Iconic Iceland and The Northern Lights

DAY 1: REYKJAVIK

Welcome to Iceland! Upon arrival you will transfer from Keflavik international airport to Reykjavik. Before checking in at your hotel, enjoy an overview of the city with a visit to Harpa and Hallgrímskirkja (time permitting).

Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

O/N at the Hotel Island or similar including dinner.

DAY 2: BORGARFJORDUR SAGA VALLEY

In the morning, we will head out of the city. We start heading to the West of Iceland to the Borgarfjordur district. Borgarfjordur has a rich history and is known as the Saga valley. For those interested we climb the Grabrok crater which takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Next up is Deildartunguhver, Europe's most powerful hot spring producing 180 litres per second of nearly boiling water at 97° Celsius.

Our lunch stop today will be at Krauma where we will also experience first-hand the usefulness of the abundance of geothermal energy Iceland has to offer in the form of geothermal pools - be sure to pack your bathing suit.

We then continue to the beautiful waterfall Hraunfossar which pours from a lava field in a series of waterfalls.

The next two nights we spend near Borgarnes in West Iceland. We enjoy dinner at the hotel followed by an evening Northern Lights hunt (weather permitting).

O/N at the Hotel Borgarnes or similar including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 3: SNAEFELLNES PENINSULA

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula sticks out from Iceland’s west coast and is in many ways a miniature of the whole island.

We will explore the national park with its incredible landscapes and views of the Snaefellsjokull glacier. We head to Grundarfjörður with its impressive coastline and surrounding mountains, lakes and waterfalls behind the village. Here you will find one of Iceland´s most photographed mountains, Kirkjufell.

Enjoy a packed lunch at a spot chosen by our guide. We continue exploring the national park. Depending on time and weather, our guide will take us to the beautiful Skardsvik beach with its golden sands and black lava rocks.

One of the highlights of the day is a visit to the Vatnshellir Lava Cave. This is a lava tube created when liquid lava flowed underground around 8,000 years ago. The cave lies at a depth of over 20 metres.

We return to Borgarnes and after dinner, when darkness falls, we look out for the Northern Lights.

O/N at the Hotel Borgarnes or similar including breakfast, packed lunch and dinner.

DAY 4: GOLDEN CIRCLE AND ICELANDIC HORSES

We start the day travelling along the Hvalfjordur fjord with our first stop at an Icelandic wool outlet store, time permitting. From here we head inland to Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We stop at Laugarvatn Fontana to taste freshly baked hot spring bread with Icelandic butter, and herring or trout, followed by a visit to Fridheimar, a geothermal greenhouse and horse farm, where we will enjoy lunch.

Next up is Gullfoss, only a few minutes away - a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá river. It is called the Golden Waterfall in English.
We continue to Haukadalur where we see steam rising from the Geysir geothermal fields as we arrive. The original geyser is now dormant, but Strokkur "the Churn" erupts at 5 to 10-minute intervals.

We travel to our hotel and after dinner we step into the evening darkness to search for the elusive Northern Lights.

O/N at the Land Hotel or similar including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 5: SOUTH ICELAND AND EYJAFJALLAJOKULL VOLCANO

Today we explore the South coast. Our first stop is the high, but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall which plunges over the mountain.

A little further east we visit one of Iceland's finest folk museums, Skogar. This museum contains a great collection of farm and domestic artefacts and turf-built houses. Nearby is the Skógafoss waterfall which is 60 meters high and one of Iceland´s most impressive waterfalls.

Next up is the infamous black lava beach and cliffs at Reynisfjara beach.

Late afternoon you will visit the unique Icelandic Lava Show in the village of Vik, the only place in the world where you can witness a volcano eruption up close. The eruption, just like those of Eyjafjallajökull and Katla Volcanoes, is recreated by pouring 2000°F (1100°C) molten lava over glacier ice. Visitors can witness the two colliding elements safely, which would not be possible with a real eruption.

We spend the next two nights in Vik, an ideal dark location to search for Northern Lights. We enjoy dinner at the hotel.

O/N at Hotel Kria or similar including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 6: SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK AND VATNAJOKULL GLACIER

Today is all about glaciers, ice and icebergs. We travel to the picturesque Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon filled with floating icebergs, the black sandy beach below called the "Diamond" beach where you see stranded icebergs and sometimes seals.

The Vatnajökull National Park is the largest National Park in Europe at about 12,000 square kilometres. We enjoy a picnic lunch at the Skaftafell Visitor Centre and afterward enjoy a walk to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier (weather permitting).

We return to the hotel for dinner followed by outdoor time, in search of the Northern Lights. This remote and quiet location offers a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights shimmering and dancing across the night sky.

O/N at Hotel Kria or similar including breakfast, packed lunch and dinner.

DAY 8: DEPARTURE

Sadly, today marks the end of our incredible journey. After early/ packed breakfast and hotel check-out, we transfer to the airport for our onward departure flight.

Including breakfast (may be a packed breakfast, depending on flight departure time)

END OF SERVICE

DAY 7: REYKJAVIK & BLUE LAGOON

We return to Reykjavik this morning where you will enjoy free time for last-minute shopping before enjoying lunch at your leisure. If you did not get a chance to visit Harpa and Hallgrímskirkja on your day of arrival, you may choose to do this, this morning.

Early afternoon we drive to Reykjanes peninsula and our hotel for check in.
In the late afternoon, we will end our tour with a visit to the famous Blue Lagoon, surrounded by lava fields. After a relaxing bath we enjoy a traditional Icelandic dinner at the amazing Lava Restaurant.

O/N at the Hotel Berg or similar including breakfast and dinner.