Off-the-Grid Iceland: Remote Wonders and Solitude

The Iceland Highlands were the part of my Ring Road trip I was most nervous about — and the part I ended up loving most. No crowds, no gift shops, no guardrails. Just volcanic landscapes that look like another planet entirely.

If you’re planning a campervan trip around the Ring Road and wondering whether the Highlands are worth the detour, the honest answer is: absolutely yes — but only if you go prepared.

What makes the Highlands different

The Ring Road is spectacular, but it’s paved, well-marked and busy in summer. The Highlands are none of those things. F-roads — the mountain tracks that lead into areas like Landmannalaugar — are unpaved, often require river crossings, and are only open from roughly June to September depending on snowmelt. This is not a place to improvise.

The payoff is extraordinary though. Landmannalaugar sits in a valley of rhyolite mountains — streaked pink, green, yellow and red from mineral deposits — next to a natural hot spring you can soak in for free. I arrived after a bumpy two-hour drive on the F208 and stood there genuinely speechless.

Do you need a 4×4?

Yes, without exception. A standard 2WD campervan — which is fine for the Ring Road — will not make it to Landmannalaugar. You need high clearance and 4×4 drive for the river crossings alone. I drove with Lava Car Rental on my trip — a local family-run company with a solid 4×4 fleet and honest insurance advice. Use code CREATOR for 5% off. If you want to compare options across multiple providers, Northbound is the best comparison platform for Iceland rentals.

For more detail on choosing the right vehicle and understanding Iceland’s insurance system, check out my complete car rental and driving guide.

The drive in: F208 vs F225

The F208 north route is the most commonly used approach and generally the most straightforward for first-timers. The F225 is shorter but has more challenging river crossings — I’d stick to F208 unless you have experience with Icelandic F-roads. Always check road.is the morning you plan to drive — conditions change fast.

What to do once you’re there

The natural hot spring at the base camp is the obvious first stop — warm geothermal water mixing with a cold river, free to use, with changing huts nearby. No soap allowed, which keeps it pristine. After soaking, the Bláhnjúkur (Blue Peak) hike is around 2-3 hours return and gives you panoramic views over the entire rhyolite valley. The colours on a clear day are genuinely unlike anything else I’ve seen.

If you want to combine the Highlands with the rest of your Iceland trip, my 14-day Iceland Ring Road cost breakdown shows exactly how I budgeted for the full trip including a Highlands day. And if you’re debating between a 4×4 and a campervan for your trip, I covered that in detail in my 4×4 vs campervan guide.

One honest caveat

A guided day tour from Reykjavik is a perfectly valid option if you don’t want to drive F-roads yourself — several operators run super jeep tours to Landmannalaugar that take the logistics off your hands completely. But if you’re already doing a self-drive campervan trip, renting a 4×4 for one or two Highland days is worth every króna.

The Highlands aren’t for everyone — but if raw, remote Iceland is what you came for, this is it.

If you’ve got questions or your own stories, drop them in the comments. Safe travels, and see you off the grid!

This post contains affiliate links to tour operators I trust from personal experience. All opinions are my own.