Charging your EV across the Ring Road: a practical 2026 guide
The N1 and ON networks have closed most of the gaps. Here's how to plan a worry-free lap of Route 1.
What's changed since the 2024 guide
Two big things. Coverage along the South coast and East Fjords is now genuinely complete — there are no segments over 100 km without a 50kW+ charger. And N1 has rolled out 150kW units at most of its larger Ring Road sites.
The remaining weak spot is the stretch between Egilsstaðir and Húsavík via the north, where several chargers are still 22 kW AC only.
Plan-your-route fundamentals
- Start at 90–95% SoC. Charging from 80→100% at home overnight is free time.
- Target 20–80% range stops, not 10–90%. Two short stops beat one long one.
- Always identify your fallback charger.
Recommended Ring Road plan, west-to-east, in winter
Reykjavík → Höfn, 80kWh+ EV:
- Borgarnes (N1) — top-up to 80%. ~70 km in.
- Vík í Mýrdal (ON) — main charge stop. 150 kW, plan 25–35 min.
- Kirkjubæjarklaustur (N1) — short top-up. 100 kW, 15 min.
- Höfn í Hornafirði — arrive 30–40% and charge overnight at accommodation.
Winter range — what to plan for
Expect 25–35% range reduction at -5°C to -10°C with snow tyres. A 500 km nominal range becomes 330–360 km. Always preheat the battery before a DC fast charge in winter.
App stack you actually need
- ON Charging — the dominant network. Bring physical RFID card as backup.
- ABetterRoutePlanner (ABRP) — best route planner.
- PlugShare — best for user-contributed status updates.
Cost reality check
A full coast-to-coast Ring Road trip in a 75 kWh EV currently costs roughly 11,000–15,000 ISK in charging fees. Compare to 35,000–45,000 ISK in fuel for an equivalent ICE crossover.
What's coming in 2027
- Tesla Supercharger v4 expansion at three Ring Road locations
- Two new 350 kW sites for the Reykjavík → Akureyri corridor
- ISAVIA-led airport-area expansion at Keflavík
By summer 2027, Iceland will likely have the best per-capita fast-charging coverage in Europe.