Iceland's Natural Highlights and South Coast

Upon arrival Premium Shared Transfer (door to door) to the hotel and check-in. Rest of the day at leisure for you to explore the city center with its variety of museums, small galleries, design boutiques, cozy cafes, and relaxing thermal pools and spas. This small capital city is ideal to explore on foot as most attractions are within easy walking distance. Overnight in Reykjavik.

Breakfast at the hotel. The guided tour starts with our fast and efficient pick-up service, where we will come to pick you up from either one of the hotels in the center of Reykjavik or one of the designated pick-ups stops across the city.

Thingvellir National Park. About a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik, you will find Thingvellir National Park, a location that holds both geological and cultural significance, which became a UNESCO heritage site in 2004. Thingvellir is home to the exposed section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the divergent rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, which means you will be standing in between two continents, right here, in Iceland. The Öxarárfoss waterfall cuts through the ridge with a beautiful drop from 13 meters (42.65 ft) high up, which you will visit as you walk down the path. The world’s first parliament was established in Iceland, right here in Thingvellir, in 930 A.D. While you are at the viewpoint of Hakið, enjoy the breathtaking, panoramic view of the entire area. The Þingvellir Church was consecrated in 1859, with a simple, elegant appearance, which adds a historic, cultural atmosphere to the natural landscapes. The Almannagjá fissure is close by, with clear glacial water running deep inside the lava walls. The water originated from Iceland's second-largest glacier, Langjökull, which has passed through the porous lava fields beneath. Your driver guide will pick you up further along the Rift Valley.

Geysir Geothermal Area An active geothermal region, the Geysir area is an hour’s drive away with many features to see. Steam vents, bubbling pits, warm ponds, with varied colors, and the greatest highlight of the area, the Strokkur geyser erupting every 5-10 minutes up to 20 meters (65.62 ft) high in the sky, a natural spectacle indeed. And the Great Geysir is a quiet, blue depth of water nearby. A visitor center is right next to the area with shops and several lunch options. (Safety is important, so a reminder to visitors to only walk along the path, as the steamy pits and sizzling water is boiling at extremely high temperatures underneath your feet.)

 Gullfoss Waterfall. The next highlight of the Golden Circle Route is the astonishing Gullfoss Waterfall, also known as the “Golden Waterfalls,” a magnificent, wide drop that first runs down 11 meters (36 ft), then 21 meters (68 ft), roaring to the depth of the canyon, with cliffs rising to 70 meters (230 ft). You will feel its forceful presence when you approach the waterfall and admire the stunning visuals and intriguing history. Gullfoss’s river is fed by the Hvítá river, or white river, originating from the Langjökull glacier. 

The remarkable crater lake, Kerið, is yet another popular attraction on Iceland’s Golden Circle Route, famous for its greenish lake water and colorful crater appearances on the slopes.

Blue Lagoon. After our visit to all the major points of interest in the Golden Circle of Iceland is complete, we head to the Blue Lagoon or ‘Bláa Lónið’ in Icelandic. The wonder is famous for its milky blue water that’s rich in silica, algae, salt, and other minerals with great healing benefits to the skin such as preventing premature aging.

A fulfilling adventure to explore the beautifully designed surroundings, sometimes you can even see the Northern Lights in winter’s sky at the Blue Lagoon. Your admission ticket is included in this full-day tour to Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon, all you need to do is to pack your swimsuit for the relaxing soak. After approximately 2 hours in the geothermal spa, we will head back to Reykjavik, which takes about 45 minutes to drive. Overnight in Reykjavik (B)

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.

You will be picked up at 09:00 am from your hotel (or Bus Stop). Today we will take you south before continuing to the east as we whisk you away for two days of amazing adventure sightseeing. We drive towards the slowly rising sun on the way to our first stop, the very unusual Seljalandsfoss waterfall, you can actually walk behind the gracefully falling cascade. It is well worth getting a little damp for such an exciting experience! 

Our next highlight is another waterfall, Skógafoss, located at the foot of a famous volcano, Eyjafjallajökull.  On a clear day, you will also get a great view of another volcano mountain glacier, Mýrdalsjokull.

As we continue on, we come to Reynisfjara, a black beach where some fantastic sights, such as the picturesque basalt column formations and the famous Reynisdrangar peaks, will greet us. We will drive through the charming small town of Vík on our way to our accommodation. Throughout the entire day, you can expect to see breathtaking landscapes consisting of vast lava fields, waterfalls, black sands, and glacier tongues. 

We will enjoy a relaxing evening, and if the conditions are right, we will hunt for the northern lights! The countryside close to Vatnajökull glacier, away from the city lights, is perfect for spotting this natural phenomenon. Overnight in a country hotel in the Skaftafell area (B).

Breakfast at the hotel and check out.

Today you will really get to know the glacier, venturing into the sparkling, blue/white world of an ice cave with a qualified guide, and visiting the extraordinary glacier lagoon, Jökulsárlón. Getting up close and personal with the vast glacial tongue of the great Vatnajökull glacier does not get any better than this! 

The renowned Jökulsárlón Ice Lagoon, made famous by several blockbuster movies including Batman Begins and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, to name just a couple, is a totally mind-blowing place. Splendid icebergs of amazing shapes, some incredibly large, have calved off the receding Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. They jostle one another in the huge lagoon before gliding on their surreal and stately journeys to the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these natural ice sculptures are washed onto the nearby Diamond Beach, you will see them glittering like diamonds, as they rest on the dramatic coal blackness of the beach. 

Next, you go into the glacier with a qualified guide! Ice caves are fascinating. New caves are formed each winter by the melt/freeze cycle of the glacier, they are always changing, both from year to year and within each winter. The journey into an ice cave will give photographers the most amazing opportunity to capture the shimmering blue light which passes through the glacial ice. Surprisingly deep shades of jewel blue will surround you, these tones are caused by ice compression, the way we perceive light and color, and the blueness can sometimes be intensified by algae. 

After visiting the ice cave, we head towards Reykjavík. We stop at Skaftafell Nature Reserve in Vatnajokull National Park, a green area in the midst of amazingly jagged mountains and glacier-topped peaks, the splendid scenery of Skaftafell is certain to be a highlight of your tour. We will keep an eye out for the Northern Lights on our way back to the city and will make a short stop if conditions allow for it. 

We return to Reykjavík around 21:00 pm.  Overnight in Reykjavik (B)

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Depending upon the flight schedule, you will be picked up at your Reykjavík hotel for a Premium Shared Transfer (door to door) to the Keflavik International Airport. (B)