Top things to do in Iceland
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Spend two weeks capturing Iceland’s beautiful winter landscapes with this fantastic photography tour. Meet new people and hone your skills by travelling the Ring Road, including the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, with two award-winning photographers. In this workshop, you will visit the Highlands, step inside an ice cave, and try to snap a photo of the Northern Lights in all corners of the country.
You will visit, and shoot, some of the country’s most popular attractions including Kirkjufell Mountain, Lake Mývatn, Dettifoss waterfall, Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, and Reynisfjara black sand beach. Whether you are a point-and-shoot beginner or a seasoned shutterbug, these two weeks of adventure will sharpen your skills and contribute greatly to your portfolio.
All accommodations and transportation will be sorted out prior to your arrival, and so all you have to do is enjoy Iceland and capture the country’s extraordinary beauty on film.
Don’t miss out on your chance to partake in this epic voyage around the world’s most photogenic country, Iceland. Check availability by choosing a date.
After settling into your accommodations, you'll meet your photography guides in the evening who will take you, and the rest of your group, out to dinner. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know each other and to discuss the exciting days that lie ahead.
You will do some exploring and photographing, on this day, starting with the beautiful black church in the town of Búðir, which is surrounded by the Búðahraun lava field. A photo of the church’s jet-black walls against the white Snæfellsjökull glacier in the distance will surely be a welcome addition to your portfolio.
Then it's off to explore the charming hamlet of Arnarstapi. You’ll walk to a beautiful rock arch, Gatklettur, where you can capture the fading sunlight as it hits the ocean’s waves. Once it is dark, you’ll head to your accommodation in the area. However, if the sky is clear of clouds, you’ll hunt for the elusive and beautiful Northern Lights.
Then it is off to the black pebble beach of Djúpalónssandur where the remains of a fishing trawler that perished some fifty years ago lays scattered amongst the smooth pebbles. You will have to trek through a natural maze of lava sculptures to get to the ocean, a site that looks like it was ripped straight out from the pages of a fantasy novel.
And the fantasy doesn’t end there, your next stop is the impressive Kirkjufell mountain which fans of the HBO series Game of Thrones might recognise as the mountain shaped like an arrowhead. Here, you will spend some time photographing this majestic mountain, capturing not only its iconic shape, but also the nearby waterfall, black sands, tall grass, and, if conditions are right, the Northern Lights dancing above.
Your destination is the strange but beautiful basalt stack of Hvítserkur, a 15-metre high rock which rises out of the ocean, reminding many of a dragon or an elephant drinking from the water. This unusual rock has great photogenic appeal, and you’ll spend some time here capturing the many sides of Hvítserkur.
When you’ve got a couple of great shots to put into your portfolio, it's time to head to the nearby town of Akureyri where you'll spend the night.
Then it is time to head to Lake Mývatn, a beautiful blue lake that was formed in an eruption some 2,000 years ago. Surrounding the lake are pillars of lava and pseudocraters, evidence of this gigantic volcanic eruption.
You’ll also explore the dark lava field of Dimmuborgir if there's enough time. The area features dramatic rock formations and caves, reminiscent of an ancient collapsed city or a citadel.
You will then overnight in the Mývatn area.
The former falls 20 metres through a narrow gorge into a beautiful blue basin below. It is surrounded by dark cliffs made of hexagonal basalt columns which, when surrounded by white snow and ice, provide a great contrast for a photograph.
Hrafnabjargafoss, on the other hand, offers dramatic sights, especially when frost christens the landscape. The cascade falls in two parts on either side of a large, rocky island in the middle of the stream. You’ll have plenty of time at each waterfall, capturing their beauty before heading back to your accommodations in the Mývatn area.
Aside from capturing the different colours and texture of the area, you will also have the chance to hike up Hverfell crater to view and shoot the snow-clad landscape around.
In the evening, you’ll head to the Mývatn Nature Baths for a relaxing dip. Perhaps the Northern Lights will show up while you are soaking in the warm, mineral-rich waters.
However, before you enter the Eastfjords, you will make a stop to photograph Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss. Here you are sure to capture an epic picture of the massive volume of water plummeting from a great cliff.
You’ll end your journey in the small fishing village of Djúpivogur, where you’ll get to photograph its quaint harbour and the nearby mountain reflecting in the beautiful fjord. You’ll spend the night at this idyllic location, hopefully watching the Northern Lights in the evening.
After driving down the winding fjords of the East, with the mighty Vatnajökull glacier watcing over you in the west, you’ll come to a place considered to be the ‘crown jewel of Iceland’, Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.
Here, enormous icebergs that have broken off a nearby glacier float on the serene lagoon before drifting off to sea. You will spend the next three days in this area, photographing this spectacular scene from different angles and in different lights.
Then you’ll hit the road again, stopping at other stunning glacier lagoons on your way to what will undoubtedly be the highlight of the day; a natural ice cave in Vatnajökull glacier.
You’ll strap on crampons and head inside this breathtaking feature where you'll surely be amazed, not only by the cave’s beautiful natural shapes but also the vivid colours found inside. Here, you're sure to capture some unique shots to put in your photography portfolio as you stand surrounded by nothing but ice, where the walls are sparkling and the ceiling filled with frozen ice bubbles.
You will then return to your accommodations after a spectacular photography adventure.
Vestrahorn is a 454-metre high mountain, with jagged peaks, that rise above a black sand plain and a stunning lagoon, providing a rough but beautiful setting for today’s photographs. On a clear day, you might even capture mountain mirrored in the calm seawater.
Sunrise and sunset illuminate the craggy peaks, and so you will spend the day following the sunlight to get some incredible shots of this stunning area before returning to your accommodations near Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.
Today, you’ll spend focusing on the area around Vík, the southernmost village in Iceland. Vík sits on the banks of the famous Reynisfjara black sand beach where you'll capture powerful waves shattering against the shore.
The beach is edged in by dark cliffs of hexagonal basalt columns and just offshore rise the 66-metre tall Reynisdrangar sea stacks, combine that with the black volcanic sand and the roaring waves, and you’ve got a recipe for an epic image.
You’ll spend the night in the village of Vík.
You’ll start the day off by visiting the Dyrhólaey peninsula where you can get some more shots of the Reynisfjara black sand beach from a different angle. You will also be able to shoot the enormous rock arch there as well as the charming lighthouse.
If the conditions are right and the group is up to it, you might stop by at Sólheimajökull, a glacier outlet of the larger Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. There, you can capture the white ice of the glacier which is streaked with black ash from past eruptions of nearby volcanoes.
Next up is the waterfall Skógafoss. Here you can walk up the steps next to the cascade for some fantastic view of the surrounding South Coast, as well as Iceland’s interior, the Highlands. Then, it's off to Seljalandsfoss, a high and narrow cascade that falls over a concave cliff.
You’ll return to Reykjavík in the evening where you can unwind at your accommodation after an eventful few days.
If your flight leaves late, you can use this day to explore Reykjavík city a little. You could visit some of the city’s landmarks, like Harpa Concert Hall or Hallgrímskirkja church or visit a museum or two.
When it is time to go, you will board a bus that will take you through the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula to Keflavík International Airport. Have a fantastic flight and come back soon.
19 Feb - 4 Mar 2022
Please note that the tour is always dependent on weather, as the Icelandic weather can indeed be highly unpredictable.
When it comes to the Northern Lights, while they are most likely to be seen between September and April, there is no guarantee that they will appear on a given day.