Iceland: the Golden Circle, Snaefellsnes and the South Coast

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Reykjavik

   Keflavik International Airport to your hotel in Reykjavik

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Reykjavik
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Keflavik International Airport (KEF), about 50 km from Reykjavik across the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula. Many flights from North America land early in the morning, so a private transfer takes you straight into the city and the hotel holds your bags until your room is ready; early check-in is something we request but cannot promise. Sleep, find breakfast, or swim at one of the city's geothermal pools, where locals sit in the hot tubs in all weathers. At 3 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for an easy two-hour walk: up to Hallgrimskirkja, along the pond at Tjornin past City Hall and the Parliament House, then down to the Old Harbour and the glass front of the Harpa concert hall. We finish with a short briefing on the days ahead and walk together to a welcome dinner in the centre, a first taste of Icelandic lamb or fish.

   Compris

   • Private transfer from Keflavik International Airport (KEF)
   • Guided walk in Reykjavik: Hallgrimskirkja, Tjornin, City Hall, the Parliament House, the Old Harbour and Harpa
   • Welcome briefing and welcome dinner

   Activités en option

   • Whale watching from the Old Harbour in the morning, about 3 hours (seasonal; price shown at booking)
   • Sky Lagoon in Kopavogur after dinner (price shown at booking)

   Temps libre : Free until the 3 pm walk

   Activité : If you land after about 2 pm, we meet you at the hotel and you join the group at dinner.

2. Jour 2 : A day on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula

   Reykjavik to Borgarnes, Budir, Arnarstapi and Djupalonssandur, then Rif and Kirkjufell, and back to Reykjavik

   • Environ 6 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Reykjavik
   Détail du jour 2

   This is the one day that breaks our four-hour driving rule: about 460 km and six hours at the wheel. A night on the peninsula would mean a third hotel and a one-night stop, so we drive it once, with no leg longer than about an hour and a half, seven stops and a sit-down lunch. We leave at 8 am, under Hvalfjordur by tunnel, for coffee in Borgarnes. On the south shore of the peninsula, the small black church at Budir stands alone in a lava field. At Arnarstapi, basalt cliffs and sea arches line the shore below Snaefellsjokull, the glacier-capped volcano Jules Verne chose for the start of his Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Lunch is included near Hellnar. At Djupalonssandur a path through lava leads to a black pebble beach, iron from a trawler wrecked in 1948, and four old lifting stones. Round the tip we pass the lake at Rif and the fishing town of Olafsvik, and reach Kirkjufell, 463 m, and its waterfall at about 3:30 pm. The drive home crosses the peninsula with a stretch stop in Borgarnes; back in Reykjavik by about 7:30 to 8 pm. Dinner is yours.

   Compris

   • Snaefellsnes Peninsula with your guide: Budir church, the Arnarstapi cliffs, Djupalonssandur, Rif and Olafsvik
   • Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss
   • Snaefellsjokull National Park
   • Sit-down lunch near Hellnar

   Option plus facile : Stay in Reykjavik for a free day: the National Museum, a city pool or the Sky Lagoon, and dinner with the group when it returns.

   Option plus active : Walk the 2.5 km cliff path from Arnarstapi to Hellnar, about an hour past sea arches and nesting birds, and meet the minibus at lunch.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Reykjavik

   Activité : The longest day: about six hours in the minibus, broken by seven stops and lunch, with no leg longer than about an hour and a half. Short walks of up to 1 km at each stop on uneven ground; the Djupalonssandur path is rocky.

   

3. Jour 3 : The Golden Circle and the Secret Lagoon

   Reykjavik to Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, then the Secret Lagoon at Fludir and south to Hvolsvollur

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Hvolsvollur
   Détail du jour 3

   We leave Reykjavik at 8 am and reach Thingvellir National Park, about 45 minutes away, before most of the day coaches. Iceland's parliament, the Althing, first met here in 930, and the park is listed by UNESCO. Walk down through the Almannagja rift, along the edge of the North American plate, to the Law Rock, the small white church and the Oxararfoss waterfall. It is about an hour on to the Geysir geothermal field, where Strokkur erupts every few minutes, often 15 to 20 m into the air, and ten minutes more to Gullfoss, where the Hvita river drops in two steps into a narrow canyon. Lunch is included near Gullfoss. In the afternoon we soak in the Secret Lagoon at Fludir, a naturally hot pool made in 1891 among steaming vents, before an easy drive of about an hour and a quarter south through farm country to our hotel in or near Hvolsvollur, home for two nights. The evening is free.

