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From awe-inspiring glaciers to geothermal springs and active volcanoes, Iceland is a place where nature always takes center stage. Even in the nation’s lively capital of Reykjavik, views of the sea and nearby mountains steal the show. Isolated from the rest of Europe for centuries, this land of fire and ice has a unique cultural heritage of literature, music and cuisine that you’ll find captivating too.
With their self-reliant spirit and deep sense of community, the Icelandic people are just as enchanting as any of the best places to visit in Iceland. Illuminated by the Northern Lights in the winter and the midnight sun in the summer, Iceland shines in any season, offering you a travel experience unlike anywhere else on the planet.
Reykjavík
If it’s your first time in the country, spend a few days enjoying the sights in Reykjavík. If it’s your second, third, or fourth time traveling to Iceland, then there’s always something new to see.
Start with a bird’s-eye view of the city from the top of Hallgrímskirkja (a Lutheran parish church), take a whale watching tour of the harbor, and lounge around in one of the city’s many public swimming pools (which are all thermally heated).
Experience Viking history at the Settlement Exhibition, learn about whales at the Whales of Iceland exhibition, and don’t forget to save time for the National Museum of Iceland.
Hallgrimskirkja
Located in the capital city of Reykjavik, Hallgrimskirkja church is Iceland’s tallest building. It is one of Reykjavik’s best-known landmarks, the Hallgrimskirkja church looms over the City Skyline. It’s visible from almost everywhere in town yet many tourists never bother to visit this brutalist church on the hill. But bypassing this structure is a mistake.
Built over a period of 41 years it resembles the impressive landscapes around Iceland. Not only does the bell tower provide an impressive sight over the expanse of Reykjavik but the interior is impressive on its own housing a 15m tall concert organ sporting 5275 pipes.
The Blue Lagoon
Bubbling and steaming between the rocky promontories of the Reykjanes Peninsula some 40 kilometers from the island’s capital at Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon hails in as one of Iceland’s most visited tourist attractions. Despite its volcanic nature, the site is actually very young; formed from the leftover plugholes of a geothermal power plant in the 1970s. Still, the location amidst the ridges around Grindavik is truly enchanting, while the waters come packed with minerals – the reason for the shimmering, whitish hue of the lagoon and the driving force behind the spot’s famed healing powers.
Husavik
A tiny fishing village nestled within a sheltered cove in northern Iceland, Husavik is quickly earning a reputation as one of the best spots in Europe for whale watching. The most common species spotted from the tour boats include minke, humpback and blue whales as well as white-beaked dolphin and harbor porpoise. With several life-size skeletons on display, the Husavik Whale Museum offers a wealth of information about whales and also chronicles the history of whaling in Iceland. The pretty wooden church of Husavikurkirkja built in 1907 is worth a quick visit as well.
Haukadalur
Located in the Golden Circle, this geothermal valley is home to some of the most famous sights in Iceland: Geysir and Strokkur. Geysir, also known as The Great Geysir, this was the first geyser known to modern Europeans. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 230 feet in the air, however, eruptions aren’t too common, and have even stopped altogether for years at a time. Erupting once every 6 to 10 minutes, Strokkur is one of Iceland’s most famous geysers. Get your cameras ready because water usually shoots 50 to 65 feet high, but can sometimes erupt up to 130 feet high.
Gullfoss Waterfall
Visitors will find the majestic Gullfoss Waterfall roaring over the escarpments and bluffs of south-western Iceland. It’s famed as one of the most dramatic cataracts in the world, and cascades over a series of stepped rocks and terraces before plunging over the 32-meter high crevice that gives the fall its distinct appearance of disappearing into the Icelandic subterrane. The falls themselves can often be found arched over by rainbows or shrouded in plumes of mist, while by summer, the surrounding hills and ridges come dressed in a verdant covering of grass that makes a fine backdrop for hiking around the banks of the Hvita River.
Hornstrandir Nature Reserve
When it comes to viewing Iceland in its natural glory, no region matches the unspoiled wilderness of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in Westfjords. While it’s true that the its rough terrain of craggy mountains and plunging sea cliffs presents challenges, the Hornstrandir the ideal spot for nature-loving adventurers. With no shops or services within the reserve, however, hikers need to come equipped for any emergency. High on the bucket-list destinations for hiking enthusiasts is the Hornbjarg, a sky-high sea cliff located on the northernmost tip of the reserve. During the summer season, guided tours are available that let you enjoy this top-of-the-world experience in relative safety and ease.
The Golden Circle
The Golden Circle isn’t one place but three of the best places to visit in Iceland. A classic tourist route taking in some of the best scenery of Iceland, the Golden Circle comprises three major tourist attractions — Thingvellir National Park, the Haukadalur Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s best waterfalls. The Golden Circle is the perfect day trip from Reykjavík and a must-do for first-time visitors to Iceland.
