Iceland Highlands overnight or day trip?
Let the return drive decide

Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk and Kerlingarfjöll are separate drives

Iceland’s Highlands are not one compact attraction zone. In the south, Landmannalaugar is reached around F208/F225; Þórsmörk in the southwest involves F249 and river crossings; Kerlingarfjöll and Hveravellir on the central route are approached from the direction of Route 35. These names look close on a map, but they are different gateways from Reykjavik. Calling them all a “highland day trip” underestimates the return journey.

ICENAVI · HIGHLAND MAPPlace the night where the return journey costs most

ICENAVI positioning: Reykjavik is the lowland starting point; Hella serves the southern Highlands; Kerlingarfjöll/Hveravellir belong to the central mountain route; Mývatn and Akureyri are northern recovery points.

Three arrangements, with the return journey taking the time

The easily missed point in this table is that a “highland day” is not the same as time at the attraction. A Reykjavik day tour fits the meeting point, transfers, rest stops, slow mountain roads and return into one clock. Some products add the Golden Circle or another stop that day; if you only count two or three hours in the valley, you may assume there is room for another trail. The value of staying is the time after entering the Highlands, when you do not have to turn around immediately.

Staying starts to pay off from June to September

The highland summer window is short. Highland Base’s accommodation and campsite information for Kerlingarfjöll places the main summer accommodation period between June 15 and September 30; the campsite adult rate is about 3,000 ISK, approximately HK$170/NT$680, with accommodation tax per tent and electricity charged separately. Camping is inexpensive, but it does not make the whole trip inexpensive: you still pay for the rental car, fuel and food, and you need to carry the fact that mountain resupply is not available on demand.

Mid to late June is a useful point to put the first highland night in the middle of the itinerary. Spend the first two days travelling from Reykjavik to Hella or Selfoss, then keep one night to watch the road and weather. Once the plan is viable, continue on F208. If the Highlands are cancelled, the lowland room can still absorb that night. July and August bring long daylight, making it easier to trade an overnight stay for a short early walk or evening light, but beds, activities and rental cars are also hardest to replace at short notice. The second half of September is quieter, yet daylight narrows; the return drive can no longer rely on midnight sun as a fatigue allowance.

Searches for April, May and October can look tempting because the lowlands are already suitable for self-drive. Whether a highland road is passable is a separate question from whether Route 1 is clear; four-wheel drive cannot open a closed F-road. In these months, I would treat the Highlands as a backup day, keep accommodation in Hella, Reykjavik or a northern service town, and attach the activity closer to the date. That avoids locking the route around a mountain night from the start.

Work backwards from the route: do not create two long drives for one night

Useful bases for the southern Highlands are Hella, Hvolsvöllur or the western South Coast. Hella is better placed for the F208 direction, with supplies and a return to Reykjavik after cancellation relatively straightforward; Hvolsvöllur makes Route 1 and South Coast transfers easier, though it may not save every minute before the highland entrance. If the next day heads to Vík or Skaftafell, do not connect a highland night to another long eastbound drive that same evening.

Kerlingarfjöll and Hveravellir in the central Highlands fit a northbound or northwest itinerary better than a hard return from the South Coast. Entering from the Golden Circle/Gullfoss area, staying one night and continuing toward Blönduós or Akureyri gives the route a clearer shape; if the trip eventually returns to Reykjavik, leave one lowland buffer night. For the Route 35 overnight trade-off, see the guide to staying one night at Hveravellir; for the boundary between F35/F347 self-drive and a day tour, the Kerlingarfjöll transport comparison follows the vehicle and activity timetable directly.

Þórsmörk is different. The rivers and entrance conditions on F249 mean that “I am staying nearby” cannot be reduced to one hotel address; with a transfer activity, the meeting point, drive time and hiking intensity determine whether Hella is worth using. If you want the Fimmvörðuháls long route, treat it as a hiking itinerary rather than sharing one afternoon with a highland hot-spring half-day; the Skógar-to-Þórsmörk hiking guide can help check the transport connection.

A day tour is not a shortcut for lazy travellers; it handles a different risk

A day tour may be the more sensible choice if you do not have a suitable 4WD, someone in the group does not want river crossings, or only one full day remains. When choosing, check the total time and return location: a product from Reykjavik still leaves dinner and the next hotel to arrange; a version collecting from Hella or the South Coast removes one transfer but may require staying in the specified area the night before. If the activity includes highland hot springs, waterfalls and viewpoints, ask how long each stop lasts. “Having been there” and actually walking a trail are different things.

When an activity is cancelled, your accommodation location determines what remains possible. From Reykjavik, a wet day can become a city pool, museum or harbour activity; from Hella, the western South Coast, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss can be split into a half-day. Inside the Highlands, the fallback is usually not a nearby attraction but returning to the lowlands and rebuilding the day. Treat a non-refundable mountain room as the higher-risk option.