Iceland - Waterfalls, volcanoes and geothermal activity

Time spent: 4 weeks total: 2016 (summer) + 2021 (autumn) + 2022 (winter)

Population: 400,000

Currency: Icelandic Króna (ISK)

Itinerary: Reykjavík and the golden circle, Vík, Jökulsárlón, Höfn, Egilsstaðir, Reykjahlíð, Akureyri, Grundarfjörður, Snæfellsjökull National Park, back to Reykjavík.

Highlights: Volcanoes, glaciers, rivers, hot springs and moving tectonic plates: Iceland has it all if you love being outdoors where the scenery is as good as anywhere in the world.

In the summer of 2016, I travelled around the entire island in 2 weeks, hiring a car and camping along the way, returning in the winter of 2022, to spend 5 days in the snow and ice. Many people visit Iceland for 3 or 4 days to visit the Golden Circle on an organised trip (and it is easy to see why) but the real beauty of the country falls outside the touristy zone near Reykjavík. The itinerary below is from the 2016 trip but the photos are a mixture of both visits. The best thing about Iceland is that no matter how many times you go, it will always look different.

Flying to Keflavík airport and immediately getting the Flybus (£25 per person, 1 per hour) to the centre of Reykjavík is the same way everyone else gets to the capital city. The drop-off point is the bus terminal centre, a 10-minute walk from the modern architecture of the famous and picturesque Hallgrimskirkja church. Reykjavík is small for a capital city (roughly the size of the great city of Nottingham) so it is easily walkable in a few hours but to fit in all the museums and sights you might need a full day. There are lots of local clothing shops to peruse, artistic and colourful streets to wander down and the world’s only genuine penis museum if that floats your boat. 

Reykjavík acts as a hub for the various natural attractions around the area known as the Golden Circle which can be access in one of three ways: hop-on-hop-off tour bus (£99), a bespoke tour company with guide (£ various) or driving yourself. Of course, there are pros and cons for all of these options but we went with hiring a car as the plan was to drive round the whole country. On a whistle stop tour over a couple of days, you’ll be able to cram in the following trips, excursions and natural sights: Sellfoss waterfall, Kerid Crater, Thingvellir national park, Gullfoss waterfall, Blue Lagoon, Haukadalur Valley geysers and the Hverahlíð geothermal hot water river. Assuming you’re in Iceland for all the natural beauty, all of these sights are worth seeing and most are free to enter but the lovely thing about them all is they’ll appear differently between visits and seasons. The stunning Sellfoss waterfall (which could also be left until later in the trip if driving away from Reykjavík) was my personal highlight of the Golden Circle itinerary. The Blue Lagoon however was a bit of a disappointment in my eyes. It is £70 per person to get in, you only get limited time there and it is heaving with Instagram selfie sticks. There are so many natural hot springs around the country to bathe in for less money and fewer tourists, all of which offer basically the same thing. Iceland is one of the most expensive counties in Europe so saving money where you can is a good plan. The Vok Baths near Egilsstaðir,  Myvatn Nature Baths near Reykjahlíð, Geosea Thermal Sea Baths in Húsavík, the Forest Lagoon in Akureyri and the Krauma Spa near Kleppjárnsreykir are all under £45 entry while the Hverahlíð Hot Springs (accessible after a 3km hike) is free to enter aside from £1.50 per hour to park your car. If you want some extra luxury, the Sky Lagoon in Reykjavík (complete with 7-step Skjól ritual) is £85 per person but there are so many of these places around the island that you’re spoilt for choice. 

This is where the real fun starts. We headed to Vík on the south coast, following the easy-to-remember road number ‘1’ which circles the entire country and will be what you spent the majority of your time driving on. In the summer of 2016 we camped at Vik Camping but in the winter of 2022 we stayed at The Barn a swanky hostel at £78 per night (at the time). The winter snowfall over night beached our car the next morning but during the resulting blizzard, the owner helped pull our tiny Hyundai i30 out of the drift with his tractor with a nonchalance which suggested this happened to someone most days. Vík’s main attraction in the gorgeous, red-roofed Vík i Myrdal Church atop the hill overlooking one of Iceland’s many black sand beaches where you can ride horses or just photograph in the magical scenery in peace. Travelling east from Vík there are numerous places to stop so depending on how far you want to travel and how often you want to stop along the way; pick somewhere like Kálfafellsstaður where there are a couple of guesthouses or Höfn if you want to drive a little further. Either way, between Vík and Höfn there are dozens of sights to see. 