From Reykjavík, head first to Thingvellir National Park, a large rift valley that’s both historic and scenic. This national park protects the area where things, or democratic meetings, were traditionally held for centuries. It’s also a location where the North American and European tectonic plates are diverging. If you brave the cold, you can go snorkeling or diving between them at the Silfra rift!
From Thingvellir, drive to the Haukadalur Geothermal Area, where you’ll find the explosive geysers intermittently spurting high into the air. Finally, head to Gullfoss (the Golden Waterfall), where you’ll have a dramatic cliffside view over one of Iceland’s largest waterfalls.
The Westfjords
One of the best things to do in Iceland is in one of the least visited regions. The West Fjords are often bypassed due to their remoteness and distance from other popular must-see Iceland attractions. Perhaps this helps to keep the West Fjords one of the best places to visit.
Due to the relative lack of tourists passing through the area, its attractions remain undiscovered by the masses. Here in the West Fjords, you’ll find sparse fishing villages tucked into sheltered coves, grand sweeping views, and landscapes that time and tourists have all but forgotten. And that’s about as good a reason as any to visit.
Reykjadalur Hot Springs
If the Blue Lagoon is booked or don’t want to fork out the extra cash for it, there’s another geothermal bathing area 40 minutes away from Reykjavík and you get to take a rewarding hike to it. However, the trek to Reykjadalur Hot Springs isn’t for the faint-hearted. It will take you about an hour or so hiking uphill to get to the part where you can get in the water, and that’s not including the time you spend awing at the gorgeous scenery.
Largest Glacier In Europe
One of the best places to visit in Iceland is the Vatnajokull glacier, the largest glacier in Europe. It makes up 8% of Iceland’s landmass with countless stunning ice caves, each a marvelous feat of nature.
Under the ice are at least three active volcanoes and the tallest peak in Iceland. Vatnajokull glacier also feeds countless rivers and outlet glaciers. It’s featured in Games of Thrones and two James Bond movies.
Grundarfjordur
The small and sleepy fishing town of Grundarfjordur makes its home on the ice-caked edge of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, where some of West Iceland’s most curious coastal formations edge their way up to the waters of the Greenland Sea. And while hiking and cliff trekking abounds in the surrounding national park and Grundarfjordur itself is known for its earthy summer folk festivals courtesy of the local Viking Foundation, the town is unquestionably most famed as the jump off point for seeing (and photographing for most) the striking profile of Mount Kirkjufell, which lurches like a rocky shark fin amidst the waterfalls and coves of Snaefellsnes.
Landmannalaugar
Located within the Fjallaback Nature Reserve in Iceland’s interior highlands, Landmannalaugar is best known for its scenic hiking trails. Situated at the edge of a lava field, the flat and easily traversed region is famous for its natural hot springs as well. Popular treks include short hikes through the lava field and climbs up nearby Mt. Blahnjukur, one of the rhyolite mountains that ridges Landmannalaugar’s graveled plains.
Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss
Every tourist who heads outside of Reykjavík visits Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss. These two waterfalls are located just a short drive along the southern coast, and you can see them from the highway itself.
They do get busy, particularly in summer, but that’s not just because they are easy to visit but because they are, quite simply, stunning. The first waterfall you’ll reach is Seljalandfoss, where a tall plume of water drops over the cliff and the entrance to a large cave. You can walk around the edge of the cave and get behind the waterfall for epic (if wet) photography.
Drive along the highway, and you’ll soon reach Skógafoss, which stands in the shadow of the infamous Eyjafjallajökull Volcano (whose eruption stopped all air traffic in 2010). Skógafoss is one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland, dropping 60 meters (196 feet) in an almost perfectly straight line from the top of the cliffs.
Rauðasandur Beach
While the black-sand-beach Reynisfjara is famous in the south, its pink-sand cousin Rauðasandur is unknown. This beautiful beach in the Westfjords is pink due to pulverized scallop shells. Stretching 10 km from the Látrabjarg bird cliff, it is the largest sea bird cliff in all of Europe. And it is a great place to spy puffins.
Mount Maelifell
Next to the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier is Mount Mælifell. It is listed as one of the amazing places on the earth and is only reachable by a four-wheeled vehicle because the road is usually wet and sometimes completely flooded. The best time to visit this gem is in the summer time.
Vatnajokull National Park
Crowned by the seemingly endless ice fields of its eponymous glacier (the largest on the continent outside of the Arctic Circle), the Vatnajokull National Park makes its home over more than 13,000 square kilometers of south-east and central Iceland. The area is famed for the great variation in landscapes, rolling from the flower-packed meadows and roaring waterfalls (don’t miss the famous Dettifoss Fall!) that run through the Skaftafell lowlands (where there are also camping sites aplenty by summer) to the windswept, crevasse-cut glacial fields on the mountaintops. The wetlands here play host to roaming reindeer, while mighty Hvannadalshnukur (the country’s highest point) stands high and the rugged interior of the Eldgja canyon showcases some truly wondrous volcanic geology – there’s loads to see.
