Where to Stay on Iceland's Ring Road: Best Hotels & Guesthouses from Reykjavík to Höfn
South Coast waterfalls, glacier lagoons, and langoustine in Höfn — here's where to sleep between all of it
Diamond Beach wonders
Planning a Ring Road self-drive is one of those trips that feels straightforward on paper — one road, loop it, done — until you actually try to figure out where to sleep. Iceland's Route 1 runs 1,332 km around the entire island, and even the South Coast stretch alone — from Reykjavík east to Höfn, covering the waterfalls, the glaciers, and Jökulsárlón — takes the better part of a week if you're doing it properly (and as it deserves).
This guide covers exactly that section. We've organized it by driving segment, because when you're planning a road trip, what you actually need to know is where to sleep after each day's drive. One rule before we start: book the glacier lagoon area first. Before Vík, before Reykjavík, before anything. Fewest options, highest demand, fastest sellout. If you read nothing else, remember that.
All properties here are bookable via Booking.com. Several also appear in our dedicated northern lights hotels in Iceland guide — we've flagged those below, since this stretch of the South Coast is excellent aurora territory in winter.
Find a place to stay and things to do in Iceland
Hotels near Reykjavík — starting your Ring Road right
Most Ring Road trips begin with a night in Reykjavík before picking up the rental car and heading east. We won't go deep on city hotels here, but two options just outside the capital are worth knowing — especially if you're traveling in northern lights season and want to ease into the Iceland experience before the driving begins in earnest.
Frost and Fire Boutique Hotel, Hveragerði – Geothermal calm before the road trip begins
About an hour east of Reykjavík on a geothermal river, Frost and Fire offers outdoor hot tubs that steam alongside the water and dark enough skies to catch the aurora from the pool in winter. It's a genuinely atmospheric first-night option — a better start to an Iceland trip than most city hotels, and it already puts you 60 km east on the Ring Road. And, if you have time, you can walk to Reykjaladur and enjoy hot springs in the wild!
👉 Book Frost and Fire Boutique Hotel here
ION Adventure Hotel, Nesjavellir – Modern design on a lava ridge
Perched near Þingvellir National Park with an outdoor geothermal pool and one of the most architecturally striking designs of any hotel on this route, ION is slightly off the Ring Road but worth the detour if the budget… and itinerary… stretches. Wide open skies and warm interiors — perfect for northern lights watching between cocktails. Also featured in our northern lights hotels guide.
👉 Book ION Adventure Hotel here
Zoom out to find a hotel near Reykjavík
Find activities in Reykjavík and around
Hotels near Hella and Seljalandsfoss — South Iceland's aurora corridor
Our Aurora Igloo!
The area around Hella, roughly 100 km east of Reykjavík, makes a natural first overnight stop on the Ring Road proper. You're within easy reach of both Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, the landscape is flat and open with low light pollution, and the accommodation options here are genuinely some of the best on the entire South Coast — particularly if you're visiting in winter.
Hotel Rangá, Hella – The classic South Iceland aurora lodge
Beloved by photographers and aurora hunters alike, Hotel Rangá sits in remote countryside near Hella with minimal light pollution, geothermal hot tubs, and its own on-site observatory complete with telescopes. Staff offer aurora wake-up calls when the forecast looks promising — and the forecast regularly delivers. It's been drawing people for years and deserves every bit of the reputation. We include it as a top pick in our northern lights hotels guide. Book well ahead; it fills fast.
Aurora Igloo South, Hella – The magic of sleeping under the sky
Transparent dome pods on a former horse breeding farm near Hella, where you choose between standard igloos with shared facilities or private pods with en-suite bathrooms, heated floors, and a small kitchen setup. The bed faces skyward, the landscape around Hella keeps light pollution low, and if the aurora shows up you're already in position. We visited and wrote about it — the full picture is in our Aurora Igloo Review.
👉 Book Aurora Igloo South here
Camp Boutique Original, South Coast – Glamping with aurora potential
Heated canvas domes near the South Coast with solid aurora-watching potential and a more rustic, feel than the igloo experience. Good pick if you want something genuinely different from a standard hotel room without the full igloo price tag.
👉 Book Camp Boutique Original here
Boutique Hotel Anna, Hvolsvöllur – Good value and a great base
A quiet, well-run property near Hvolsvöllur with a handful of rooms in the main building and self-contained apartments on the grounds — the kitchenettes make a real difference to your food budget in Iceland (check our other tips to travel Iceland on a budget). Convenient for both the waterfalls and the Westman Islands ferry if that's on your itinerary. A solid, unpretentious choice in a stretch full of pricier options.
Penguin Trampoline tip:
Planning an Iceland road trip? Travel insurance can save you money… down the road. We use and recommend HeyMondo — great coverage, and you get 5–15% off if you book through us!
