Stuðlagil to Diamond Beach in One Day: My 430 km East Iceland Drive

Short answer: East Iceland in one day works in summer, but it is a long day. 430 km, about 6.5 hours of driving, two hikes and the gravel Öxi Pass. On my July 2025 Ring Road trip I was in Stuðlagil Canyon before 8 a.m. and on Diamond Beach around 8 p.m.

This was day 8 of my 14-day Ring Road itinerary and the second-longest driving day of the trip. I drove the loop clockwise: the Golden Circle was under bad weather when I set off from Reykjavík, so I went west first. I would have liked more time in the east. I didn’t have it. So I crossed East Iceland in one day, and this is what that actually looked like.

Is East Iceland in one day too much?

The cost comes first. You will not see the fjord towns. No Seyðisfjörður, no harbour villages, no slow coastal road. You get two hikes, one mountain pass and a glacier beach, and most of what lies between them you see through the windscreen.

You also pay with energy. The walk into Stuðlagil is about 1.5 hours each way, Hengifoss takes about 2 hours return, and then there are 430 km of driving. I knew it would be hard. It was.

My day 8	July 2025
Start	Stuðlagil, east side
In the canyon	before 8 a.m.
Driving	430 km, about 6.5 h
Hikes	Stuðlagil, Hengifoss
Walking	about 5 h in total
Diamond Beach	around 8 p.m.
Night	Skaftafell, 55 km on

Would I do it again? In summer and in good weather, yes. If you have a spare day, split it.

Why I was in Stuðlagil before 8 a.m.

I slept close to the canyon the night before. That one decision made the morning. I walked in on the east side and had the basalt columns almost to myself, well before the day’s crowds turned up. Worth it.

The walk from the parking area takes about 1.5 hours each way, and parking costs about 1,000 ISK per car. Which side to choose, and why the east side is worth the extra walk, is in my Stuðlagil east vs. west guide.

Is it worth hiking all the way up to Hengifoss?

Yes. Hengifoss drops 128 m over a basalt wall striped with red clay, and on the way up you pass Litlanesfoss with its own basalt columns. The return hike is about 5 km and took me about 2 hours at a relaxed pace. If you walk fast or stop short of the falls, 1.5 hours is enough.

The last section needs sure footing. Wear proper hiking boots. It is manageable, and it is the part that makes the hike.

The trail was busier than the top, where there were maybe ten other people, spread out. That is nothing like the Golden Circle. Hengifoss gets a fraction of the attention the South Coast waterfalls get, and for me it was one of the best hikes of the whole trip.

Can a campervan handle the Öxi Pass?

In July, yes. Öxi is Route 939, a gravel road but not an F-road. It climbs to 532 m over 19 km, the sign warns of a 17% grade, and it cuts roughly 70 km off the coastal route, which is why most GPS apps send you this way in summer even though the road is closed in winter. Outside summer I would not try it.

Plenty of guides tell you not to follow your GPS over Öxi. In dry July weather, in a regular campervan rather than a 4×4, I had no trouble at all, and the pass itself turned out to be one of the most scenic stretches of the day.

After the descent I stopped by the water for a roadside lunch, alone. A seal lay a few metres away, doing exactly what I was doing: sitting in the sun.

If you are still deciding between a 4×4 and a regular van, my 4×4 vs. campervan comparison explains what the difference means on roads like this one.

Advertising disclosure: Links and buttons marked with * are affiliate links. If you book through one of them I earn a small commission — the price stays exactly the same for you.

I booked my van through Northbound*, a rental comparison site, and ended up with Star Car Rental.

What I skipped, and what I’d do with an extra day

I skipped the fjord towns and Stokksnes. Not for lack of interest. There was simply no time left in the plan.

I didn’t stop in Seyðisfjörður or drive the coastal road through the fjords, so I can’t tell you which village is worth it. I still think the east is the most underrated stretch of the Ring Road. With one extra day I would split this drive and spend the time in the fjord towns, not at Stokksnes.

Diamond Beach at 8 p.m.: is it still worth it?

It was very busy. The beach is long, though, and there was room to walk away from the crowd. Glacier ice on black sand in the evening was the best way to end a day this long. What to expect there is on my Diamond Beach page.

Parking at Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach is about 1,000 ISK per car, and the ticket is valid until midnight. If you drive on to Skaftafell like I did, parking there is half price on the same day. These fees add up over two weeks, which is why they are in my Ring Road cost breakdown.

I was lucky with the weather. No rain all day, sun in the morning, and by the time I reached Diamond Beach the sky had clouded over. The ice still looked good under grey light. Fog or rain on Öxi would have changed the whole plan.

The full day with stop-by-stop times, distances and where I slept is in my 14-day Iceland Ring Road Campervan Guide.