Iceland

Our multi-day Iceland tour gets started with an airport bus transfer arranged for you. If you happen to arrive early in the day, you can store your luggage at our hotel. If you’d like to visit the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa before the official start of the tour, let us know and we can arrange that for you. You can even visit the Blue Lagoon on your way from the airport to our hotel. This man-made lagoon is heated by superheated water through a nearby lava flow, and the rich salts and silica content offers a relaxing natural spa experience! Or you can explore the city on your own before meeting the group for our welcome dinner.

Meals Included
Day 1: Dinner

After breakfast, we begin our day with a 90-minute walking tour of Reykjavik, which will help you get your bearings. Also, since the rest of the tour will be quite long days, you may want to take note of places you want to explore more in your free time today. After lunch, the rest of the day is yours. Take a whale-watching trip, or just look out for puffins and whales from the Old Harbor. Lake Tjornin is extremely picturesque. You can watch the ducks and swans swim by or visit the National Gallery or National Museum just steps away. Depending on when the sun sets, keep an eye out for the Imagine Peace Tower, dedicated to John Lennon by Yoko Ono, lighting up at nearby Videy Island. There is plenty to do and see before it’s time for the optional group dinner.

After dinner, we’re off to try to see the Northern lights. From August to April, the night sky across Iceland lights up with the greens, blues, and reds of the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, as particles from the sun sparkle as they enter our atmosphere. Our guides will take us outside the city’s light pollution to the most ideal spot to witness Nature’s spectacular light show!

Meals Included
Day 2: Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, we take a late morning start to Iceland’s iconic Golden Circle, comprising three awesome natural wonders – the Geysir geothermal area and Gullfoss waterfalls, and Thingvellir National Park. Geysir steams with geothermal activity, creating pools, vents, and chimneys, with fascinating colors from the minerals in the water and earth. A highlight is Strokkur, the most active of geysers. From fire we move to the thundering Gullfoss waterfalls. Two cascades cut through a valley into a deep gorge, creating mists and rainbows you’ll want to capture with your camera. Last, but not least, we visit Thingvellir National Park. Another astounding geological phenomenon, two tectonic plates collided to create lava fields, cavernous gorges, the Oxara waterfall, and a natural amphitheater, where, over a thousand years ago, Vikings met, creating the world’s oldest parliament. We’ll then head back to Reykjavik for an optional late dinner.

Meals Included
Day 3: Breakfast and lunch

Today we embark on a 12-hour day trip to Iceland’s south shore, ideal for nature lovers of all kinds. This is one of the country’s most scenic regions, and we’ll venture as far as Vík, a charming village surrounded by high beautiful bird cliffs. South Iceland is also special because it is one of the flattest regions on the island, with high mountains to the north that shield the area from the harshest northern winds. As a result, nearly all grain farming in Iceland is done there. Among the stops on this tour are the gorgeous Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. Seljalandsfoss is part of the Seljalandsá river, originating from the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. What makes Seljalandsfoss so remarkable is that you can walk behind it. We recommend you bring either a raincoat or a waterproof coat along if you want to stroll behind it, which we, of course, highly recommend.

Skógafoss, another famous Icelandic waterfall, is the starting point of the Fimmvörðuháls walk over to Þórsmörk. This most picturesque of all waterfalls is something of a film star, appearing in films such as Thor: The Dark World and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. We will also stop at Reynisfjara black sand beach, with the Reynisdrangar rock formations and columnar basalt. It is one of the most spectacular beaches in Iceland but can be quite dangerous due to powerful sneaker waves, or sudden water surges, so all guidelines must be followed. Additionally, we stop by Sólheimajökull glacier and walk up to a small lake that formed in front of the retreating glacier. We return to Reykjavik for an optional late dinner.

Meals Included
Day 4: Breakfast and lunch

Your last day is a 12-hour journey to the otherworldly Snæfellsnes National Park. Icelanders often associate it with spiritual experiences and folk tales. You will witness spectacular views of this unique area where geological wonders border on the magical. The Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland is almost like a miniature version of the entire island, with gorgeous samples of some of Iceland’s famous natural wonders. This includes black beaches, magnificent mountains, volcanic craters, incredible bird life, magical caves, and of course, the most picturesque glacier of them all, the 700,000-year-old Snæfellsjökull. We’ll stop at the small village of Arnarstapi, and you will gain real insight into quintessential volcanic craters. Along the way you’ll get great views of the iconic Kirkjufell mountain and the dark cliffs and black sand of Djúpalónssandur bay, which are a favorite among photographers. In the middle of this beautiful peninsula sits Snæfellsjökull, the stunning glacier that has captured the imagination of people all over the world, including Jules Verne, who began his “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” at Snæfellsjökull glacier.

Our final optional group dinner will take place back in Reykjavik, and our tour will end the next day after breakfast.

Meals Included
Day 5: Breakfast and lunch
Day 6: Breakfast