Climb inside a volcano. Clamber over glaciers. Or simply soak in a thermal pool. These are the activities that will take you to the heart of this most unique of destinations
Icelandic folk have been bathing outdoors in thermal pools since Viking times. It would be remiss of you not to join in, either as a surreal way to spend a dark winter’s day or to unwind after a strenuous hike.
Relaxing in a hoot pool in Iceland (Shutterstock.com)
The Blue Lagoon, with its vividly coloured water, is the most famous of Iceland’s pools – and its most commercialised. The Myvatn Nature Bath is popular too, set as it is amongst the Martian landscape of craters, fissures, lava beds and solfatara. (Be warned: the pool can be unbearably hot first thing in the morning.)
But really, there are thermal pools dotted all over the country. Ask a local for directions to their favourite. Chances are you’ll have it all to yourself.
Climb over it or under it. Or watch it crash into the sea. Ice puts on quite the show in Iceland.
Vatnajökull is an 8,100 sq km dome of ice (one twelfth of Iceland’s surface) up to 800m thick, protected in an eponymous national park. To explore the rumbling glaciers, hire a guide who’ll provide the gear and steer you safely through the jumble of crevasses and pinnacles.
Then, head for Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon jammed with thousands of giant icebergs calved from a glacier. Stroll along the moraines and gaze at the icebergs as they drift by and out to sea.
What about going inside a glacier? Europe's second-largest ice mass, the Langjökull glacier, has been out of bounds for generations – but is now home to Europe’s longest ice tunnel, 500 metres long and 30 metres below the surface.
The extreme dark of the Icelandic winter has a few perks. Between September and April, Iceland is one of the best places in the world to observe the Northern Lights. Apart from the ‘Big Smoke’ of Reykjavik, there is virtual no light pollution competing with the display in Iceland.
Kirkjufell with the Northern Lights (Shutterstock.com)
Iceland is also one of the most stylish places to observe the Lights. Hotels dotted around the country are designed with Aurora viewing – and your comfort – in mind. You can watch the Lights as you eat or drink or kick back in an outdoor hot pool and leave your thermals packed away safely in your bag.
Your chances of seeing whales in Húsavík are amongst the best in the world. Whale-watching boats jostle for space in Húsavík’s snug harbour. Most days between May and September they chug out into Skjálfandi, a bay backed by brooding mountains.
Whale watching in Iceland (Shutterstock.com)
Look out for for minke whales and white-beaked dolphins – humpbacks and giant blues sometimes turn up too. On land, allow time for the Whale Museum and a brew at one of the harbour’s bars and cafés.
Accessing Iceland’s wild Eastern Fjords has always required a long drive, internal flight or long sea voyage. But with new direct flights this untouched land of jagged mountains, mighty waterfalls and black sand beaches is now within reach.
Waterfalls near Breiðdalsvík
Head there now and you will have Iceland’s new ‘Golden Circle’ pretty much to yourself. Picture postcard villages like Djúpivogur are a delight – complete with a a pretty little harbour with colourful boats scattered like confetti beneath old wooden buildings.
