Visiting Iceland was a travel dream come true for me, and as soon as my friend and I had bought our plane tickets, we started looking into planning the logistics of the trip. Which places did we want to see? How would we get there? And where would we stay? It quickly became clear that the places we were most excited about were quite far from one another: The Golden Circle with its geysers and breathtaking waterfalls, the extraordinary Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in the south, the fjords on the east coast, the lava fields in the north, and Snæfellsnes peninsula with its active volcano in the west of the country.
Once we started researching the practicalities, we quickly came to realize that the best way to see Iceland would be by car.
So why is road tripping the best way to see Iceland? Let me explain:
1 The Ring Road
The Ring Road is a 828 mile (1332 km) long road that encircles the entire island, and driving it is the most convenient way to see as much of Iceland as possible. Not only does the Ring Road go around the entire country, but it also lets you see all of the things that you’d want to see on a trip to Iceland: geysers, glaciers, volcanoes, fjords, waterfalls, lava fields, Icelandic horses, hot springs, and of course, the dramatic landscapes Iceland is famous for.
You can drive the entire circle of the Ring Road in seven days, but ideally you should allow yourself ten days to be able to include detours to the Golden Circle (a 190 miles/300 km route off of the Ring Road that is famous for its massive waterfalls, geyser fields and Kerið volcanic crater) and Snæfellsnes peninsula in Western Iceland.
We ran out of time for the latter because we only had eight days, and we also didn’t have time for a glacier hike or for a whale watching boat trip which I would’ve liked to do in Husavik, the main whale watching spot.
2 The Journey is the Destination
“It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey to get there.” There couldn’t be a more fitting quote for Iceland, where it is impossible to get bored on a road trip. The scenery is utterly fascinating, not matter where you are, and it changes so frequently that it often feels like you’re on a different island altogether.
We were so grateful that having the car allowed us to stop wherever we wanted – and we must have pulled over at least half a dozen times every single day, just to snap some pictures. This freedom alone was worth every single penny we spent on the car rental. In addition, it also enabled us to change our route on a whim whenever we felt like it. While we had a rough route mapped out, we ended up adding a few additional places to our journey, something we were only able to do because we had the car. Car rentals in Iceland are very reasonable, by the way – at EasyTerra Car Rental, a small car starts at €30 per day, and a medium-size car around €40 per day, including excess cover and unlimited mileage.
3 Traveling Iceland Without a Car is Not Easy
The most important reason why we opted to rent a car was that it turned out traveling around Iceland without a car is quite difficult. Yes, there is public transportation, but the buses that connect the towns around the island don’t run very often, so you always have to plan around the bus schedule, and sometimes there are only two buses a day. If you only have one week to explore Iceland, you don’t want to waste your time waiting for the bus.
Another option would have been to join an organized tour, but that would have taken away from the flexibility of stopping wherever we wanted to, as mentioned in #2. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on the chance to stop whenever we felt like it, including scenic lunches and an impromptu beach stop in search of puffins (which sadly, we didn’t see).
An organized tour is great because you don’t have to plan anything and you know everything is taken care of, but it doesn’t give you the chance for these spontaneous stops. Even when we drove the Golden Circle, a route that most visitors do as an organized day trip from Reykjavik, we added a couple of extra stops, and not only that – we were also able to start at what is the last stop for the tour groups, which means we avoided big crowds completely.
Tips for Driving in Iceland
If you’re still unsure about driving in Iceland, take these things into consideration:
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- Write down all of the places you’d like to see while in Iceland and how much it will cost you to get to each one with an organized tour. You’ll quickly realize that the cost of a rental car is actually not more expensive than a tour.
- Driving in Iceland is easy in the summer months, but it can be challenging in the winter months. The roads only have two lanes (one in each direction) but the traffic is not bad – especially if you go during shoulder season.
- I shared my tips for driving in Iceland in this article, including thoughts on 4WD vs. a regular car, the best app to use, GPS and maps, and other things you should know.
- There are plenty of car rental companies in Iceland, for example EasyTerra, but make sure to book your rental car in advance, because during high season, car rental companies have run out of cars in recent years, and you don’t want to be left stranded without a vehicle.