To help, I’ve created an interactive map below which has information, images and car parks for each of the listed attractions along the south coast between Vík and Höfn. Most are visible and accessible from the road as it has been designed this way but a few involve hikes or paying a tour company. 

If you’re pressed for time and are intending on driving to Höfn and back in a couple of days, then the following are absolute highlights. All the other stops along the way (pretty churches, canyons, ice caves and lava fields) are totally worth the stop but if you’re pressed for time and money, stick to these 6 free-to-enter Icelandic highlights.

Start with the Skógafoss and Kvernufoss (1) waterfalls before you reach Vík which can be seen from the road and spend half-an-hour taking in the power of these pretty waterfalls. If you’ve got the time then I recommend the 8km round trip walk to see the Sólheimasandur plane crash (2) on the black sand beach from the car park which has been left to the elements since 1973. All 7 passengers survived the crash and were later rescued by helicopter. It will take you 2 hours to get there and back again so make sure you’ve got time. After this, a short drive to the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon (3) is on the agenda. Park at the car park and then walk 10 minutes to see the scenic little river cutting out the jagged rock to make a gorgeous mini canyon. You can do an extra hike here if you want to get some steps in but if not, it will only take 30 minutes in total before you’ve taken some snaps and enjoyed the view.

The next unmissable stop is the Svartifoss waterfall (4) which involves a 30-minute hike from the car park. The incredible hexagonal columns of basalt rock formed by intense lava heat create this picturesque image which is totally different when summer becomes winter. A further hour drive will eventually lead you to one of Iceland’s absolute gems: the diamond beach at Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon (5). Where the Jökulsárlón Glacier meets water, giant pieces of ice (some as big as houses) break off and float outwards towards the ocean creating an ever-changing environment of ice and water. Some smaller icebergs get caught in the tide and are washed up on the black sand beach like giant diamonds in the rough (hence the name). You can spend hours-and-hours here gazing at the shimmering sculptures but as the sun goes down, there isn’t anywhere more beautiful in the world. There are boating tour operators such as Zodiac who will drive you out on the water to get you close to the ice (£95 per person) and you can repeatedly shout “Iceberg ahead!” at every turn which the boat drivers never get sick of... Finally arriving in Höfn, the last must-see stop for this leg of the trip is the Stokksnes peninsula with the Vesturhorn mountain (6) in the background. A tidal lagoon which sometimes reveals a black sand beach but often gives an incredible shimmering, mirroring effect, reflecting the mountains behind, is one of Iceland’s most photographed places and a gorgeous way to end the day. 

The wonderful thing about Iceland is that so much of the beauty lies on the coast on the ring-road, so stopping off at a secluded spot is really simple to do where you can add in any of the other sights listed here along the way easily. If you’ve got 4-5 days here then getting to Höfn and back (including all the activities in the golden circle) is probably all you’ll have time for. Try to see half of the things between Vík and Höfn each way and leave time for sunset or the blue-hour walks. If you’ve got 2 weeks here and want to continue around the island, then read on. If not, head back to Reykjavík and away.

The east of Iceland is where the best weather is. In fact, the better weather, proximity to mainland Europe and the pretty landscape makes you wonder why the capital city wasn’t built here instead. The main attractions to this part of Iceland are the active geothermal area and the Puffins. Head north from Höfn (still on the 1 ring-road) to the town of Egilsstaðir where you’ll find a ski resort and the beautiful Fardagafoss waterfall which (if you’re careful) you can walk behind and feel like you’re in an adventure movie. The Hengifoss and Litlanesfoss waterfalls can be easily reached via a 45-minute walk from the car park at the south end of the Lagarfljót lake, only a half-hour drive from Egilsstaðir. For musicians, head half-an-hour east to the village of Seydisfjordur to see (and sing in) the Tvísöngur 5 domes, created to each resonate one of the notes from the Icelandic 5-tone harmony. For Puffin watching, head an hour north on the 94 road until Borgarfjörður eystri where you can park up and snap some beautiful wild Puffins in their natural glory. 

