Reykjanes is the peninsula you land on. Keflavík airport sits at its tip, and nearly everyone drives straight up Reykjanesbraut (Route 41) to Reykjavík without a second look. That's a shame. The coast loop is about 150 km of lighthouses, steaming ground, sea stacks and fresh lava, and it fits neatly into a first afternoon or a last day before an evening flight.
The loop at a glance
Done clockwise from the airport, the route runs roughly like this:
- Airport to Garðskagi: about 15 km north on Route 45.
- Garðskagi to Hvalsnes and on to the Bridge Between Continents: about 30 km down the west coast on Routes 45, 44 and 425.
- Bridge to Reykjanesviti and Gunnuhver: about 8 km.
- Reykjanesviti to Grindavík: about 15 km on Route 425, if open.
- Grindavík to Seltún and Kleifarvatn: about 35 km east on Route 427, then north on Route 42.
- Kleifarvatn to Reykjavík: about 30 km through Hafnarfjörður.
Allow 5 to 7 hours with stops. All of it is paved except short car park spurs, so any rental car will do.
Volcano closures come first
Since late 2023 the area around Grindavík and the Sundhnúkur crater row has erupted repeatedly. Lava has crossed Grindavíkurvegur (Route 43) and the road to the Blue Lagoon more than once, and access to the town has changed many times. Before you set off, check safetravel.is for current hazard zones and road.is for closures. If the Grindavík section is shut, do the loop as two out-and-back legs: the west coast from Reykjanesbær, then Seltún and Kleifarvatn from Hafnarfjörður. Never walk onto new lava or past a closure sign. Gas from active vents collects in hollows and you can't smell the dangerous part.
The west coast
Garðskagaviti has two lighthouses, the squat old one from 1897 and a taller one from 1944, at the northern tip of the peninsula. It's a good spot for seabirds and an easy first stretch of the legs after a long flight. South from there, Hvalsneskirkja is a small stone church from 1887 standing alone above the shore. The poet Hallgrímur Pétursson served as priest here in the 17th century.
The Bridge Between Continents spans a sandy fissure between the North American and Eurasian plates. Be honest with yourself: it's a short footbridge over a gap, and the plate boundary is really a wide zone, not a line. It's still worth ten minutes because the black sand and lava around it look like nowhere else.
Reykjanesviti and Gunnuhver
This corner is the highlight. Climb Valahnúkur, the low cliff below Reykjanesviti lighthouse, and you look out at the sea stack Karl and, on a clear day, Eldey island 15 km offshore, home to one of the world's biggest gannet colonies. The wind here is often brutal, so hold car doors with both hands.
A couple of kilometres inland, Gunnuhver is a mud pool and steam vent big enough to hide the viewing platform in cloud. Stay on the boardwalk. The ground around it is boiling clay under a thin crust.
Further east on Route 425, Brimketill is a round rock pool battered by Atlantic waves, with a platform that gets sprayed in any real swell.
The Blue Lagoon sits just off this loop and needs a timed booking, often days ahead in busy months. Check access is open before you go.
Browse Blue Lagoon tickets →Krýsuvík, Seltún and Kleifarvatn
Route 427 runs east along the south coast through empty lava fields to Krýsuvík. Seltún is a geothermal field of yellow, orange and grey clay slopes with a boardwalk loop that takes 20 to 30 minutes. It smells strongly of sulphur, and you may pay a small parking fee. Just north on Route 42, Kleifarvatn is a dark, deep lake ringed by bare hills, one of the best aurora spots within reach of the capital, as covered in chasing the northern lights by car. Route 42 is narrow and has gravel stretches along the lake, so take it slowly and don't stop on the road for photos.
Charging and fuel on the loop
The loop is short enough that most EVs won't need to charge on it, but a top-up at the start removes any doubt. Near the airport, Orkan Fitjar in Reykjanesbær has some of the fastest charging in the country, and there's a Tesla Supercharger and an InstaVolt hub nearby. The Keflavík airport charging post covers all of them in detail. On the west coast, ON Power Garður is a 50 kW DC charger. The ON Power unit in Grindavík is AC only and may be behind a closure anyway. Between Reykjanesviti and Hafnarfjörður there is nothing, so leave Reykjanesbær with at least 50%. Full listings are on the Reykjanes charging map.
For petrol and diesel, fill up in Reykjanesbær. The stations there are self-service 24/7, but the south coast stretch has no pumps at all.
When to do it
The best fit is your arrival day if you land before noon, or your departure day with a late flight. You're never more than about 40 minutes from the terminal. In winter the loop works too, but with five hours of daylight in December, cut it to the west coast and Reykjanesviti and skip Route 42. If you have a full day free in Reykjavík, the Golden Circle is the other obvious drive. Reykjanes is quieter, closer, and you can do it on the way to your plane.