Depending on how much time you have left, I recommend driving further north to the fishing town of Ullapool and the little village of Lochinver, with its white-sand beaches. Otherwise drive straight east towards Fort Augustus, which is the perfect base to explore Loch Ness. Drive along the Loch to the quaint town of Inverness and take the scenic route via Pitlochry to Edinburgh, and you will see most of the iconic Scottish landmarks like the Lochs, Whiskey distilleries and Highland cows.
However, you shouldn’t let a few tourists keep you from experiencing one of Europe’s most treasured holiday destinations. With just a few clever tricks, I promise that you’ll be able to get the most out of your Algarve holiday without getting trampled on by stampedes of holiday-goers.
To avoid the crowds, I recommend avoiding the big hotels that occupy the central Algarve. Yes, the amazing hospitality, swimming pools and affordable hotel bills are very tempting. But that means everyone else will book too! For more privacy, I suggest booking your own villa or apartment. Many of these private holiday homes have their own swimming pools meaning you won’t have to share with other tourists, plus you can avoid the hectic morning buffets in favour of exploring the local food markets and attempting to make some Portuguese dishes yourself.
For a taste of the best, the Michelin-starred 
Like the day before, we traversed vineyards and fields, huffing and puffing as we climbed the hills. On this part of the Via, we also passed an open-air chapel, a reminder that we weren’t just on a random hike through the countryside, but on a pilgrimage.
We entered another stunning medieval town through one of several massive stone gates, hundreds of years old, and rested at the town square for a while, watching another flag-twirling performance, before we explored Orte’s well-preserved ‘underground’.
Because the town sits on top of a cliff, the Romans built many tunnels, caverns and cisterns underneath the city, some of which can be visited with a tour guide.
Orte is not just worth a visit for its underground relics though – the town itself is stunning. Just like with medieval churches, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of wandering through medieval towns, marvel at the imposing stone buildings, follow the narrow lanes to see where they lead me, and imagining what life must have been like here in medieval times. It seems like not much has changed since then, at least on the outside.
Only five miles south of Orte, we passed through Vasanello, another quaint medieval town with a small castle and a beautiful 13th century Romanesque bell tower, which was built with stones that were taken from the Via Amerina.
Another highlight of the Via was the leg between Morticelli, where we passed a small necropolis, the Necropoli di Morticelli, where tombs have been carved into the tuff, and Corchiano, where we traversed the Forre di Corchiano, a narrow gorge that follows the Rio Fratta.
On that stretch of the path, we passed a beautiful arched Roman Bridge which was still intact, and several caves with Byzantine graves and tombs. The scenery here is completely different from what we’d seen in Umbria.
We left the Via for a quick visit to Civita Castellana, about 4 miles (6 kilometers) east of Falerii Novi, a town also founded by the Falisci, who called it Falerii. Civita Castellana is worth a visit not only for its charming town center, but for its attractive Cathedral, also known as Il Duomo, which has some remarkable geometrical floor mosaics and which has a unique Cosmatesque façade (signed and dated in gold mosaic tiles, dating back to 1210), and Forte Sangallo, the fortress, which was built by Pope Alexander VI. The fortress houses an Etruscan Museum with a considerable collection.
After spending the night in Civita Castellana, we continued our walk southwards the next morning – 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) to the town of Nepi.
We started the day on a particularly lovely section of the route, which led us through hazelnut orchards, the ground filled with hazelnuts that were going to be used for one of Ferrero’s irresistible hazelnut chocolate creations, until we reached the ruins of the walled settlement of Falerii Novi.
Created by the Romans, the stone entrance gate of Falerii Novi is still intact, and the striking church of Santa Maria of Falerii is still in great condition next to the ruins of Falerii Novi.
This part of the road has been excavated over the past 30+ years, uncovering the original basalt rocks that were put down by the Romans to pave the road. The exposed road is so well preserved that you can even see imprints from the wagons that were rolling down the Via Amerina hundreds of years ago.
