feels a extra instictively logical strategy to strategy issues.
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Two causes to contemplate a clockwise route
I can foresee simply two distinctive explanation why you would possibly select to interrupt the mould and journey the ringroad in a clockwise path – the climate and the time of yr.
If the climate forecast simply occurs to be predicting poor climate within the south initially and good climate within the north, then I assume it’d make extra sense to let the situations dictate your route and do your finest to keep away from antagonistic climate situations. It’s maybe unlikely that there will likely be a marked distinction like this, however you by no means know so it’s price checking the forecast.
Secondly, the time of yr. I’ve already talked about how the south may be busy and that by travelling in an anti-clockwise path, you’ll be step by step transferring away from the crowds, significantly when you begin to get past locations similar to Höfn. That stated, when you occur to be travelling on the finish of August / starting of September (the top of the Summer time holidays for a lot of households all over the world), then you definately would possibly keep away from the crowds within the south by leaving it till the top of your journey. If that is while you’re visiting, this could be one thing that you simply wish to contemplate as it might have you ever favouring a clockwise journey.
For most individuals, although, an anti-clockwise route appears to be by far the extra most popular of the 2 choices.
Have you ever travelled your entire Route 1 ring highway? In that case, did you go clockwise or anticlockwise, and what was the rationale behind the route you selected?
Planning a visit to Iceland your self? You may watch a video from our journey to Iceland right here:
Disclosure: This put up is sponsored by Icerental 4×4. Our journey to Iceland was additionally sponsored by Helly Hansen.
