Follow Suitcase Monkey on a 2,000 km Iceland road trip, with rooftop camping, thundering waterfalls, geothermal baths and a final stop in Reykjavik.
Trip overview
Suitcase Monkey spent seven days driving around Iceland, covering 2,000 km mostly along Route 1, the country’s main ring road, with some off-road diversions. Waterfalls, glaciers, coastal towns and geothermal landscapes kept the scenery changing throughout.
Their jeep doubled as their bedroom, with a rooftop tent for nights at campsites. Nordic Nomads arranged the vehicle, camping setup and campsites, and supplied the customisable digital route map they followed. The creator acknowledges the company for making the video possible.
The road trip finished in Reykjavik. After returning the jeep the following day, they extended their stay with three more nights in a hotel they booked themselves.
Iceland’s changing landscapes along Route 1. · Photo by Josh Reid on Unsplash
Route & itinerary
The video follows a week-long loop, though it does not name every stop or give a complete day-by-day schedule.
- Arrival and first campsite: They adjusted to driving on the opposite side of the road from home, made an initial scenic stop and settled into the rooftop tent.
- Golden Circle: Their first full day included a geothermal area with a regularly erupting geyser, followed by Gullfoss and tomato soup at Friðheimar.
- South coast: They continued to Seljalandsfoss and stopped at Dyrhólaey to watch puffins before reaching a campsite in a remote valley.
- Glaciers and the coast: They visited part of Vatnajökull National Park and Diamond Beach, then an unnamed coastal town. Later, they walked to a waterfall described as Europe’s second most powerful.
- Day five’s geothermal stops: Hverir came first, followed by a hot-water cave featured in Game of Thrones, the naturally running hot shower at Krafla and Mývatn Nature Bath.
- Akureyri: Their first city stop brought a café visit, freshly prepared fish and a memorable seafood soup.
- Westward to Ytri Tunga: They encountered Icelandic horses along the journey and watched seals after a short beach walk at Ytri Tunga.
- Reykjavik: Their final road-trip day included the city’s landmark church, its tower views and fish and chips.
Gullfoss on the Golden Circle. · Photo by Sarah Thorenz on Unsplash
Highlights
Seljalandsfoss was an early favourite. Walking behind the waterfall gave them a different perspective on a journey already packed with falling water. Diamond Beach offered another striking contrast, with ice washed onto black volcanic sand.
The morning of day five was the creator’s favourite of the week. Hverir’s otherworldly terrain led into a sequence of geothermal stops, ending with a soak at Mývatn Nature Bath, where the water reaches up to 40 degrees.
Wildlife added quieter moments: puffins at Dyrhólaey, approachable Icelandic horses and a small group of seals at Ytri Tunga. Reykjavik provided a final change of pace, with relaxed walking and views from the church tower.
Seljalandsfoss, where they walked behind the waterfall. · Photo by Andrey Andreyev on Unsplash
Practical tips
- Book ahead for Friðheimar’s full menu: The creator advises reserving a few weeks in advance for the à la carte experience. They used the walk-up soup-only dining space instead.
- Consider wildlife timing: The video places puffins’ cliffside breeding season between May and mid-August. Their own puffin stop was Dyrhólaey.
- Check campsite cooking facilities: Their campsites had washing facilities, water and electricity, but kitchens ranged from absent to spacious.
- Match the vehicle to the route: They found the jeep’s four-wheel drive particularly helpful on the tougher roads used to reach some destinations.
- Use a flexible route plan: They relied on Nordic Nomads’ customisable digital map to choose stops. The company also offers cooking equipment and a week’s worth of camping food.
They found the roads largely easy to drive and went four whole days without seeing a traffic light.
Puffin watching at Dyrhólaey. · Photo by Yves Alarie on Unsplash
Where they stayed
During the road trip, Suitcase Monkey slept in a pop-up tent on top of their jeep. Nordic Nomads supplied sleeping bags and pillows, and the creator found the double mattress just spacious enough. Setting up the tent took around 30 seconds.
Their second campsite sat in a remote valley and had a natural cave used as a dining room. Other campsite surprises included a natural hot spring at one stop and a jacuzzi at another. The campsites are not named in the video.
After the road trip, they booked an unnamed hotel in Reykjavik for three additional nights.
Rooftop-tent camping in Iceland. · Photo by Bibhash (Polygon.Cafe) Banerjee on Unsplash
Where they ate
Friðheimar was the named dining stop on their Golden Circle drive. This family-run business grows tomatoes year-round using artificial lighting, and they enjoyed its tomato soup in the walk-up dining space.
Roadside lunches were part of their daily rhythm: they would stop, unpack the camping stove and decide where to go next.
In Akureyri, an unnamed café served excellent made-to-order fish and what they described as the best seafood soup either of them had tasted.
In Reykjavik, they tried fish and chips at an unnamed restaurant. The creator thought it might even have surpassed their last English seaside serving, while acknowledging a possible holiday bias.
Costs
The seafood soup in Akureyri cost US $20 for one bowl. The creator describes Iceland as one of Europe’s pricier countries and notes that tipping is not customary when dining there.
The video does not provide a total trip budget or specific prices for the road-trip package, fuel, campsites, hotel or attraction entry.
Our takeaway
Suitcase Monkey’s journey brings together two qualities they valued most about Iceland: remarkably varied scenery and largely straightforward driving. Rooftop camping kept them moving between waterfalls, geothermal stops and wildlife encounters, while cafés and Reykjavik offered a change of pace.
For this creator, the pleasures were both spectacular and simple: walking behind a waterfall, soaking in hot mineral water and pausing beside the road to cook lunch before the next discovery.
