Iceland

In September 2025 I rode my bike from London, UK to Iceland.

Leaving London on the afternoon of the 29th Auguest I made my way up to Harwich for the overnight Stena Line ferry, the first of 6 ferries this trip. My target was to ride from Hook of Holland up to Hirtshals in the north of Denmark for the Smyril Line ferry over to Iceland.

This was a trip I’ve been planning for so long and it was surreal to be actually on the way. I still had a lot of miles to go to get to Iceland although it’s amazing just to be free to ride my bike every day. The ferry to Iceland I booked over a year ago and since then I’ve been planning and dreaming.

The Smyril Line ferry takes 2 days from Hirtshals in Denmark to Seyðisfjörður in Iceland.

The first night on the ferry I slept really well last with the gentle sway of the ship reminding you you’re at sea. I woke up around 6am CET although stayed in my cabin for a little while as ship’s time is one hour behind, at Faroes time / WEST. For breakfast I went to the cafeteria although there is also a buffet restaurant which, while more expensive, has much more choice.

Day 1 I disembarked the ferry from Denmark and started to explore Iceland!

After a good sleep in my cabin I woke up at 06:00, 30 minutes before my alarm, so had a shower and went for some breakfast in the canteen. When loading onto the ferry I was chatting with a couple from County Durham and I saw them again at breakfast. They were in Iceland for two weeks compared to my one week… “the benefits of being retired” they said with a smile.

Day 2 in Iceland I explored the north, on a route via Siglufjörður on the northern Icelandic coast.

In my first campsite of the trip I slept pretty well with a few rain showers through the night. It was a bit cold, but nothing too bad with my down jacket on a hood up. Although I realised fairly quickly that I could have brought a heavier sleeping bag. I’d brought one that goes to -1 although I suspect it’s more comfortable at around 10 degrees. Even at the beginning of September it felt cold in Iceland. In fact it was around 15 during the day and 5 at night but the cold there is fresher, it gets into your bones more.

On day 3 in Iceland my route took me along the gravel roads of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

Getting packed up in Hvamstangi I headed west, skimming the bottom of the Westfjords. The route took me along the gravel roads of route 54 and I was really looking forward to some unpaved road. As I was about to turn off I saw a little collection of buildings and some whales in the fjord so I dropped down to the little beach to see them [1]. For a while I watched a couple of whales breaching and blowing in the fjord. As I was leaving I saw a load of bikers on enduro bikes and saw the Ride With Locals truck arrive which was cool to see!

On day 4 in Iceland I experienced the strongest winds I’ve ever had to ride in!

The day started quite calmly as I packed up and left Hellissandur Camping after a very comfortable night camping in the lava field which was really nice and sheltered. There was a little bit of wind when I was setting off but nothing extreme…for now. The plan for today was to end up in Reykjavik where I had a hotel booked for two nights and on the way visit the location of The Horns motorcycle gang from the Icelandic TV series Ófærð (Trapped). This is along Hvalfjörður fjord to the north of Reykjavik. The planned distance today was a little under 300km.

What a difference a day makes! Day 5 in Iceland was warm, sunny, and calm!

Waking early in my hotel room I had a shower and went down for breakfast. I’d been burning through calories in the last few days and was really hungry. The buffet was lovely with plenty of options including cooked items and of course plenty of skyr which I love and eat for breakfast at home too.

After my day in Reykjavik the weather looked pretty bad so I had a decision to make.

After the day riding into the high winds I was paying much closer attention to the weather forecasts and before I left Reykjavik I was keeping an eye on the Icelandic Met Office, especially on the wind forecast.

The original plan today was to ride via the Golden Circle and some of the E roads down to around Vík, a small village on the coast of south Iceland, just to the south of Mýrdalsjökull glacier which covers the Katla volcano. This is also the location of Eyjafjallajökull, the stratovolcano famous for its massive 2010 eruption which grounded aircraft all over the world due to the dust clouds it released. Today the weather forecast looked relatively calm and the winds were in the direction I was going to be riding.

The final ride on day 7 back to the ferry port was short but you can never underestimate Iceland.

Waking early in the campsite the weather was still and dry. Although it was forecast to rain in the morning I did think I might stay in my tent for the morning and leave in the afternoon, although I was keen to get moving in case the weather deteriorated. After having some breakfast and getting packed up I headed off back down the winding gravel road away from the campsite back to the main road.

Leaving Iceland meant the trip back home began, taking a week on the ferry then accross Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Back on board the Smyril Line ship Nörenna, which was now quite familiar, I settled back into my cabin and hung my bike kit up to dry. The first night at sea was pretty windy and lumpy so the ship was pretty quiet. As I’m used to sailing (and live on a sailing boat too) it doesn’t really bother me so I enjoyed the quiet time and had a nice dinner in the buffet.

Over my trip to Iceland I kept some notes about my experiences.

One thing I learned is to ignore the Ring Road. In many guides it’s suggested that you complete the loop although don’t treat it as a target to get around. Use parts of it to get to places you want to visit. If you’re riding the Ring Road then you’re focusing on getting it done rather than exploring and getting deeper into areas. Especially being flexible due to weather is important. The smaller roads are quieter and nicer, especially quieter in the far north.