Explore hotels near Hella
Hotels in Vík — the essential Ring Road overnight
Jake beating the crowds! Vík beach is spectacular in any kind of weather
Vík is not optional. It's the only real town for a considerable stretch in either direction; it's your last reliable fuel and grocery stop before the glaciers, and Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach and Dyrhólaey (see alternatives to tourist spots in Iceland) are both places that reward early mornings or late evenings — which means staying overnight, not day-tripping from Reykjavík. Plan for two nights if your schedule allows, because the surroundings are truly spectacular. We actually included Vík beach in our favorite beaches in Europe!
Hotels here fill up faster than almost anywhere else on the Ring Road in summer. Don't learn this the hard way in May for a July trip.
Hotel Kría, Vík – Right in the heart of the village
A modern, well-run hotel right in Vík village with a restaurant on-site, clean and comfortable rooms, and the best position in town for the main sights. Reliable without being exciting — exactly what you want after a full day of driving and waterfalls, before an early start for Reynisfjara the next morning.
Black Beach Suites, Vík – Floor-to-ceiling views and independence
A few minutes outside the village, with suites that have floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Atlantic and kitchenettes for cooking your own meals. Better aurora positioning than the village center in winter, better views in summer, and the kind of independence that makes a long road trip feel less like one hotel room after another. Worth the slightly longer walk to the beach. And it’s worth mentioning that Vík recently got a sizeable grocery store (when I first visited 17 years ago, you had to load up in Selfoss), so you can absolutely make the most of the kitchen.
👉 Book Black Beach Suites here
Zoom in on the map to explore hotels and stays in Vík
Find tours around Vík
Hotels near Kirkjubæjarklaustur — between Vík and the glaciers
Most travelers push straight from Vík toward the glacier zone, but Kirkjubæjarklaustur — a small village roughly halfway between the two — is worth knowing about if you want to break the drive before a glacier hike in Skaftafell, or if accommodation near Jökulsárlón is full when you're planning. One note regardless: stock up on groceries in Vík before you leave. There are very few shops between Vík and Höfn, and arriving at a remote guesthouse with nothing to eat is a predictable problem. That being said, if you’re in a pickle (hahaha), you’ll find a couple of well-stocked gas stations.
Hotel Laki, Kirkjubæjarklaustur – Affordable, dark skies, well-placed
A family-run property just outside Kirkjubæjarklaustur with genuinely good value for Iceland, sky that's dark enough to make the most of a clear winter night, and easy access to Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park. We include it as the budget pick in our northern lights hotels guide — it's one of the better-positioned properties on this stretch for an aurora show at a price that doesn't require…. a second mortgage.
Find a hotel near Kirkjubæjarklaustur
Find a glacier hike and/or ice cave visit near Skaftafell
Hotels near Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon — book this first
We were about to go to bed at Hali Country Hotel when I had a feeling… hence the PJ pants!
We said it in the intro and we'll say it again (you’re welcome): book this segment before everything else on your trip. No large towns, limited properties, high demand year-round. And prices can be very sheep — I mean steep — even by Iceland standards. The reward for getting it right is the glacier lagoon at dusk or dawn — icebergs turned blue-white, tour buses from Reykjavík still hours away, the whole place to yourself. That's a categorically different experience from the midday version with 400 people and a food truck queue. And if it’s still too crowded for you, check out our alternatives to tourist spots in Iceland.
Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, Skaftafell – Sleek comfort in the middle of nowhere
The upscale option on this stretch, sitting between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón amid glaciers and black-sand wilderness. Smart rooms, an on-site restaurant and bar, and some rooms with a private hot tub — step outside after dinner and the aurora may be waiting above the mountains. More infrastructure than most remote Iceland hotels, which genuinely matters when the nearest alternative dinner is a long drive. Featured in our northern lights hotels guide.
👉 Book Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon here
Hali Country Hotel, Jökulsárlón – Good value 12 km from the lagoon
Hali isn't marketed as a luxury property and doesn't need to be. Thirty-five rooms, a restaurant running on farm produce, a great breakfast, and views going either toward Vatnajökull or straight out to the Atlantic. We loved it and thought it was good value for Iceland, especially considering the location and the included breakfast.
The lagoon is fifteen minutes away. There's a small cultural center on-site dedicated to Icelandic writer Þórbergur Þórðarson, who was born on this land in 1888 — the kind of detail that makes a property feel like it actually belongs to somewhere. We stayed here and caught a great aurora display from the grounds.
And after a day hiking on Vatnajökull glacier, the comfy bed was much appreciated!
