Reykjavík → Dettifoss

To Europe's most powerful waterfall in Northeast Iceland. · approx. 514 km514 km319 mi

Looks good

To Europe's most powerful waterfall in Northeast Iceland. Weather readings for this area look good today. (No live road-surface data for this area - based on current weather only.) (Low confidence - limited live data.) Always check road.is and vedur.is, and call 1777 if in doubt.

No live road-surface reports for this area - score reflects weather only
Freezing (-3 °C) - black-ice risk

Our assessment based on official data from road.is and vedur.is.

Our assessment based on current conditions. Always verify with road.is and vedur.is.

Best time to leave

Forecast weather along the route for each departure hour. This is a weather forecast, not a road-condition forecast.

Calmest windows: leave 10:00-13:00 or 19:00 today to 08:00 tomorrow.

Leaving 09:00 meets snow or precipitation at 0 °C or below near Bífröst.
Leaving 14:00-18:00 meets snow or precipitation at 0 °C or below near Bífröst.

Today

Leave 09:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 17 m/s near Mosfellsbær, snow or freezing precipitation near Bífröst.
Leave 10:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 14 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 11:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 12 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 12:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 13 m/s near Akureyri.
Leave 13:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 14 m/s near Akureyri, wind up to 10 m/s near Akureyri.
Leave 14:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 14 m/s near Akureyri, wind up to 11 m/s near Akureyri, snow or freezing precipitation near Bífröst.
Leave 15:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 14 m/s near Akureyri, wind up to 11 m/s near Akureyri, snow or freezing precipitation near Bífröst.
Leave 16:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 14 m/s near Akureyri, wind up to 10 m/s near Akureyri, snow or freezing precipitation near Holtavörðuheiði.
Leave 17:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 13 m/s near Akureyri, snow or freezing precipitation about 15 km from Blönduós.
Leave 18:00 today: Unsettled. Gusts up to 10 m/s near Akureyri, snow or freezing precipitation about 15 km from Blönduós.
Leave 19:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 10 m/s near Akureyri.
Leave 20:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 10 m/s near Akureyri.
Leave 21:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Varmahlíð.
Leave 22:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Holtavörðuheiði.
Leave 23:00 today: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Holtavörðuheiði.

Tomorrow

Leave 00:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Varmahlíð.
Leave 01:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Varmahlíð.
Leave 02:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Varmahlíð.
Leave 03:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 04:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 9 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 05:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 10 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 06:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 10 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 07:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Mosfellsbær.
Leave 08:00 tomorrow: Calmer, in the calmest window. Gusts up to 8 m/s near Mosfellsbær.

The big number is the strongest gust (m/skm/hmph) forecast on the way. Outlined hours are the calmest window.

Calmer: wind under 10 m/s all the way, no snow or freezing precipitation
Unsettled: wind 10-15 m/s, or snow or precipitation at 0 °C or below
Windy: wind 15-20 m/s, or gusts of 25 m/s or more
Very windy: wind 20 m/s or more, or 15+ with gusts of 30+
Not rated: part of the route has no forecast for those hours

Forecast weather along the route from Open-Meteo, not road conditions. Check live road status before you leave. Live closures and road reports only describe right now. Timings assume 6h 52m to 8h 27m of driving without long stops; times are Iceland time (UTC+0). Worked out Oct 22, 08:28 UTC from a forecast fetched within the hour before that.

Route

514 km514 km320 mi6h 52m

Toll on this route

This drive uses the Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel, which charges a toll. Rental insurance does not cover it. Prices and how to pay →

Weather at Dettifoss

Temperature-3°C-3°C26°F

Wind3.5 m/s12.5 km/h7.7 mph (gusts 5 m/s18 km/h11 mph)

Forecast next 8h

8:00-1°C-1°C29°F4 m/s14 km/h9 mph

9:00-2°C-2°C29°F2 m/s9 km/h5 mph

10:00-2°C-2°C29°F4 m/s14 km/h9 mph

11:00-1°C-1°C31°F4 m/s15 km/h10 mph

12:000°C0°C32°F6 m/s21 km/h13 mph

13:001°C1°C33°F5 m/s18 km/h11 mph

14:001°C1°C34°F4 m/s14 km/h9 mph

15:001°C1°C34°F3 m/s11 km/h7 mph

Plan this route

Open in interactive planner →Dettifossdestination page →Live traffic: Capital Region→

Road segment data is being refined for this route.

