Iceland is an otherworldly place of fire and ice. The forces of nature have created a volatile playground, where you can swim outdoors in a snowstorm in geothermally heated pools, trek across a mossy lava field, or power a skidoo over an icy glacier. Go whale-watching off Snaefellness, or swim in the Atlantic at Nauthólsvík, Reykjavík's heated ocean beach. In winter the countryside is bathed in the eerie light of the Aurora Borealis. More than a thousand years of independent Viking spirit is reflected in the friendly, self-reliant populace.

#1 Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The spa is located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland.

Address: Nordurljosavegur 9, 240 Grindavik, Iceland

Hours: Open today · 8AM–10PM

Phone: +354 420 8800

#2 Glacier Lagoon

Jokulsarlon ice lagoon is right next to Vatnajökull glacier, Europe's largest glacier. Vatnajökull and its surrounding area is Iceland's largest national park, and the second biggest national park in Europe, after Yugid Va in Russia. There are only three national parks in Iceland, all very unlike each other. Jokulsarlon forms a part of Vatnajökull National Park, that is characterised by ice, glacier tongues, rugged highlands and lava landscape.

#3 Diamond Beach

On the other side of the road there is also a beautiful black sand beach where you can see ice-cubes and crystals that are washed up from the sea, which is actually very beautiful especially at dawn, sunrise or sunset because then light illuminates the icebergs. Sometimes this beach is called the diamond beach which is totally understandable.

#4 Glacier Walk

A great hike to the top Iceland’s most famous glacier and volcano. The glacier has crevasses so a mountain guide and the right equipment are essential. The route down offers great skiing in the spring.

The Snæfellsjökull glacier is one of the most picturesque mountains in Iceland. This famous volcano rises up 1450 meters from the middle of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and is clearly visible more than a 100 km away. Many have written poems about its grandeur and shining white coat of ice and snow. The most famous literature about Snæfellsjökull is undoubtedly Jules’s Vernes novel “Journey to the center of the Earth” where the entrance to the center was through a caldera at the top of Snæfellsjökull.

#5 Ice Cave Adventure

The ice caves are a long time in the making. Each fall, after the meltwater of spring has begun to freeze, local guides from the area hunt for new ice caves. This is why the location of the caves change every year and every ice cave is unique and newly formed! The structure and condition of the caves can vary greatly each year. Our guide decides which cave to visit every day depending on safety and weather conditions.

Only available in winter Nov. - Mar.

#6 DC-3 WRECKED PLANE

The epic plane wreck on the black beach in South Iceland. In 1973 a United States Navy DC plane ran out of fuel and crashed on the black beach at Sólheimasandur, in the South coast of Iceland. Fortunately, everyone in that plane survived. Later it turned out that the pilot had simply switched over to the wrong fuel tank. The remains are still on the sand very close to the sea. The scenery of this white abandoned DC on the totally black sand is quite cool and surreal and the landscape around is pretty amazing too.

#7 Aurora Hunting

Iceland is a scarcely populated arctic island, with many wild, unpolluted places to see the Northern lights. Even though the lights of Reykjavik can't hide them, then they may be even brighter outside the city limits.

When can I look for the Northern lights in Iceland ?

I guess you could say we Icelanders are a bit privileged when it comes to the Northern lights, since we see so much of them and have them visible more than 8 months a year: From late August to the end of April. Any of those months is as likely as the next one to see some aurora activity, it just depends on your luck with the weather.

Actually the Northern lights are active all year long but we can only see them in darkness, when the skies are clear. In summertime Iceland is bright almost all the time, so that is the period when you can not see the Northern lights in Iceland.

#8 ÞINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK

The waters in and around Þingvellir are a popular destination for fishing as well as scuba diving. The constant, regular influx of groundwater into Þingvallavatn, the biggest lake in Iceland, together with a very varied habitat, has created good conditions for fish and other life forms in the lake. As a result, both the brown trout and char in Þingvallavatn are amongst the largest to be found in the world.

Þingvellir is one of the three stops on the Golden Circle tour.

#9 Snorkeling in Silfra

#10 Gullfloss Waterfall

#11 KERIÐ CRATER

Kerið, is a 55 m deep volcanic crater, about 3000 years old. It is a part of a group of volcanic hills called Tjarnarhólar, and is now filled with water, creating a lake whose steep circular slopes resemble an ancient amphitheatre. Concerts have been held on a floating raft on the lake.

#12 Seljalandfoss

#13 Skogafoss Waterfall

Skogafoss probably rivals Gullfoss as Iceland's most famous waterfall. This was a classically-shaped rectangular waterfall that dropped 60m with a width of 25m, and it was this feature that prompted Julie to call this her favorite waterfall in the country. Adding to its allure was that it had a high volume of water making it thunder and produce rainbow-yielding mist that often would make this falls a photographer's dream under sunny skies.

Perhaps a major reason why the falls was so popular was that it was very easy to access. Thus, it wasn't surprising to see lots of people as well as tour buses. The presence of camping also helped its popularity, I'm sure. But it was a very flat and tame scramble along the river's banks that led us right up to the wall of water. Getting so close to the base of such a large waterfall was quite rare in our waterfalling experiences.

#14 Vik

#15 Reynisfjara

Reynisfjara is the Coolest Beach in Iceland. Reynisfjara is some 180 kilometers from Reykjavik (perhaps 2 and half hour drive) and it is an easy drive on the ring road (Highway One). When traveling from Reykjavik you turn on road 215 to get there. It has pitch black sand and lots of pebbles which are great for skipping stones! It has a really nice pyramid shaped cliff of basalt columns called Gardar and a shallow cave with basalt columns that looks really cool. In the sea towards the nearby (and really nice village of Vík) lie the dramatic looking sea stacks called Reynisdrangar. Bird lovers will find a lot of seabirds there such as puffins, fulmars and guillemots.

#16 Hofn

#17 Bulanstindur

#18 Dyrholaey

#19 Kvernufoss Waterfall

#20 Seljavallalaug Pool

#21 Mossy Lava Field

#22 Skaftafell National Park

#23 Akurayri Lake Myvatn

#24 Myvatn Nature Baths

#25 Seydisfjordur

#26 Geysir

#27 Gufufoss Waterfall

#28 Dettifoss Waterfall

#29 Namafjall Hverir

#30 Viti Crater

#31 Godafoss Waterfall

#32 Hvitserkur Troll Rock

#33 Londrangar Rock

#34 Haifoss Waterfall

#35 Kirkjufell

#36 Budir Black Church

#37 Hallgrimskirkja Church

#38 Hallgrimskirkja Church

#39 The Sun Voyager

#40 Perlan Reykjavik

#41 Perlan

#42 Harpa Concert Hall

#43 Geysir Ejaculation

#44 Glymur Waterfall

#45 Arnarstapi Snaefellsnes

#46 Stakkholtsgja