The cliffs that line the road for about 1.3 miles (2 kilometers) house 196 graves between Cavo degli Zucchi and Cava Foce Tre Ponti (also known as Necropoli dei Tre Ponti). This area is known to be inhabited by the Falisci, an ethnic group said to have been of Greek origin, who also inhabited Falerii and Falerii Novi.
Before reaching Nepi, we stopped at Castel Sant’Elia, a small town that sits on the ridge of the Suppetonia Valley, a gorge that winds between Civita Castellana and Nepi, up to 656 feet (200 meters) deep and 2,300 feet (700 meters) wide. The Basilica, a medieval church built into the cliff over an ancient temple of Diana, features several mosaics and frescoes that are worth peeking inside for.
We made our way up the mountain to the top of the cliff, where we found an old monastery, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria ad Rupes, which houses the Shrine of St Maria ‘ad Rupes’. The shrine is connected to the surface by a tunnel by 144 steps carved by hand by a local hermit, an endeavor that took him 14 years to finish.
The other unmissable sight in Nepi is the Santa Savinilla Catacombs, an underground cemetery that dates back to the 5th century. The excavated graves are exceptionally well preserved, some of them still housing the bones and skulls of the deceased.
I’ve seen a number of catacombs throughout Europe, but Santa Savinilla, albeit small, was among the most impressive underground graveyards I have been to.
I fell in love with the village the minute it came into sight: a tiny fortified settlement perched atop a stump of volcanic rock, a small castle jutting out of the stone roofs of the medieval houses, surrounded by lush green forest on all sides.
Calcata almost ended up as a ghost town when the Italian government declared the village as unsafe in the 1930s, saying the cliffs it was sitting on were crumbling. The majority of the people who lived in Calcata moved half a mile up the road, where they built a new town, Calcata Nuova, which left the village nearly deserted.
In the 60s and 70s artists and hippies discovered the little village, drawn by the mythical energy that supposedly emanates from the volcanic stump it sits on, but also by the fairy-tale like feel and the enchanting atmosphere in the village with its crooked streets and maze of cobblestone alleyways.
Today, the village is home to over 100 artists, New Age types who are selling jewelry, display their paintings and sculptures in little galleries, and run charming little tea and coffee shops. Calcata gets overrun by day trippers from Rome and other nearby towns, especially on weekends, and it is easy to see why – I could’ve wandered the little streets for hours, visiting all the tiny galleries, gorging on homemade cakes while enjoying the views over the surrounding countryside. If I were to go back to Calcata, I would stay in one of the stone houses right in town for a couple of nights, or even take up a month-long artists’ residency.
This detour left me feel invigorated, feeding me enough energy for the last part of the trek. Sadly, due to time constraints, I didn’t get to walk the entire last part from Nepi to Rome via Campagno di Roma (17km) and La Storta (20km from Campagno di Roma), with a final 12.5 mile (20 kilometers) day that eventually brings you to Rome and Piazza St Pietro (St Peter’s Square).
The entire walk is 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) and was very pleasant – I preferred walking through the park rather than following the road, especially because I knew we would be walking through the busy streets of Rome later on.
Most pilgrims plan their arrival in Rome for a Tuesday so that they can attend the papal audience that is held in St Peter’s Square every Wednesday. Even as a non-religious person, I couldn’t deny the special aura in the square, filled with thousands of pilgrims from all over the world who were listening to the Pope’s speech and receiving his apostolic blessing.
No matter if you are Catholic or not, ending a walk through Italy at the papal audience makes it feel even more extraordinary: you have done something that only very few people do. Going to Rome? Easy. But walking to Rome? An exceptional achievement.
I wandered the streets of Trastevere, my favorite neighborhood, and revisited the majestic landmarks of the city that made such an impression on me when I came to Rome for the first time, back when I was a teenager – the Collosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum and the Fontana di Trevi.
If you walk the Via Amerina or another pilgrims’ route and this is your first time in Rome, I recommend taking a rest day and then spending a few days exploring the city. Even though the walk is a journey in itself, your final destination is too sensational to be left out.
I could have spent another week in Rome, but sadly I was pressed for time. I threw a coin over my left shoulder at Trevi Fountain though, the one thing I’ve done on all my visits to Rome, because legend says that throwing a coin over your shoulder into the fountain guarantees a return to Rome.
