The Ultimate Guide to Iceland
THE BIG TRIP
The
Ultimate Guide to Iceland
It has ancient glaciers, explosive geysers, hot springs and, with a bit of luck, the northern lights. We plot the perfect action-packed week
Iceland is where nature lets loose and has a party. Glaciers spill down from icecaps, lava fields belch sulphuric spirals of steam, volcanoes growl deep beneath the earth’s crust and the northern lights dance over the mayhem. The human population has had to be just as rugged: this is a land of heroic Viking sagas and mischievous trolls. And — handily for travellers — you can experience the best of the country in just a week.
The kooky capital, Reykjavik, is a great base for exploring the main sights in the southwest, such as the geological wonders of the Golden Circle, ice caves and hot springs. But to see the power of the landscape without the crowds, take a few days to travel north to the crater-pocked Lake Myvatn region, where you’ll find curious lava formations, sculpture-filled magma chambers and potent waterfalls.
A car is essential to make the most of our itinerary, though we’ve included one internal flight to save time. Driving is easy; you’ll need a 4x4 in winter. Check the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (road.is) for updates on conditions.
Day 1
Keflavik
There are multiple flights a day to Iceland, but we’re aiming to catch the quiet(er) evening hours at the Blue Lagoon, the geothermal hot spot en route from Keflavik airport to Reykjavik, so take a leisurely afternoon flight.
Keflavik
There are multiple flights a day to Iceland, but we’re aiming to catch the quiet(er) evening hours at the Blue Lagoon, the geothermal hot spot en route from Keflavik airport to Reykjavik, so take a leisurely afternoon flight.
Twenty minutes after leaving the airport, you’ll be soaking in mineral-rich, muscle-easing geothermal water at the swanky Grindavik “spa”, beloved by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. We’ll take you to more off-the-radar hot springs later in the week, but luxuriating by a swim-up bar while the aurora ripples above the surrounding steamy lava fields isn’t a bad way to start. Book your timed entry slot at least two weeks in advance and stay until 10.30pm (from £44pp; bluelagoon.com).
Your bed for the next four nights is the harbourside Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina, 45 minutes from the airport, where the fun maritime-themed rooms have mountain-fringed sea views. Everything in the compact capital is close, but having a trendy bar on site is a bonus. Cocktails at Slippbarinn start at a wallet-thumping £14, though they drop to half that during the 3pm-6pm happy hours (doubles from £136; icelandairhotels.com).
Day 2
Reykjavik
A day and a night is enough to see the best of the capital, and to get the flavour of its hedonistic nightlife.
Reykjavik
A day and a night is enough to see the best of the capital, and to get the flavour of its hedonistic nightlife.
Capricious weather means the city excels in indoor attractions. Housed in a former downtown cinema, the excellent Tales from Iceland introduces the island’s alien topography and the charming idiosyncrasies of its 343,960 inhabitants through videos taken by tourists and short films on subjects such as the unhealthy national obsession with wanting to win the Eurovision Song Contest (£16; tales.is).
You’ll get into the ice for real tomorrow, but at the Perlan Museum, you can explore an ice cave in a glass dome on the city limits. Take a free 10-minute shuttle bus from the Harpa Music Hall, and walk down a chillingly realistic tunnel constructed using bona fide snow. The future fate of our glaciers is explained through interactive displays and a full-size replica of a cliff with virtual seabirds is due to open next year (£21; perlanmuseum.is).
After the banking crash, the krona lost its edge, but this is still a pricy destination. For affordable alcohol, hit the happy hours. You’ll find the best local beers at the Micro Bar, which has experimental new blends on rotation each month (beers from £5 between 5pm and 7pm; facebook.com). An evening in sophisticated Jacobsen Loftid is a chance to dress up, especially during the generous happy hours (cocktails from £11 between 4pm and 10pm; Austurstraeti 9). And the biscuit factory turned hostel Kex is the place to catch Icelandic bands (beer and wine from £4.60 between 5pm and 7pm; kexhostel.is). For a full list of happy hours, download the Reykjavik Appy Hour app (free; iOS).
For good-value eats, Icelandic Street Food is a comfy restaurant serving simple soups and homemade cakes at decent prices (Lækjargata 8; about £20 for two courses). Or splash out on new Nordic experimentalist cuisine at Dill, an industrial dining room that this year won the country’s first Michelin star (£86 for five courses; dillrestaurant.is).
