Iceland

Iceland


Out of This World

Get transported to an unknown planet and experience the exhilaration of venturing through another world. Bathe in a blue lagoon, walk into the heart of a volcano and take a scenic drive through glaciers. This land of fire and ice and the sites you will see are truly out of this world.
9
Days
8
Cities
Culture, Nature

Itinerary

DAY 1

Blue Lagoon Hot Springs

Your guide will meet you at the airport and welcome you to Iceland. Your first stop is a dip in the geothermal waters of the Blue Lagoon, one of the more unusual wonders of the world. The waters in the Blue Lagoon are rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and are meant to have healing powers for your skin not to mention priceless after a long tiresome flight. There is no place on earth like the Blue Lagoon and something you may only experience once in a lifetime. Savor the experience!

DAY 2

Thrihnukagigur Volcano

After breakfast, your guide leads you on a panoramic tour of the city. Check out the sights such as the Harpa concert hall, Hallgrimskirkja church for its splendid views and the harbour replete with boats. The interesting open-air Arbaer Folk Museum cannot be missed nor can the fish market in Hafnarfjordur.

The last stop is Hofdi house best known as the location for the 1986 Reykjavík Summit meeting of presidents which was a step towards the end of the Cold War.

Pause for lunch.

And now, get ready for the ultimate experience of a lifetime - into the heart of a volcano we go. Yes, that’s right! Thrihnukagigur is the only place on earth where you can enter a magma chamber. The dormant Thrihnukagigur volcano (good luck trying to pronounce it) is a unique natural phenomenon. This tour that opens the door to a new world. It really isn’t that complicated to experience it. All you need is the willingness to do a moderate 45–50 minute hike (to get to the crater) and the guts to descend 120 meters/400 feet to the bottom of the crater in an open cable lift.

Now, you might be thinking that the idea of this tour is crazy and must be dangerous. But don’t worry, you will be surrounded by expert guides at all times and you can rest assured that extreme safety precautions are taken at every step of the process.

Return to the hotel and spend the rest of the day as you wish.

DAY 3

Golden Circle

Today’s iconic tour encompasses the “big three” – Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. They are collectively known as the Golden Circle, the scenic wonders for which Iceland is justly renowned.

Thingvellir National Park where the Vikings established the first Parliament is now still a home to the oldest working Parliament founded in 930 A.D. The Park’s dramatic landscape was formed as a result of sitting along the border between the North American and European tectonic plates.

Pause for a fun and delicious lunch at a geothermal tomato farm (tomato greenhouse), before exploring the Geysir area.

At Geysir you will get the opportunity to see hot springs in abundance as well as the famous geyser Strokkur, the 4th biggest geyser in the world which erupts piping hot water every five minutes reaching the heights of 60 feet!

DAY 4

Snaefellsnes Scenic Drive 

Today is an early day as we head north-west to Snaefellsnes peninsula to explore the land of fire. See Eldborg, the spatter cone and the wall of beautiful basalt columns at Gerduberg, before Ytri Raudmelur, a fascinating stop where you can see old and new lava.

We pause for a 3 course lunch at Hotel Budir with impressive views of the breathtaking Snaefellsjokull glacier.

Continue to Hellnar where the glacier lies atop an extinct volcano. This site was chosen by Jules Verne for the beginning of his Journey to the Center of the Earth. Hellnar has rugged cliffs, abundant bird life, volcanic craters, and fantastic lava formations. Those willing can hike before driving west towards Djupalonssandur sandy beach and bay at the foot of Snaefellsjokull. Once home to sixty fishing boats and one of the most prolific fishing villages on the peninsula, today the bay is uninhabited. However, the four lifting stones are still used by fishermen to test their strength in order to qualify men for work on fishing boats! In the early evening, return to Reykjavik and spend the remainder of your day at leisure.

DAY 5

Thorsmork Super Jeeps

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Today, an adventure as we spend a full day exploring one of the most interesting areas in Iceland while driving in super-jeeps.

Thorsmork is a bright pearl in the string of beautiful areas in Iceland. It has often been difficult to reach, except by mountain vehicles. You’ll see a multitude of small ravines and valleys, clad with low birch-trees that create seemingly endless possibilities for the photographer in all of us. More than 170 plants, moss and lichen species reside in this lush area, which was a fjord some 12,000 years ago. The outlet glaciers tumble and crawl down into the canyons, some of them ending in spectacular glacial lagoons. The glacial melt-off forms rivers that have to be crossed and our skilled drivers will take you safely across any river. We do some hiking before proceeding to our farm hotel.

DAY 6

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

We leave our luggage, pack an overnight bag and on to, Iceland's South Shore! Drive through a region of lush farmland, striking waterfalls, sandy coastline, glaciers and quaint towns and villages towards the infamous Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Our first stop is the long awaited Seljalandsfoss waterfall, one of the few waterfalls in the world you can walk behind. Continue along the mountains of Eyjafjöll until you arrive to the visitor’s center at Þorvaldseyri farm where you learn about the life of an exceptional family during the eruption of May 2010.

The Þorvaldseyri Visitor Center opened on April 14, 2011, exactly one year after the Eyjafjallajökull eruption started. As a family-run facility, the goal is to give visitors an inside look at what it’s like to have a volcano at your back door. From there we head on to one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the country, Skógafoss.

Here at Skógar, pause for lunch at the Skógakaffi café.

After lunch, we hike the glacier! Finally at the Sólheimakökull glacier, try for yourself how it feels to walk on ice. As we explore the wonderland of ice sculptures, ridges, and deep crevasses, you will learn a ton about these disappearing giants. Experienced mountain guides will teach you how to use basic glacier equipment necessary for this tour.

On the way to our hotel, stop at Reynisfjara black sandy beach, with a stunning view of the Reynisdrangar needles and basalt columns.

Finally pause in the village of Vík, the southernmost village in Iceland. Take a peek into the wool factory and watch the knitting machines at work or check out the famous Vik wool woolen goods at the little shop attached to the factory.

DAY 7

Iceberg Lagoon

After breakfast, we reach an apex of our Icelandic adventure. Skaftafell, the jewel in the crown of Vatnajökull National Park, encompasses a breathtaking collection of peaks and glaciers. It’s the country’s favorite wilderness: 170,000 visitors per year come to marvel at thundering waterfalls, twisted birch woods, the tangled web of rivers threading across the sandar, and brilliant blue-white Vatnajökull with its lurching tongues of ice.

Skaftafell deserves its reputation, and few Icelanders – even those who usually shun the great outdoors – can resist it.

And finally, proceed to the long awaited Jökulsárlón Lagoon, considered by some to be the most awe-inspiring sight in the entire country. Get ready to touch the floating glaciers. Embark on the boat tour during which we are able to cover large areas of the lagoon and get as close to the icebergs as possible as the boat goes almost all the way up to the glacier. Yes yes, yet another once in a lifetime experience.

Afterward, we make our way back to our old friend, Hótel Lækur in Hella.

DAY 8

Reykjavik Nightlife

This morning, bid farewell to the South Shore. After breakfast, return to Reykjavik for your totally free day to roam or rest before the flight home. However, fancy some horseback riding? Possible upon request before we get on our way back to the capital.

Back at Reykjavik, consider paying a visit to the Laugardalur Park. In addition to the serene environs, Laugardalur Park offers natural hot tubs, or "hot pots." You can soak in one of these outdoor hot pots or relax in a geothermal pool.

Tonight, a farewell dinner as a group at Snaps, our favorite restaurant and a winner of the Reykjavik Grapevine’s “best goddamn restaurant” award for the past two years.

DAY 9

Depart Reykjavik.

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