Europe · Iceland

Iceland

Eight days around southern and western Iceland in a group of no more than 16. Glacier lagoon, geysers and, in winter, the aurora.

Iceland is the most expensive tour we run and there is no point hiding it. A beer in Reykjavík costs 11 euros, a canteen lunch 20. That is why seven breakfasts and five dinners are included — we want people to stop counting every day.

We travel in a 16-seat minibus rather than a full coach, because the roads in the south are narrow and some stops are simply not reachable in a big vehicle. The first three days cover the Golden Circle: Þingvellir, where two continental plates pull apart, the Strokkur geyser firing every six to ten minutes, and the Gullfoss waterfall. Then we head along the south coast — Seljalandsfoss, which you can walk behind, the 60-metre Skógafoss, and the black beach at Reynisfjara.

The high point is the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where blocks break off the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier and drift out to sea. They wash back up on the black sand of Diamond Beach next door. On winter departures (October to March) we keep two hours free every evening for aurora hunting. It cannot be guaranteed, but over the last three seasons we saw it on eight tours out of ten. The guide is Jozef, a licensed mountain guide who has been to Iceland twenty-three times and knows when it is worth driving out and when the cloud makes it pointless. Accommodation is simple guesthouses along the route, clean, with private bathrooms. Do not expect a pool or a spa, though there is usually a hot spring nearby.

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