East Iceland is where Route 1 stops being busy. Between Höfn and Egilsstaðir the road threads screes, rounds fjord after fjord and slips through two tunnels, with mountain passes hanging above it that shut before anything else on the Ring Road. The scenery is the best on the circuit. The margin for error is smaller than it looks.
Roads and 24-hour weather for this region only. Wind is what closes Icelandic roads — read the gust figure, not the average.
Sources: Vegagerðin via umferdin.is and Veðurstofa Íslands via vedur.is. Nationwide picture on our live conditions dashboard. Road line 1777, emergency 112.
Leaving Höfn, Route 1 runs through the short Almannaskarð tunnel and out along the coast under two scree slopes, Hvalnesskriður and Þvottárskriður, with Eystrahorn above and the sea just below the verge. It rounds Álftafjörður and Hamarsfjörður to Djúpivogur, then traces Berufjörður to Breiðdalsvík.
North of Breiðdalsvík the Ring Road stays on the coast: Stöðvarfjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, then the Fáskrúðsfjörður tunnel of just under six kilometres into Reyðarfjörður, and up Fagridalur to Egilsstaðir. Route 1 no longer crosses Breiðdalsheiði — that inland line is now Route 95, and it is a summer road.
Egilsstaðir is the hub, with the region's airport, its largest supermarkets, the widest choice of rooms, and the junction for Route 93 over Fjarðarheiði to Seyðisfjörður; the tunnel road to Eskifjörður and Neskaupstaður leaves the Ring Road at Reyðarfjörður. Almost every problem in the region is solved by reaching Egilsstaðir.
Seyðisfjörður is the exception that catches people out: it sits behind Fjarðarheiði, a pass topping out around 620 metres, and the weekly car ferry from Denmark via the Faroe Islands docks there. Ferry days push a pulse of laden vehicles over the road at its worst.
The coastal Route 1 through the fjords is a priority road, cleared and salted through winter. The passes above it are a different service class and fail in a predictable order.
| Road | Connects | Approx. high point | Winter behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fagridalur (Route 1) | Reyðarfjörður – Egilsstaðir | around 350 m | Priority clearing; shuts only in real storms |
| Fjarðarheiði (93) | Egilsstaðir – Seyðisfjörður | around 620 m | Ploughed daily, but closes often and at short notice |
| Öxi (939) | Berufjörður – Skriðdalur | around 530 m | Gated for most of the winter |
| Breiðdalsheiði (95) | Breiðdalur – Skriðdalur | around 470 m | Gated for most of the winter |
| Oddsskarð (old 92) | Eskifjörður – Neskaupstaður | around 630 m | Closed in winter; the tunnel below carries traffic |
| Route 1 west of Egilsstaðir | Egilsstaðir – Mývatn | a little over 600 m | Highest ground on the whole Ring Road; frequent closures |
Öxi and Breiðdalsheiði go first, usually with the first sustained autumn snow, and a mapping app will still happily route you over them. Mjóifjörður (Route 953) is a narrow gravel switchback shut all winter. Fjarðarheiði matters most: a ferry, a town and a whole community sit behind it. Check official status on the day, not a route planner — our road conditions page explains the road authority's colour codes.
Note the last row: the exposed plateau between Egilsstaðir and Möðrudalur is not in the East Fjords, but it is the road out, and it closes more often than anything in the fjords.
Distances are modest, but the road bends round every inlet and you will keep stopping. In dry summer conditions, allow roughly:
Höfn to Egilsstaðir is about three and a half hours of pure driving — a comfortable full day in practice. In winter, add half again and assume the passes are out. Öxi cuts around 60 km off the run north when open, but it is steep and largely gravel — no place for a caravan or a low car. The full East Fjords route guide covers which stops are worth making.
Iceland's wild reindeer live only in the east, and in winter they come down and graze the cleared, salted verges of Route 1. They move in groups: if one crosses, slow to a crawl and expect three more. Dawn and dusk are worst, which in December means most of the driving day. A strike is expensive and sits awkwardly with standard cover — read our note on rental insurance and what it excludes first.