👉 Book Hali Country Hotel here
Vagnsstaðir Guesthouse, southeast Iceland – Farm stay 28 km east of the lagoon
I've had a soft spot for this place for years. I stayed a couple of times at the HI hostel here a long time ago and I still remember the ambiance — breakfast with the sound of sheep outside and that particular quality of Icelandic light coming through the window. The surrounding mountains and coastline are genuinely magical, and the remoteness is the point rather than the problem. The guesthouse has since taken over from the hostel as the better option on-site, with spacious private rooms and private bathrooms — the reviews are consistently warmer. It sits right on the Ring Road, 28 km east of Jökulsárlón and 50 km west of Höfn, exactly where you need a bed in a stretch where options are thin. Horses on site, breakfast included, and glacier jeep and snowmobile tours departing from the property. Important note: no kitchen, and the nearest restaurant is 7 km away — arrive with food if you're not planning to drive.
👉 Book Vagnsstaðir Guesthouse here
Hótel Smyrlabjörg, southeast Iceland – Reliable mid-range between the lagoon and Höfn
A family-run three-star sitting roughly halfway between Jökulsárlón and Höfn, about 30 minutes east of the lagoon. A restaurant on-site, comfortable rooms, and solid mid-range quality in a segment where options are thin. Worth knowing about if the higher-demand properties closer to the lagoon are full when you're booking — and in summer, they often are.
Browse tours near Jökulsárlón
Hotels in Höfn — end of the road (or not…)
Humarsúpaaaaa!
Höfn marks the end of this guide, but it doesn’t mean that’s the end of the road for you! A quaint, small fishing town at the foot of Vatnajökull glacier (although after days in the wilderness, it will appear like a megalopolis), it's worth more than just a fuel stop. Höfn is the langoustine capital of Iceland — the shellfish comes straight off the boats docking at the harbor you can see from the restaurant windows, and Icelanders genuinely make the drive out specifically for it. Try the humarsúpa… it’s one of my favorite dishes in the whole world! It's also a smart second base in the glacier zone: splitting nights between somewhere near Jökulsárlón and Höfn gives you more time in the area without paying glacier-zone rates every night.
Hotel Höfn – Central, comfortable, and close to the harbor
The most practical option in town: no frills, solid rooms, helpful staff, and a reliable base for glacier activities and the Hoffell Hot Springs a short drive away. Nothing flashy — but after several days of remote Iceland driving, functional and well-located is exactly what you're after.
Berjaya Iceland Hotels – Harborside views in the center of town
Right by the harbor with sea views, a breakfast buffet daily, and a short walk to the langoustine restaurants Höfn is known for. Modern, clean rooms and friendly staff — rated particularly well by couples. If Hotel Höfn feels too far out of town or is full, this is the natural alternative: a reliable mid-range property with everything you need within walking distance of the harbor and Pakkhús, one of the best restaurants in the area.
👉 Book Höfn – Berjaya Iceland Hotels here
Find a hotel in Hofn
Practical tips for booking a hotel on the Ring Road South Coast
Lómagnúpur is a cool-looking mountain!
Book in this order: glacier lagoon area first, Vík second, everywhere else after. Those two segments have the worst supply-to-demand ratio on the route; everything else is comparatively easy to sort.
Summer travel (June–August): the best properties near Jökulsárlón and in Vík fill up six to nine months in advance. If you're planning a summer trip and it's already spring, open Booking.com tonight.
Winter changes everything. Some properties reduce availability or close seasonally. Roads can close without warning, especially in winter — always check road.is before driving. The upside: you're in prime aurora season on one of Iceland's darkest and most dramatic stretches. Properties like Hotel Rangá, Aurora Igloo South, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon, and Hali Country Hotel are set up for exactly that. Our northern lights hotels guide covers this in more detail.
Prioritize places with kitchens or restaurants east of Vík. Between Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Höfn especially, your hotel restaurant may be the only dinner option within reach.
Book flexible cancellation rates. Icelandic weather closes roads. A refundable booking usually costs slightly more — until the day it saves you, and then it costs exactly the right amount.
Did you know?
The stretch of Ring Road you're driving through the glacier zone has been washed away before — and it could happen again. In November 1996, a subglacial eruption beneath Vatnajökull triggered a jökulhlaup (glacial outburst flood) so violent that it released a peak flow of 45,000 m³ per second, carrying icebergs the size of houses and destroying the 880-metre bridge spanning the Skeiðará river Perlan. The Ring Road was closed, and a section of road across the Skeiðarársandur was washed away entirely — though thankfully no one was hurt, as scientists had been monitoring the volcano and closed the road in time. The bridge pillars still stand in the sand, and the road today crosses a different route.
On the pic: Us paying our respect to Vatnajökull… just in case
🧳 Plan your Iceland adventure
✈️ Find flights — fly into Keflavik for international flights.
