ICELAND

Reykjavik
Set in a bizarre surround of volcanic formation, Reykjavik is the biggest cultural center of Iceland. You will find laid-back museums and chique galleries, a vibrating musical scene and a colorful squad of local artists and designers. Festivals take place throughout the year and visitors enjoy the small, but lively nightlife with a big range of cafes, bars and clubs.
Reykjavik has become a popular stopover spot between Europe and North America over the past couple of years, bringing many short breakers in need of walking and cycling tours or day excursions to the surrounding area. The town lacks major attractions, but is the perfect base to explore some of Iceland’s beauty in just a few days as many tours take you from your hotel along the Southern coast or the Golden Circle route and back in just one day.
Iceland's capital is fairly small in size, which makes it easy to discover the city in a short time and also make time to relax in one of the many bars and cafes.

Southwest Iceland and the Golden Circle
Moving into the heartland of Iceland, you will find a mountainous landscape with thundering waterfalls, hot water spitting geysers, endless white ice and fantastic hiking opportunities. Iceland's famous Golden Circle leads you along a string of impressive natural wonders, including the mid-Atlantic drift at Þingvellir National Park, the only place in the world where you can stand between two continents, the always active geothermal area at Geysir or the stunning Gulfoss waterfall. Further, you will find plenty of places to relax and unwind in the soothing thermal waters, including the natural pool of the Secret Lagoon or the lakeside swimming pool at Laugarvatn.
If you follow along the coast, a magical scenery with picturesque valleys, pretty waterfalls and impressive black sand beaches unfolds while a wall of black basalt mountains and volcanoes is towering in the back. The mountains in this part of Iceland offer fantastic hiking opportunities and allow you to get very close to the surreal landscape of hidden valleys in the middle of a volcanic landscape.
The peninsula of Reykjanes in Southwest Iceland is not only home to the famous Blue Lagoon, but also impresses with a bizarre volcanic landscape. It is here where the Eurasian plate meets the North American plate, so volcanic activity is omnipresent here and shows in bubbling muddy pots, steaming hot springs and the latest volcanic eruption at Geldingadalir. Cycling or hiking tours let you encounter a moon-like landscape with craters, fields of black lava and colourful hot springs.
Most parts of this area of Iceland can be discovered from Reykjavik, but to fully enjoy the area with all its beauty and activities, it is advisable to spend some nights outside Reykjavik.

Western Iceland
The area North and Northwest of Reykjavik is dominated by the colorful Snæfellsnes peninsula, characterized by bizarre lava landscapes, crystal clear blue waters, the glimmering Snæfellsjökull glacier and the Breiðafjörður bay, filled with thousands of tiny islands. The long peninsula offers endless opportunities for outdoor activities like beautiful coastal walks, hikes across lava fields or treks over the ice cap on top of the restless volcano.
The Western area is also known as Sagaland due to its rich Viking history and it is the part of Iceland where legends and traditions come to live.
Further inland, you will find some of Iceland's most beautiful waterfalls, including Glymur, Iceland's second highest waterfall, or the scenic waterfalls of Hraunafoss and Barnafoss on the way to Husafell. Western Iceland meets the Highlands close to Húsafell and it is the start of higher, vast and more adventurous terrain, where you will find impressive rock structures, volcanic caves and excellent opportunities for hiking and glacier excursions.

Westfjords
A spectacular landscape made from cliffs, rocks and fjords is waiting for you in the Northwestern part of Iceland and the mountains formed from dark basalt rock resembles fantasy worlds known from the Lord of the Rings. Land strings between the fjords like long fingers reaching for the sea set in twilight. Iceland's wild, lonely Northern landscape on the edge of the Arctic circle is the perfect setting for mountain-biking, kayaking, skiing or breath-taking hiking adventures.
But the Westfjords are also a great spot for wildlife spotting and the sea cliffs of Latrabjarg are a popular nesting place and world famous for bird-watching. The Arctic Fox Centre in Sudavik is dedicated to research, but is also a nursing home for the small foxes, the only land mammals in Iceland.

Northern Iceland
You will find pretty much anything in Northern Iceland - small islands, lonely peninsulas, snowy peaks covered in ice, bubbling muddy pots, sleepy fishing villages, thundering waterfalls, rugged lava fields or natural lakes filled with hot thermal waters.
Northern Iceland is also a great place to go on a whale watching tours and the small town of Husavik is known as the whale watching capital of Iceland.
While you find the Golden Circle in the Southwest of Iceland, you will find the Diamond Circle in Northern Iceland, waiting for you with the wonderful Ásbyrgi canyon, the mighty Dettifoss waterfall and the moon-like landscape around the wonderful thermal water filled Myvatn Lake.

Eastern Iceland
Often under-estimated, Eastern Iceland does not focus on loud marketing and is not as well developed for mass tourism, but it comes with discrete charme and a dramatic landscape. If you decide to travel by ship from mainland Europe, you will arrive to Seydisfjörður and will enjoy the breath-taking view along the long fjord while sailing into the port. You will find Iceland’s longest lake, the Lagarfljot, in the area, which is filled with melt waters from the Vatnajökull glacier and is said to be the home of an ancient monster since Viking times, which was last spotted in 2012.
Iceland's Northeastern coastal area entices visitors with hiking and kayaking adventures in a dramatic setting, where waterfalls plunge from raw back mountains, while you can encounter wild reindeer herds between abandoned farms and naked mountains in the heartland.

Southeast Iceland
The 200km long section of the ring road between Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Höfn takes you through giant deltas made from glacial sand, around mountain chains and glacial tongues. The area is dominated by the impressive Vatnajökull glacier, the largest glacier in Iceland and Europe, covering 8% of Iceland's land mass. Its melting waters stream down the steep slopes into the sea and blue ice blocks from the glacier float in the beautiful and extremely photogenic Jökursarlón lagoon, where you can explore the icy giants and meet the local seals by boat or guided kayaking tour.
Skaftafell National Park on the Western side of Vatnajökull is a mecca in Iceland for anybody seeking adventure and it offers a wide choice of activities to explore the National Park - from glacier trekking, snowmobile adventures, ice-climbing, ice cave tours or hiking, the area has something to offer for anybody seeking to get active in a breath-taking scenery.

Iceland's highlands
The vast landscape of Iceland's
hinterland is lonely, raw and deserted, which makes for the special draw for visitors looking for complete remoteness. The infrastructure in the area is very basic with practically no shops, accommodation or emergency services. The Highlands are great and rewarding for long hiking or cycling tours and hold some scenic highlights for the visitor, like the lava fields at Askja, the warm thermal waters of the Viti-crater or the magnificent ice sculptures in the geothermal caves at Kverkfjöll.
The stunning longhaul hiking trail of Landmannalaugar can be found in the Southern part of Iceland's HIghlands, leading hikers and trekkers through an amazing colourful volcanic landscape made from rhyolite mountains, glistening lava fields, and hot springs. The trek leads to the fantastic, remote valley of Þórsmörk, set along the Mid-Atlantic drift, creating one of Iceland's most impressive canyons.