The next biggest stop on the journey is Reykjahlíð where you might want to stay a few days to squeeze these bits in. The stunning lake Mývatn (2km hike circumference) and ominous Hverfjall volcano crater are the main attractions. On the west of the lake near Vindbelgjarfjall mountain there are numerous other smaller volcano craters in circular patterns which from above look like the impact craters on the moon. To the east of the Mývatn you’ll find the small geothermal Blue Lake (NOT for swimming in) which powers the Bjarnarflag Geothermal Power Station, the previously mentioned Myvatn Nature Baths (IS for swimming in) and the Hverir natural geothermal area (also NOT for swimming in). An extra little delight is the Grjótagjá cave, a tiny underground cave with incredibly still, mirror-like water which has a car park next to it for your convenience. This whole area is a hotbed (pun intended) of geothermal activity and there loads of geothermal activity everywhere so keep you camera handy and you eyes on the oozing pools of boiling hot mud.

Next up is Akureyri, Iceland’s second city (20,000 pop) where you can do more of the same: hiking, geothermal baths and breathtaking scenery. Visit the Laufás turf houses along the east side of the river, hike to the top of Mount Sulur (12km, 5-6 hours) parking and starting here and then finish off with a bathe in the Forest Lagoon (previously mentioned). This is also one of the 2 places I’d recommend for Whale watching in Iceland. For the chance to see Orcas, wait until the west coast and Snæfellsjökull National Park but for Humpback Whales, Akureyri is the place to go. There are a few tour companies to choose from and they all do the same thing for roughly £85 per person but the two times I’ve been I did see Humpback Whales and Dolphins. Sadly, no Orca sightings for me (so far).

As I was starting to run out of time, the next stop from Akureyri was Snæfellsjökull National Park. In between the two stops are plenty of sights to choose from as there are more road options in the west part of the island. Hraunfossar Waterfall near Húsafell looks like a miniature (and colder) version of the Croatian delight Plitvička Jezera waterfalls, the previously mentioned Krauma hot springs are a delight and the Gerðuberg Cliffs are another of those Icelandic natural landscape wonders of geology where a short walk from the car park will end with a quick hike to the top of the bright red Ytri-Rauðarmelskúla volcano cone. There is so much natural beauty here you get weirdly used to it. Carry on along the 54 and you’ll end up at the Snæfellsjökull National Park, the last major stop on our trip. 

Here you’ll find the Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge walk, the Vatnshellir Lava Cave (tour, £45 per person) and the Dritvik Djúpalónssandur lifting stones (a test of strength of 5 differently weight stoned) a 20 minute drive apart along more mesmeric black sand beaches. Around the peninsular there are waterfalls (Bjarnarfoss, Klukkufoss), beaches (Skarðsvík), craters (Saxhóll) and sea views (Lóndrangar) a plenty and you could spend hours hiking and clambering over the rocks, but the main attraction is the Kirkjufell Mountain and waterfall, one of the most photographed spots in the entire country. Park here and then walk a few minutes until you see the famous spot of the conical shaped mountain in the background and stream in the foreground. If you can time it in the summer with the sunset it is a truly magical place to be. The entire peninsular is spectacular but once you’ve finished it is time to either head north to see Ísafjörður and the fjords or head back towards Reykjavík and home. The latter will bring you close to Norðurpóllin Leikhús, a picturesque lighthouse which is a terrific spot to try and catch a glimpse and photograph the northern lights. Speaking of which, I’ve been to Iceland twice and never seen them, but others go and they’re everywhere. There are tour operators such as East West Tours who promise a refund if you don’t see the lights over a 3-4 hour expedition (£115 per person) but my advice is: plan your trip expecting to not see them and if you happen to get lucky then brilliant! A faint smudge in the sky on a clear night is what you’re looking for, but you’ll need a long shutter speed on your camera to really see the greens and yellows of the aurora. The images below look great now but I couldn't see the lights in the sky at the time.

That was the 2 week itinerary in a nutshell which missed out the phenomenal 5-day hike across the Laugavegur Trail through the heart of Iceland, a journey we’ll be attempting in the future for sure. Iceland is stunning at every turn and is the only European country comparable to New Zealand’s nature. Everywhere you go and each season, month, day and hour will be different in this ever-changing landscape. The places I’ve named here are our experiences but there are just as many more sights, activities, hikes and natural beauty that I’ve missed off for you to create your own adventure which will be unique to you. Use our advice or not, remember: it’s what you know, not who you know.