Day 3
Langjokull glacier
It’ll take an hour and 40 minutes in the car to reach the Langjokull glacier, inside which you’ll find the largest manmade ice cave in Europe. It took four years and nearly £2m to develop, and the only way in is on a modified 8WD, 20-ton snow truck, for an hour-long off-road ascent into a world akin to the Star Wars planet Hoth, with sweeping views as far as the Snaefellsnes peninsula, in the west. It’s a full-blown all-day adventure (from £140; intotheglacier.is).
Langjokull glacier
It’ll take an hour and 40 minutes in the car to reach the Langjokull glacier, inside which you’ll find the largest manmade ice cave in Europe. It took four years and nearly £2m to develop, and the only way in is on a modified 8WD, 20-ton snow truck, for an hour-long off-road ascent into a world akin to the Star Wars planet Hoth, with sweeping views as far as the Snaefellsnes peninsula, in the west. It’s a full-blown all-day adventure (from £140; intotheglacier.is).
Once you’re in the guts of the glacier, it’s not just the subzero temperature that makes your skin tingle. In the enormous tunnel, crevasses gape like open wounds overhead, and swirls of vivid colour beg the question: why is some ice blue? Age and pressure, apparently.
Day 4
The Golden Circle
Conveniently for us, Iceland’s A-list natural wonders are all close together, but unless you want to share them with selfie-snapping hordes, timing is essential. Most coach tours depart at about 8am, so you’re going to head out an hour earlier. Be prepared for a long day, it’ll be worth it.
The Golden Circle
Conveniently for us, Iceland’s A-list natural wonders are all close together, but unless you want to share them with selfie-snapping hordes, timing is essential. Most coach tours depart at about 8am, so you’re going to head out an hour earlier. Be prepared for a long day, it’ll be worth it.
The first stop is Thingvellir National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site 40 minutes’ drive from Reykjavik. In this landscape scarred with fissures, Iceland’s first parliament convened in 930, and independence from Denmark was declared in 1944. A free multimedia exhibition explains the history; spend the remaining time following easy-going walking trails around the water and through fissures, spotting the birdlife and reading about the history of the place. Or book a drysuit snorkel between the North American and Eurasian continental plates in the aquarium-clear water of the Silfra lagoon, one of the world’s top dive sites (from £108; dive.is).
Peckish? Time your visit to the lakeside Laugarvatn Fontana hot springs, half an hour east, for between 11.30am and 2.30pm. This is when you can dig up your own loaf of heavy rye bread, which will have been cooked for 24 hours in a pot buried in black geothermal sand. It’s best eaten with lashings of butter (£11). After that, take a soak in the spring, which is kitted out with wooden saunas and a smart cafe (£27; fontana.is).
Next, drive 25 minutes to the Strokkur geyser, where the effervescent spout shoots 130ft into the sky. Blink and you won’t miss it — helpfully, sprays are every 4-10 minutes. Skim past the disappointingly dormant Great Geysir and aim for the Gullfoss waterfall, a 10-minute drive away. Plunging from flat tundra into a narrow canyon, the River Hvita tumbles down two sharp steps, with viewing points spread along a wooden walkway (free; gullfoss.is).
Day 5
Akureyri
Now you’ve covered the essential ground in the south, move on and explore the less familiar north by taking a 50-minute flight from Keflavik to Akureyri, Iceland’s second city (from £103 return; airicelandconnect.com). Pick up another hire car and head 30 minutes north to the Bjorbodin beer spa for a 25-minute bath in a cocktail of hops and yeast, with the option to go naked if that’s your thing. Believe it or not, this has impressive skin-soothing potential (from £50; bjorbodin.com). Afterwards, drive for two hours to the lakeside eco-retreat Fosshotel Myvatn. It’s home for the next three nights (doubles from £104, B&B; fosshotel.is).
Akureyri
Now you’ve covered the essential ground in the south, move on and explore the less familiar north by taking a 50-minute flight from Keflavik to Akureyri, Iceland’s second city (from £103 return; airicelandconnect.com). Pick up another hire car and head 30 minutes north to the Bjorbodin beer spa for a 25-minute bath in a cocktail of hops and yeast, with the option to go naked if that’s your thing. Believe it or not, this has impressive skin-soothing potential (from £50; bjorbodin.com). Afterwards, drive for two hours to the lakeside eco-retreat Fosshotel Myvatn. It’s home for the next three nights (doubles from £104, B&B; fosshotel.is).