So far, it’s worked for me – I’ll be back.
Several pilgrims’ trails start or pass through Assisi, inspired by the life and the travels of St Francis – most famously the St Francis Way, a 340 miles (550km) pilgrimage from Florence through Assisi to Rome through Central Italy, visiting key sites from the saint’s life.
The Via Amerina may include several spiritual sites, like churches and monasteries, but of course you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the walk through the Italian countryside. Just like on the Camino De Santiago, Spain’s famous pilgrim’s route, you find people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds, and everyone is walking for a different reason. Some are at a crossroads in their life, looking for a sign of which way to take. Some are walking to process a dramatic event in their lives. Some are walking to focus on spiritual virtues, of course, and others walk simply because they enjoy walking.
Whatever the reason, the one thing we all share is the journey. The dirt roads across the Umbrian hills, the paths along the vineyards, where vines heavy with ripe grapes are waiting to be harvested. The walk along deserted country roads, through grain fields, and through little Italian villages that barely get any tourists, save the few pilgrims that walk this ancient trail.
The trail also has a connection to other European roads: the Via Francigena meets the Via Amerina just outside of Rome, combining the two ancient routes on their last miles to the Vatican.
And there are many more than just these two medieval roads – there’s a number of Roman roads that lead to Rome, all of which were important trading routes in Roman and medieval times, connecting major religious and commercial hubs, like Rome with Jerusalem. Five routes that are particularly noteworthy in Italy are the Way of St Francis, Benedict’s Path, the Via Lauretana, the aforementioned Via Francigena and Via Amerina, parts of which I walked.
Day after day, we got up, put on our walking shoes and faced the challenge of another long and strenuous section of the path. I was surprised that we didn’t pass any other hikers, but the Via Amerina, despite its historic significance, isn’t among the most popular multi-day walking routes in Europe. The Camino, the Pilgrim Way to Canterbury or the Via Francigena, a longer version of the Via Amerina that goes from France to Rome, are much more popular.
That’s what I loved most about this walk, getting a deeper insight into the real Italy, the country beyond landmarks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Colosseum. This walk is a spiritual journey for pilgrims, but for me, it was a cultural and culinary pilgrimage, in search of authentic dishes of Umbria and Latium, the regions I traversed, and in search of cultural treasures that are overlooked by most guide books.
The total distance between Rome and the town of Amelia, after which the route was named (Amelia was known as Ameria in Roman times) was 59 miles (95 kilometers).
Just north of Amelia, the Via converges with two other ancient routes, the Via Flaminia, which continues to the Adriatic Coast, and the Via Cassia. Eventually, the Via Flaminia was extended all the way to Rome, and with a better surface, it led to the decline of the Via Amerina, which was consequently less used.
However, the Via is now seeing a revival, and is becoming increasingly popular again with hikers and cyclists. And you don’t have to walk the entire length of it, you could also base yourself in Amelia or Civita Castellana or another town along the route, and walk sections of it.
But before I tell you the practical aspects on how you can walk the Via Amerina yourself, I wanted to share some of my personal highlights along the way.
While we received our pilgrims’ passes in Assisi, the actual start of the walk for us was Castel dell’Aquila, where we left the old town through the remarkable medieval Porta Amerina and started our walk south, towards Rome.
I love that all the medieval towns still have traditional contrade groups – a contrada is a district, or a ward, within an Italian city – and during medieval festivals which are usually held in the summer, members of the various contrade dress in ceremonial garb and parade through the cities.
Like most Baroque churches in Italy, Amelia’s cathedral was impressive, with intricate paintings and lots of gold. I may not be religious, but I do have an appreciation for elaborate churches that are hundreds of years old – and I never tired of walking into another house of worship on our way to Rome.
Amelia was so delightful that I could have easily spent another day here, but the Via called, and so we marched onward instead, to Orte, around 10 miles (17 kilometers) south of Amelia.
The past couple of weeks have been absolutely frantic – I’ve been to Leipzig and Frankfurt and I am on my way to Berlin as I am writing this.
Here are the top 5 picks to plan your next escape from London:
