Iceland travel guide

Látrabjarg marks the westernmost part of Europe, and is primarily famous for its enormous bird colonies. Most visitors flock here to see the ubiquitous Atlantic Puffins up close, and you really can see them up close: many of them will allow you to approach to within a few metres without seeming particularly bothered. The cliffs themselves are also stunning, 14 km long and sometimes dropping 440 m down into the sea. During spring and summer Látrabjarg is home to millions of puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills, making it the largest bird cliff in Europe. But don’t step too close to the edge – this is a very windy area, and people have disappeared here before. Getting here is half the fun, involving hours of driving on bumpy gravel roads, and once you have arrived it is hard to doubt that you have reached the end of the world.

Iceland has a plethora of geothermal pools, but Blue Lagoon is not quite like any of the others. This is both good and bad – there is far more to do here than at most other pools in Iceland, but it is also much busier and more crowded. However, Blue Lagoon easily lives up to its hype. Not always blue (this requires a blue sky, so expect milky white water on an overcast day), Blue Lagoon boasts a large network of pools at varying temperatures (find yourself a hot-water outlet to get some serious heat), excellent saunas, in-water massage treatments (incredibly relaxing), out-of-water beauty treatments and a good restaurant – try the sushi. While in the water, enjoy a complimentary silica face-and-body scrub, have a drink by the bar, or pick up a rejuvenating algae masque. Renting a robe is highly recommended, as the air gets pretty chilly in Iceland even in summer. For a novel experience, make use of the late opening hours (to midnight) during summer.

If you were a real estate agent in Borgarfjörður Eystri, there is one selling point you would want to advertise loud and clear: location. Set in a small bay, surrounded by gorgeous mountain peaks, this village of 130 people is not as isolated as it once was – even in winter, super jeeps and snow mobiles make it possible to cross the mountains to the relative metropolis of Egilsstaðir. For travellers, it is a place to escape the crowds of the Ring Road. Despite its small size, Borgarfjörður Eystri has a lot to offer visitors. The Elf Rock – home of the queen of elves – has lovely views of the village and its surroundings, and a local guide can provide plenty of local myths, legends and stories about the hidden people living inside it. There are close to thirty day-hikes in the surrounding mountains, and some much longer ones, too. The local puffin colony makes for some of the easiest and most accessibly bird watching in the country, and turf-covered Lindarbakki – a private home which doubles as a museum – gives some wonderful insights into what life was like in these parts in the first half of the 20th century. For a livelier scene, this tiny village hosts one of Iceland’s biggest music festivals every August – but make sure to bring a tent, as only a fraction of the several thousand visitors can be housed inside the few hotels.

Diving in Iceland is cold, very cold. You will need to squeeze yourself into a drysuit, but you don’t need to have any previous experience of this, and many operators offer introductory drysuit courses – these are not always necessary, but highly recommended for less experienced divers. The rewards of getting under the surface are some absolutely unforgettable underwater experiences. At the top of most divers’ list is Silfra, in Thingvellir Lake. Why? First of all, you get to dive between the North American and Eurasian continental plates – you can literally touch them both as you swim through the crack between them! Also, the water here is some of the clearest in the world: 100m+ visibility, and the water is clean enough to drink. Finally, the underwater scenery at Silfra is mesmerizingly beautiful. There is very little animal life here, but it hardly seems to matter. Snorkelling is also possible here, but keep in mind that you will still need to wear a drysuit.

Dyrhólaey Peninsula lies just off the coastal town of Vík in the south of Iceland and is a giant volcanic rock. It takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to drive to the top with a 4x4 car, and around 30 to 40 minutes to walk up there. The area is rich in birdlife, and especially in the summer time there is a very good chance of seeing puffins nesting. The view from the steep peninsula is quite impressive on all sides. You can see both the glacier Mýrdalsjökull, four distinctive, large lava pillars that rise from the sea, the whole coastline, the town of Vík, and the striking black arch, made of lava, where a member of Parliament once flew through.

The Eastfjords, although not quite as dramatic as their western cousins, are the real highlight of eastern Iceland. Easily accessible and not particularly far from the Ring Road by 2WD, they nevertheless feel remote and isolated. Despite plenty of modern facilities, the small fishing villages that dot the coastline appear to be much as they once was, and life moves at a slower pace here than on the rest of the island. This is the home of the elves, a good place to see puffins, and one of Iceland’s premier hiking areas. Sea kayaking is another popular visitor activity here, and if you ask nicely you may be able to join one of the local fishing boats as they head out into the North Atlantic.

A surprising number of Icelanders claim to believe in the existence of huldufólk, or hidden people. Well, perhaps not so surprising, given the eerie landscapes, lava fields and Nordic light combined with living on isolated farms or in small fishing villages. The hidden people include gnomes, trolls, lovelings, dwarves, fairies, mountain spirits, angels and – above all – elves. Many Icelanders, if they have not had direct contact with the huldufólk themselves, probably know someone who has. And if it all sounds like a big joke, note that road construction has been rerouted to avoid destroying the homes of huldufólk, and official apologies extended to them for disturbing their peace. In a separate incident, a politician moved a 30-ton rock into his garden as a way of honouring its hidden residents for saving his life. The Eastfjords are an ideal place to learn more about Iceland’s huldufólk, and Borgarfjörður Eystri particularly so, as this is where the elves’ queen has her castle: join a guided tour and listen to the stories atop her home. And if you decide to explore the countryside on your own, be careful not to get lured away by the hidden people.

For an "end of the world" feeling, head to Djupavik at the Reykjarfjörður fjord in the Northwest of Iceland. You can still see the closed-down herring factory that was once the pulse of the village. The treeless Strandir coastline at the Arctic Sea is covered with driftwood from Siberia, which is not really around the corner!
About one hour drive North from Djupavik, just a few kilometers from literally the end of the road, you get to Krossness. On the beach they have an outdoor hot pool. What can be better than watching the sun set over the Arctic Sea from inside a hot pool on the beach?

When Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, the world stopped. Or much of Europe’s air traffic, at any rate. Locally, it forced the evacuation 800 people, and nearby farms were covered under a thick layer of ash. You wouldn’t know that when you drive past today, but there is a very interesting information centre just off the Ring Road – have a look at the 20 min video, narrated by one of the farmers. It is possible to hike up to the Eyjafjallajökull glacier and volcano, but it is a steep, full-day hike, and best not attempted without a guide. For those who don’t quite feel up to that challenge, and cannot afford to see it from the air, stop by the photographic sign in front of the farm – this will at least give you a good idea of what it looked like during the eruption.

A wide, but not so tall, waterfall which breaks off a grassland dotted with summer houses. There is a picnic area and a cafe right in front it, so it makes a nice stop on the Golden Circle on the way back.