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the weather is more settled in the north. That means a better chance of seeing the northern lights. Take the torchlit hike (bring your own) to the nearby Dimmuborgir lava fields to see the light show. The gnarled chimneys and craggy arches in the “Trolls’ House” are fodder for wild imaginings, fuelled by legends of the bloodthirsty ogre Gryla, who lived in a cave and boiled children in her cooking pot.
Day 6
Myvatn
Ten minutes’ drive from the hotel, the Lofthellir Cave is a dormant volcanic chamber carved by a molten river of magma, which has cooled down to create a gallery of abstract ice sculptures. A guided tour is essential; take a bumpy 4x4 drive inside, then trek across tangles of solidified rope lava, slide through narrow portals and, using ropes, skim along a dark, frozen tunnel before walking though caves stacked with ice shapes, appreciating the true sound of silence (from £129; sagatravel.is).
Myvatn
Ten minutes’ drive from the hotel, the Lofthellir Cave is a dormant volcanic chamber carved by a molten river of magma, which has cooled down to create a gallery of abstract ice sculptures. A guided tour is essential; take a bumpy 4x4 drive inside, then trek across tangles of solidified rope lava, slide through narrow portals and, using ropes, skim along a dark, frozen tunnel before walking though caves stacked with ice shapes, appreciating the true sound of silence (from £129; sagatravel.is).
Proof that once you’ve seen one waterfall, you’ve not seen them all, thundering Dettifoss — aka the Beast — is worth the 75-minute drive to Vatnajokull National Park. Up to 500 cubic metres of water a second plunges from Europe’s most powerful cataract, and the sound is heart-stopping.
Close to your hotel, the family-run Vogafjos Cafe makes for a novelty evening meal. Dine in the company of dairy cows (behind a glass wall), which can be petted between courses of homemade mozzarella and smoked lamb. Arrive at 5.30pm to watch a milking session (mains from £20; vogafjosfarmresort.is).
Time for another steamy dip? Eat early and it’s possible to squeeze in a starry bathe. The Myvatn Nature Baths has a poolside view of a crater rim — and it’s open until 10pm in winter (from £27; myvatnnaturebaths.is).
Day 7
Husavik
You can see humpbacks, minkes and blue whales year-round in the coastal town of Husavik, a 40-minute drive north. Gentle Giants, one of the few operators to brave the winter waves, has a three-hour trip that includes warm overalls, hot chocolate and kleina, a local pastry (£75; gentlegiants.is). If you’re there between May and September, North Sailing’s silent tour uses sails and an electric engine to power sustainably and unobtrusively around Skjalfandi Bay (from £65; northsailing.is).
Husavik
You can see humpbacks, minkes and blue whales year-round in the coastal town of Husavik, a 40-minute drive north. Gentle Giants, one of the few operators to brave the winter waves, has a three-hour trip that includes warm overalls, hot chocolate and kleina, a local pastry (£75; gentlegiants.is). If you’re there between May and September, North Sailing’s silent tour uses sails and an electric engine to power sustainably and unobtrusively around Skjalfandi Bay (from £65; northsailing.is).
If you have enough time, spend sunset at Krafla’s bubbling mud pools and fumaroles, stopping for photos at Viti crater’s teal-green lake. Both are 20 minutes from the hotel. All that’s left is to pack for your departure tomorrow, flying back to the UK from Akureyri via Keflavik.
Save for next time
Photographing icebergs floating in the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, in the southeast; the basalt-strewn black beaches and “Walnut Whip” Kirkjufell mountain, on the Snaefellsnes peninsula; and hiking between mountain huts or camping in the Thorsmork Nature Reserve, in the south.
Photographing icebergs floating in the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, in the southeast; the basalt-strewn black beaches and “Walnut Whip” Kirkjufell mountain, on the Snaefellsnes peninsula; and hiking between mountain huts or camping in the Thorsmork Nature Reserve, in the south.
When to go Midnight sunsets and warmer temperatures make the short summer season, mid-June to August, best for hiking, although popular attractions are at their busiest. From September to March, the northern lights and accessible ice caves are the big draws.
Flights There are several direct services to Keflavik from regional airports; Icelandair offers the biggest choice (from £120 return). Budget airlines such as Norwegian (from £60), Wow (from £70) and easyJet (from £70) are cheaper, but mostly fly from London.
THE ULTIMATE TOUR OF ICELAND Our Big Trip series has always created brilliant itineraries. Now, Times Expert Traveller makes them easier to follow. They’ve created a bespoke tour that covers the best of Sarah Marshall’s Iceland experiences: to see it, go to thetimes.co.uk/travel/experttraveller
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