Check conditions in the interactive planner →

Driving an EV?

42 fast chargers (50 kW+) listed along this route. Longest stretch without one: 130 km.

Chargers, the longest gap and cold-weather range

Longest stretch without a listed fast charger: 130 km, Akureyri to Dettifoss.

OpenStreetMap also lists 4 charging places with no socket details in this stretch. Some may be fast; check the operator's app before relying on one.

DC chargers along the way

km 0
Seltjarnarnes
- N1 · 150 kW
- Ísorka · 130 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 50 kW
- Orkan · 400 kW
km 3-9
Kópavogur
- Orkan · 400 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 150 kW
- Orkan · 350 kW
- Tesla · 120 kW · 1.6 km off route
- Ísorka · 60 kW
- Olís · 130 kW
- Tesla · 250 kW · 2.0 km off route
- N1 · 150 kW · 2.8 km off route
- N1 · 80 kW · 2.8 km off route
- Tesla · 250 kW · 2.3 km off route
- Orkan · 350 kW · 2.5 km off route
- eONE · 120 kW · 2.9 km off route
- eONE · 60 kW · 2.9 km off route
- eONE · 150 kW
- N1 · 240 kW
- Ísorka · DC, power not listed · 1.4 km off route
- Orkan · 400 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 150 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 50 kW
- eONE · 180 kW · 1.1 km off route
- Ísorka · 225 kW · 2.7 km off route
- Bílabúð Benna / Orka Náttúrunnar · 350 kW
km 16
Mosfellsbær
- N1 · 200 kW
- Atlantsolía · 260 kW
km 74
Borgarnes
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 240 kW
- Nettó · DC, power not listed
- N1 · 150 kW
km 94
Varmaland
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 225 kW
km 163
Borðeyri
- N1 · 150 kW
- Tesla · 250 kW
km 206
Lækjamót
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 150 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 225 kW
km 288
Varmahlíð
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 100 kW
km 379-384
Akureyri
- Tesla · 250 kW
- Atlantsolía · 240 kW
- Orkan · 400 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · DC, power not listed
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 50 kW
- ON (Orka náttúrunnar) · 150 kW
- Tesla · 250 kW
- Ísorka · 75 kW · 1.7 km off route

Cold-weather range

Expect roughly 20-40% less range in freezing weather, and more in severe cold. Heating, winter tyres and cold batteries all cost range.

Your car's rated (WLTP) range

Coldest reading on this route: -3°C-3°C26°F (current readings along the route and the 8-hour forecast at the destination). Between -5 and +10 °C, plan on roughly 70-90% of the rated range. This is a wide band drawn from studies of many cars, not a prediction for yours.

Where these figures come from

Recurrent, winter range study (Nov 2025): 30,000+ cars kept 78% of range on average at 0 °C (best model 88%, worst 69%), about 70% at -7 °C.
NAF, winter planning advice: Plan for 25% shorter range in winter.
NAF El Prix winter 2026: At -7 to -32 °C, cars averaged 38% below their WLTP range (best 29%, worst 46%).
AAA, cold-weather range test (2019): At -7 °C with the heater on, average range fell 41% in a lab test of five cars.

Charger data from OpenStreetMap (snapshot 2026-10-02), may be out of date; check the operator's app for availability. Listed means a DC socket within about 3 km of the route; 50 kW+ counts as fast only when OpenStreetMap lists the power. Strong headwinds and heavy loads reduce range further. All fast chargers in Iceland · © OpenStreetMap contributors

About this route

To Europe's most powerful waterfall in Northeast Iceland.Driving conditions on this route are updated every 15 minutes from the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin). Weather data comes from the Icelandic Met Office (Vedur.is) and Open-Meteo. In winter (roughly November–April), expect ice, snow, and far shorter daylight hours than shown here in summer - the live conditions above already reflect today's actual state, but budget extra time and check again close to departure.