   Compris

   • Thingvellir National Park with your guide: the Almannagja rift, the Law Rock and Oxararfoss
   • Geysir geothermal field and Strokkur
   • Gullfoss
   • Sit-down lunch near Gullfoss
   • Secret Lagoon at Fludir, entry included

   Option plus facile : At Thingvellir, take in the view from the Hakid viewpoint and ride down to the lower car park; at the lagoon, sit in the cafe or the hot tub instead of swimming.

   Option plus active : Walk the full length of Almannagja to Oxararfoss and on to the church, about 2.5 km, and meet the minibus there.

   Temps libre : Evening free near Hvolsvollur

   Activité : About 3 km on foot at Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss on good paths, some steps at Gullfoss. Bring a swimsuit and towel for the lagoon.

   

4. Jour 4 : The South Coast to Vik

   Hvolsvollur east to Reynisfjara and Vik, then back west by Dyrholaey, Solheimajokull, Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Hvolsvollur
   Détail du jour 4

   The reason for two nights in the south: a whole day on the coast without a transfer. We leave at 8 am and drive to the far end first, about an hour to an hour and a quarter, so we are on Reynisfjara by about 9:15 to 9:30, before the day coaches from Reykjavik: black sand, the basalt columns of the Gardar cliff and the sea stacks of Reynisdrangar offshore. The waves here are dangerous, so we follow the warning signs and keep well back from the water. A short look at Vik, then Dyrholaey, the headland with a great sea arch, where puffins nest from about May to August. Next we walk to the snout of Solheimajokull, a glacier tongue of the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, and stop for an included lunch at Skogar below Skogafoss, a 60 m fall that throws out rainbows on sunny days. We finish at Seljalandsfoss, which faces west and is at its best in afternoon light; when the path is free of ice you can walk behind it. Back by about 4:30 pm, with time to rest before our group dinner.

   Compris

   • Reynisfjara and Reynisdrangar
   • Vik
   • Dyrholaey headland and sea arch
   • Walk to the snout of Solheimajokull
   • Skogafoss
   • Seljalandsfoss and the path behind the falls
   • Sit-down lunch at Skogar
   • Group dinner near Hvolsvollur

   Option plus facile : See Skogafoss from the flat ground at its foot, and Seljalandsfoss from the front, without the wet, slippery path behind it.

   Option plus active : Climb the roughly 500 steps beside Skogafoss and follow the Skoga river trail upstream past more falls, about an hour there and back.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free before dinner

   Activité : About 4 km on foot across the day: sand and shingle at Reynisfjara, a gravel path of about 1 km each way to the glacier, and spray at Seljalandsfoss, so wear waterproofs.

   

5. Jour 5 : The LAVA Centre, Eyrarbakki and home

   Hvolsvollur to Selfoss and Eyrarbakki, across the Olfusa estuary to Thorlakshofn, then Reykjavik and Keflavik International Airport

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 5

   A slower last morning. After breakfast we spend about an hour at the LAVA Centre in Hvolsvollur, an interactive exhibition on Iceland's volcanoes and earthquakes, with a view from the building towards Eyjafjallajokull, whose 2010 eruption grounded flights across Europe. Then we drive west through Selfoss to Eyrarbakki, once a busy trading port and now a quiet village of old timber houses by the sea; Husid, the merchant's house, dates from 1765. The road crosses the mouth of the Olfusa, Iceland's largest river by volume, on a long bridge over the estuary at Oseyrartangi, then climbs from Thorlakshofn over the lava of the Threngsli pass towards the capital. Guests staying on are dropped in central Reykjavik at about 1 pm, and the rest of us reach Keflavik International Airport by about 2 pm, in time for the afternoon flights to North America. Your guide says goodbye at the airport.

   Compris

   • LAVA Centre in Hvolsvollur, entry included
   • Short walk in Eyrarbakki
   • Drop-off in central Reykjavik or at Keflavik International Airport (KEF)

   Option plus facile : If your flight leaves before about 3:30 pm, we take you straight to the airport after the LAVA Centre.

   Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm to see both stops. Lunch today is your choice, at the airport or in Reykjavik.

   

Faune et météo : From May to July the nights barely get dark, and puffins nest at Dyrholaey from about May to August, when parts of the headland can close to protect the birds. April and October are cooler, with a chance of snow and ice on paths, and in October the drive home from Snaefellsnes on day 2 ends after dark. The Northern Lights need dark, clear skies, so they are only possible on departures from about late August, in September and October, and in April.

• Reykjavik2 nuits
• Hvolsvollur2 nuits