Day 1: Arrival
Highlights: Reykjavik Keflavik Hallgrimskirkja Harpa Concert Hall Tjornin Austurvollur Square Parliament House
 
Arrival in Iceland – The world’s northernmost capital city

Approximate distance: ca 50km / 30miles

Once you have landed at Keflavik Airport in Iceland, please pick up your luggage and head through customs. Collect your rental car at the airport and drive along with lava landscapes to your hotel in Reykjavik. The rest of the day is yours to rest and use at your own leisure.

Please note: check-in for most hotels begins at 14:00 – 16:00 (2:00pm-4:00pm)

Overnight in Reykjavik.

 
Day 2: Thingvellir - Geysir - Gullfoss
Highlights: Thingvellir National Park Geysir Gullfoss Kerid Skalholt
 
National Park with Geological Wonders (UNESCO) – Explosive Geysers – The Famous Golden Falls

Approximate distance: ca. 200 km / 125 miles

Breakfast at your hotel.  Head for the UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park, where the world’s oldest parliament met for centuries on the shores of Iceland’s largest lake.  This is also the meeting point of the tectonic plates that divide the North American and European continents, giving you the rare chance to take a walk between two continents.  Continue through scenic southern farmland to the geothermal fields of Geysir.  Stroll along a footpath taking you to around quirky bubbling mud pools and spouting geysers.  The most famous of these is Strokkur, which erupts about every ten minutes. Then visit the dramatic, two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade.  You can get great views of the waterfall from different angles on a variety of paths.

Afterward drive along winter country roads to your overnight in South Iceland,  If nature co-operates, you might glimpse some northern lights!

Overnight in the Hella/Hvolsvollur area.

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Day 3: South Shore - Eyjafjallajokull Volcano
Highlights: Hekla Eyjafjallajokull Seljalandsfoss Skogafoss Reynisdrangar Cliffs Vík Myrdalsjokull Eldhraun Lava Field
 
Waterfalls – Volcanic Aftermath – Black-Sand Beaches

Approximate distance: ca. 365 km / 225 miles

Breakfast at your hotel.  Spend this day exploring the South Shore, region lined with volcanic mountains and glacier views. On a clear day, you can catch a glimpse of two very famous volcanoes.   Beautiful Mount Hekla is Iceland’s most frequently erupting volcanoes (last eruption: 2000).   However, a more recently erupting volcano is the towering strato-volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted in 2010 and impacted airplane traffic worldwide.

Driving along the south shore you can also visit spectacular waterfalls that have a special beauty of their own in the winter.  Seljalandsfoss is a ribbon-like fall that drops gracefully down a cliff.  If trail conditions are safe, you can walk behind the waterfall.  Majestic Skogafoss has become one of Iceland’s most photographed waterfalls and makes a great background for an Instagram photo.  As you drive you’ll also see Myrdalsjokull glacier, ideal for glacier snowmobiling. Then continue onwards to Reynisfjara beach and its striking black sands, viewing the extraordinary rock formations and thundering waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue onwards, passing Eldhraun, the largest known single lava flow in history en route to your overnight.

Overnight stay in the Hofn area

Day 4: Skaftafell National Park - Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon
Highlights: Skaftafell National Park Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon Vatnajokull
 
Western Europe’s Largest National Park – Glacial Lagoon with Icebergs – Europe’s Largest Glacier

Approximate distance: ca. 200 km / 125 miles

Breakfast at your hotel.  Today you will be in the southern area of Vatnajokull National Park, the largest of its kind in Western Europe.  It’s dominated by the Vatnajokull glacier, Europe’s largest ice cap. The park’s glacier-ringed Skaftafell area is an outstanding area of natural beauty with great winter hiking opportunities.  You can get closer to a glacier – and learn great facts about them – on a guided hiking tour that takes you onto the ice itself.  If you have a taste for even more adventure you can try glacier climbing with expert ice guides.  Continue to the photogenic Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon, where you can enjoy the breath-taking sight of floating, blue-tinted icebergs on this 180-meter (591 foot) deep glacial lagoon.  Nearby is the Diamond Beach, where silvery icebergs rest on black sands.  Both the lagoon and the beach are great areas to spend some time catching perfect photographs. You also might glimpse seals lounging near the icebergs.   Another glacial wonder in perfect a visit is the quiet, mystical Fjallsarlon Iceberg Lagoon.

Overnight in the Kirkjubaejarklaustur area.

 

Day 5: Hveragerdi - Blue Lagoon - Reykjavik
Highlights: The Blue Lagoon Hveragerdi Krysuvik Viking World

Greenhouse Village – Geopark – Geothermal Lagoon

Approximate distance: ca. 249 km / 155 miles

Breakfast at your hotel.  Head towards the village of Hveragerdi, which is one of the few communities in the world located directly on top of an active geothermal area. Hveragerdi is often called ‘the flower village’ because of its many greenhouses that are heated by hot water from nearby springs. It’s a charming town worth a stop. A popular place for locals (and visitors) is the Skyrgerdin restaurant. Located in a former dairy, the restaurant uses home-made, creamy Icelandic skyr (a low-fat dairy product) as an ingredient in its delicious courses. Turn onto a coastal road, known for its breath-taking views of powerful sea waves slamming against the shoreline.

The road leads to the Reykjanes peninsula, a UNESCO Geopark with many intriguing geological wonders, including the bubbling and colorful Krysuvik geothermal area. You can also opt to enjoy a relaxing soak in the famous Blue Lagoon, a unique wonder of nature with pleasantly warm and mineral-rich geothermal water located in the middle of a black lava field. (Please note that admission to the Blue Lagoon must be booked in advance. We would be happy to help you with booking admission). If you’re interested in culture and history, we definitely recommend a visit to the Viking World exhibit where you can discover facts about Viking life and see Islendingurinn, a replica of a Viking ship that sailed from Iceland to North America in the year 2000.

Return to Reykjavik for overnight stay.

 

Day 6: Departure
Highlights: Keflavik

Return to Keflavik International Airport.

Approximate distance: ca. 50km / 30 miles

We recommend departing the hotel approximately 3 hours prior to the departure of your international flight.