Sea fog is the second signature hazard. It fills the fjords from the mouth inwards and can sit at head height while Egilsstaðir, twenty minutes over Fagridalur, is in clear sun. Drop your speed, use dipped beams, and treat the blind inside of every hairpin as occupied.
Wind arrives down the fjord valleys in gusts, not a steady blow. Open the door with your hand on the frame — doors bent back by gusts are among Iceland's most common self-inflicted damages, and among the least covered. South of Djúpivogur, rockfall after heavy rain or freeze-thaw puts debris on the scree-section carriageway, and prolonged rain brings landslide risk; Seyðisfjörður has been evacuated for exactly that. Add unlit single-lane bridges and shaded tarmac that sees no sun in midwinter: this road punishes speed, not ordinary cars.
Every village on the route has fuel — Höfn, Djúpivogur, Breiðdalsvík, Stöðvarfjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, Reyðarfjörður, Eskifjörður, Neskaupstaður, Egilsstaðir and Seyðisfjörður — but many pumps are unmanned and card-only, so carry a card with a PIN you know. Two gaps deserve respect: nothing between Höfn and Djúpivogur, and nothing dependable between Egilsstaðir and Mývatn. Fill at Höfn and fill at Egilsstaðir, whatever the gauge says.
Beds are thinner than the map suggests. Egilsstaðir has the most rooms and fallbacks; Höfn anchors the southern end and is the sensible place to break the drive, with the choices in our Höfn accommodation guide. Village stock is small and sells out in midsummer and around ferry arrivals — book the East Fjords nights before anything else on the ring.
Several links have no alternative when they shut. Fagridalur is the only road between Reyðarfjörður and Egilsstaðir; Fjarðarheiði the only road to Seyðisfjörður; if the coast closes south of Djúpivogur there is no inland way back to Höfn. Detouring is usually not an option — waiting is. Call 1777 for the road administration's information line, 112 in an emergency, and treat a closure as a night where you are rather than a puzzle to solve. Egilsstaðir airport is a genuine way out if the weather sets in for days.
December to February means closed passes and short legs between towns, with four to five hours of usable light around midwinter. Winter tyres are required roughly November to April and rentals come fitted with them; the driving is manageable, the planning is what changes. Build days you can abandon halfway.
March and April bring freeze-thaw, frost heave and potholes on the coastal sections, and the first tentative reopening of Öxi and Breiðdalsheiði, usually late in the season. May and June are the best of it — long light, everything paved open, and the road out to Borgarfjörður eystri worth the extra half-day. Highland F-roads inland from Egilsstaðir open mid-June to early July and need a 4x4 and the right permissions.
July and August bring fog and the fullest guesthouses. September and October are the quiet reward: reindeer rut and move unpredictably, the first snow settles on the passes while the coast stays clear, and you will have Berufjörður largely to yourself.
Öxi (Route 939) and Breiðdalsheiði (Route 95) shut earliest and stay shut longest — both are seasonal roads. Fjarðarheiði to Seyðisfjörður is cleared daily but closes often with little warning. The coastal Route 1 is the last to go.
In summer, yes — it saves around 60 km and roughly 40 minutes. It is steep, mostly gravel and exposed — a poor choice in wind, fog or with a large vehicle — and some rental agreements treat it differently from paved roads. Check your terms first.
There is no alternative road to Seyðisfjörður. The only reliable answer is crossing the day before and staying in town. If you are stuck in Egilsstaðir, wait for the plough and contact the ferry operator directly.
In winter, likely enough to drive for it. Herds graze the cleared verges between Höfn and Egilsstaðir and the valleys inland. They travel in groups — one animal on the tarmac means more are coming.
Not for Route 1, which is paved throughout the region — a 2WD on proper winter tyres handles it. A 4x4 with clearance earns its keep on the gravel side roads — Öxi, Mjóifjörður, the old Vattarnes coast road — and on any highland track inland.