Description
Summary
Description
See the Golden Circle, the South Coast, and the remote Westfjords on this guided minibus tour from Reykjavik. Along the way, you visit Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach, enter Katla Ice Cave, and see Dynjandi Waterfall and the Latrabjarg Bird Cliffs.
The tour runs in summer, from late May to mid-September. You travel with a small group and an English-speaking local guide, and spend each night in a hotel room with a private bathroom.
On day 1, you're picked up in Reykjavik and drive the Golden Circle. At Thingvellir National Park, you walk through the rift valley between two continents, where Iceland's first parliament, the Althingi, was founded. At the Geysir Geothermal Area, you see Great Geysir, one of the oldest known geysers in the world, and Strokkur Geyser, which erupts every 4 to 16 minutes. Then you visit Gullfoss Waterfall and its two-tiered cascade.
In the afternoon, you head south, with views of Hekla Volcano if the weather allows. The day ends at Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, where you can walk the path behind the falls when conditions allow. You spend the night at a hotel on the South Coast.
On day 2, you head east to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach in Vatnajokull National Park. Icebergs of all shapes and sizes float in the lagoon and wash up on the black sand shore, and you might spot seals swimming in the lagoon or resting on the ice.
You continue to Skaftafell Nature Reserve, where you take an easy trail to Svartifoss Waterfall in summer. Then your guide leads you into Katla Ice Cave, with blue and black glacial ice streaked with ash from volcanic eruptions. You spend about 2 hours inside, walking on easy terrain, with plenty of time for photos. You spend the night at a hotel on the South Coast.
On day 3, you take a detour to the moss-covered Fjadrargljufur Canyon if the weather allows, and pass through Eldhraun Lava Field, one of the largest lava fields in Iceland. At Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, you see the basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar Sea Stacks offshore. Sneaker waves can arrive without warning here, so never turn your back on the ocean.
Next, you stop at Skogafoss Waterfall, which drops 197 feet (60 meters) into a pool below. A staircase leads to the top, and on clear days, you may see Eyjafjallajokull Volcano. You then return to Reykjavik for the night.
On day 4, you're picked up at your hotel and drive north along the Ring Road to Eiriksstadir Museum, a reconstructed Viking longhouse linked to the explorer Leif Eriksson. In the Westfjords, you pass through Vatnsfjordur Nature Reserve and stop at the rusted hull of the Gardar Shipwreck on a black sand shore.
You continue to Latrabjarg Bird Cliffs, the largest seabird cliffs in Europe, above the meeting point of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, where you might see a large puffin colony. The day ends at Breidavik Beach, a wide stretch of golden sand. You spend the night at a hotel in the area.
On day 5, you visit Raudisandur Beach, a 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) stretch of red- and gold-tinted sand colored by crushed scallop shells. Then you travel through Fossfjordur Valley to the tiered cascades of Dynjandi Waterfall, and stop at the wooden pier in Onundarfjordur Fjord.
Later, you climb to the Bolafjall Viewing Platform, 2,086 feet (636 meters) above the ocean-facing fjords. The day ends in Isafjordur, the largest town in the Westfjords, where you spend the night.
On day 6, you visit Osvor Maritime Museum, a restored 19th-century fishing station with turf huts and preserved rowboats, and the red-orange Osholar Lighthouse nearby. You then follow the Seven Fjords Route to the Arctic Fox Center, a research center dedicated to Iceland's only native land mammal.
Next, you stop at the Hvitanes Seal Colony, where seals gather on the coastal rocks, and at the Gervidalsa Stream, your last stop in the Westfjords. You then return to Reykjavik by way of Hvalfjordur Fjord.
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