🏨 Find a place to stay — aurora igloos, cozy cabins, and hotels we love.
🚗 Compare car rentals — explore the ring road and beyond.
🧭 Heymondo Travel Insurance (5–15% off) — protect yourself (and your camera gear) from Arctic surprises.
🧳 Arctic gear — check our travel essentials on Amazon.
🐾 Fahlo Wildlife Bracelets (20% off) — track a real Arctic animal and stay connected to the north.
FAQ: Where to stay on Iceland’s Ring Road
How many nights do I need from Reykjavík to Höfn?
A minimum of four nights covers the basics, but five to six is more realistic if you want two nights in Vík, time for glacier activities near Jökulsárlón, and a night in Höfn without feeling like you're sprinting. The South Coast rewards slowing down more than almost anywhere else in Iceland.
Should I book accommodation before I arrive in Iceland?
Yes, and well in advance. The glacier lagoon area and Vík in summer fill up months ahead. Even in shoulder season — May, September, October — the best-located properties go faster than most first-timers expect. If your dates are flexible, check availability first and build your itinerary around what's bookable, not the other way around.
What's the hardest stretch to find accommodation on the Ring Road?
The area around Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, without question. No large towns, limited properties, high demand year-round. Book this first.
Is it worth staying near Jökulsárlón rather than driving from Vík?
Significantly. The lagoon is roughly two and a half hours east of Vík, and driving that after a full sightseeing day is punishing. More importantly, Jökulsárlón at dawn or dusk — when the light is right and the day visitors haven't arrived — is a completely different place than the midday version. Stay as close as you can.
Which hotels on this route are best for the northern lights?
Hotel Rangá, Aurora Igloo South, and Camp Boutique Original near Hella; Hotel Laki near Kirkjubæjarklaustur; Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon and Hali Country Hotel in the glacier zone. All feature in our northern lights hotels in Iceland guide with more detail on aurora setups and viewing conditions.
Can I drive this stretch of the Ring Road in winter?
Yes, and it's worth it — but plan carefully. Road conditions can close routes without warning; check road.is before every drive. A 4x4 is strongly recommended between October and May. The upside: the South Coast in winter is dramatically quieter, the glacier lagoon is at its most dramatic, and you're in prime northern lights territory the entire way. Check our Iceland winter guide for more.
Here is a playlist for your Iceland road trip:
Ok, it’s hard, but the South Coast of Iceland can disappoint you if you do it wrong — which usually means rushing it, staying in Reykjavík, and day-tripping past the waterfalls in a convoy of rental cars and tour buses. Do it right, and it's the kind of trip you're still describing to people years later. Staying overnight in Vík means you get Vík beach to yourself at 7am. Staying near Jökulsárlón means you get the lagoon in winter light, icebergs reflecting the sky, possibly with the aurora overhead. Getting the accommodation right isn't a logistical detail — it's the difference between seeing Iceland and actually being in it.
Plan your car rental early too: compare Iceland rental options here — securing your vehicle at the same time as your accommodation is one less thing to stress about later.
Planning a trip to Iceland? Check out our guides:
🌋 Iceland Travel Guide — Volcanoes, waterfalls, and the road trip of your geothermal dreams.
💸 How to Travel Iceland on a Budget — Iceland is expensive. Here's how to make it significantly less so.
🇮🇸 Things to Do in Iceland in Winter — Ice caves, auroras, and all the frozen magic you didn’t know you needed.
💚 Northern Lights in Iceland — Is it a good destination for the aurora, and things nobody tells you.
🏨 Best Northern Lights Hotels in Iceland — Cozy cabins, glass igloos, and wild skies where the aurora dances right above your bed.
🤫 Iceland Without the Crowds— Quieter alternatives to the main tourist spots.
🌈 Free and cheap things to do in Reykjavík — Walking tours, sightseeing, geothermal pools, nature… the list is longer than you think.
🐴 Horseback riding in Iceland — Learn about the horse culture in Iceland and our experience near Reykjavik.
🔥 Lava Show in Reykjavík — Watch lava melt and solidify right in front of you.
♨️ Hvammsvík Hot Springs, Hvalfjörður — Eight geothermal pools cut into the North Atlantic coast and a Viking settlement older than Iceland's parliament.
🛖 Aurora Igloo South, Hella — Transparent dome pods, a heated bed, and a South Iceland sky that delivers with or without the aurora.
🧊 Glacier Hike & Ice Cave in Iceland — Crampons, blue ice, and a natural cave under Europe's largest glacier that you'll be describing to people for years.
🛁 Brekka Retreat, Hvalfjörður — Private sauna, geothermal hot tub & northern lights over Iceland's most underrated fjord.
