Driving the East Fjords in Autumn: Road Conditions, Detours and Where to Stay

Fáskrúðsfjörður, Seyðisfjörður and the ring-road stretches between them change character fast once September arrives — here is how to plan the days.

What the autumn road actually feels like

The East Fjords are the part of Route 1 where the ring road stops being a ring and becomes a series of hairpins wrapped around fjord walls. Between Reyðarfjörður and Fáskrúðsfjörður, and again on the run from Eskifjörður to Breiðdalsvík, the road hugs the water at sea level, then climbs over a pass with no guardrail and a sheer drop. From mid-September the passes above roughly 200 metres pick up the first overnight frost, so the shaded corners stay slick well after the valley road has dried. Expect to average 60 km/h rather than 90. Check road.is and vedur.is each morning before you commit to a long leg.

Fog is the other variable. Seyðisfjörður sits at the end of a fjord reached by a 20-kilometre climb over Fjarðarheiði, and that pass clouds in without warning. The alternative is the older road via Eiðar, which adds time but stays lower. I would drive up to Seyðisfjörður in the morning, when the light is better and the ferry traffic has not yet arrived, and descend before the afternoon fog builds. Fill the tank in Egilsstaðir — the station there is the last reliable full-service stop before Breiðdalsvík, roughly 100 kilometres south.

Distances, drive times and where to break the journey

Egilsstaðir to Seyðisfjörður is about 27 kilometres and 35 minutes in good weather; double that in fog or after a frost. Egilsstaðir to Fáskrúðsfjörður is around 75 kilometres, an hour and a quarter. Fáskrúðsfjörður to Breiðdalsvík is 40 kilometres over the Breiðdalsheiði pass, or longer on the coastal road via Stöðvarfjörður, which is slower but far more forgiving in poor conditions and passes the stone collection at Stöðvarfjörður. Djúpivogur, further south, is another 80 kilometres. Most travellers underestimate these numbers because the map looks short and the speed limit looks generous.

The classic mistake is trying to do Seyðisfjörður and Djúpivogur on the same day. I would not. Split the East Fjords over two nights: one in the Egilsstaðir or Seyðisfjörður area, one in Fáskrúðsfjörður or Breiðdalsvík. That gives you a full afternoon at Hengifoss, the waterfall reached by a marked trail from Route 931 near Fljótsdalur, and still lets you reach the south coast the following evening without driving the passes in the dark. September daylight is still generous — around 13 hours at the start of the month, closer to 11 by the end. By mid-October you are down to nine and the passes start closing.

Fuel, food and the rhythm of a small-town evening

Services thin out quickly east of Egilsstaðir. There is a fuel pump at Reyðarfjörður and another at Fáskrúðsfjörður, but opening hours shorten after the summer and some smaller pumps are card-only. Cafés in Djúpivogur and Breiðdalsvík often close by late afternoon in the shoulder season. Plan lunch rather than dinner as your main hot meal, and carry something for the evening. Egilsstaðir has the only real supermarket concentration in the region — a Bónus and a Netto — so stock up there before heading east or south.

Accommodation in autumn falls broadly into three bands. Guesthouses and farm stays in the 15,000–25,000 ISK range per night for a double are plentiful and often the best value; mid-range country hotels with a restaurant run higher; and the handful of larger properties in Egilsstaðir sit at the top. My pick for a two-night East Fjords stop is a guesthouse in Fáskrúðsfjörður or Reyðarfjörður, walking distance from the water, with breakfast included — you get the fjord light without paying for facilities you will not use when you are on the road by eight. Book two to three weeks ahead in September; October is quieter but some places close for the season, so confirm before you rely on a listing.

What to skip, and the months that work best

Skip the temptation to detour to Kárahnjúkar in wet autumn weather. The access road is gravel, the site is remote, and the dam is an engineering visit rather than a scenic one. Skip, too, the unsealed shortcuts some maps suggest between fjords — they are not maintained to the same standard and a rental car's insurance rarely covers gravel damage without an extra. If you want a short walk, the path at Fáskrúðsfjörður along the old French hospital and the fjord shore is flat, signed and takes under an hour.

The best window is the first three weeks of September: the passes are usually still open, the birches above Seyðisfjörður turn gold, and daylight is long enough to absorb a delay. Late September and early October are quieter and cheaper but carry real risk of a pass closing for a day, which can turn a two-hour drive into a four-hour one via the coast. November is not the month for this road. If you are building an Iceland itinerary, book the East Fjords as a two-night block in the first half of September and treat the driving as the main event rather than something between stops.

Questions, answered

Do I need a four-wheel-drive car for the East Fjords in autumn?

Not for Route 1 itself, which is paved throughout. A four-wheel-drive helps on gravel access roads and in early snow on the passes, but a normal car with winter-rated tyres is fine if you stick to the ring road and check conditions daily.

How early should I book accommodation in the East Fjords for September?

Two to three weeks ahead is usually sufficient for guesthouses in Fáskrúðsfjörður, Reyðarfjörður and Egilsstaðir, though the smallest farm stays fill sooner. In October, confirm directly that a property is still open — several close after the summer season.

What should I check before driving from Egilsstaðir to Seyðisfjörður?

Check road.is and vedur.is for the Fjarðarheiði pass, and ask at your accommodation about the lower route via Eiðar. The pass can be fogged in or icy while Egilsstaðir itself is clear, so conditions at the pass matter more than the forecast for town.

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