Iceland: the South Coast, the Glaciers and Snaefellsnes

Arrive in Reykjavik

Keflavik International Airport to your hotel in Reykjavik

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Reykjavik
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

Most flights from North America land early in the morning, so a private transfer brings you straight into the city, and the hotel keeps your bags until your room is ready; we request early check-in but cannot promise it. Sleep off the flight, find breakfast, or try one of the city's geothermal pools, where locals sit in the hot tubs whatever the weather. At 3 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for an easy two-hour walk: Hallgrimskirkja on its hill, the pond at Tjornin, the Parliament House and the Old Harbour, ending at the glass front of Harpa. Over a short briefing your guide runs through the week, including the choice on day 3 between the glacier walk and the path to Svartifoss, so we can book your place on the ice.

Soir

Then we walk together to a welcome dinner in the centre at about 7 pm.

Compris

• Private transfer from Keflavik International Airport (KEF)
• Guided walk in Reykjavik: Hallgrimskirkja, Tjornin, 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)

The Golden Circle and the waterfalls to Vik

Reykjavik to Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, then Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss to Vik

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Vik
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Soir

Our longest driving day: about 305 km and four and a half hours at the wheel, over our four-hour cap because a night between Gullfoss and Vik would add another hotel change. Six short legs, lunch and a stretch stop break it up. We leave at 8 am to reach Thingvellir National Park by about 8:45, before most of the day coaches. Iceland's parliament first met here in 930, and the park is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Walk down the Almannagja rift to the Law Rock and the Oxararfoss waterfall. An hour on, Strokkur erupts every few minutes in the Geysir field, and ten minutes beyond, the Hvita river drops in two steps into the Gullfoss canyon. Lunch is included near Gullfoss. The afternoon runs south through farmland on Route 30 to the Ring Road, with a stretch stop in Hella, then on to Seljalandsfoss, a 60 m fall you can walk behind when the path is free of ice, then Skogafoss, also about 60 m, a single broad curtain you can walk right up to. We reach Vik at about 6 pm for a walk on the black beach. Dinner is yours tonight.

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
• Stretch stop in Hella
• Seljalandsfoss and the path behind the falls
• Skogafoss
• Walk on the black beach at Vik

Reynisfjara, Eldhraun and a glacier at Skaftafell

Vik to Reynisfjara and Dyrholaey, then east across Eldhraun to Fjadrargljufur and Skaftafell, ending near Hof

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Hof
• Environ 3 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is included near Skaftafell, in Vatnajokull National Park, and then the group splits for the afternoon. The active choice is a glacier walk of about three hours with a certified local glacier guide, in crampons and a helmet, among ridges, crevasses and meltwater channels on an outlet glacier. The easy choice is the walk to Svartifoss, a waterfall framed by dark basalt columns, with your See Sight Tours guide. Both are included.

Soir

We reach our hotel near Hof by about 6 pm for an included dinner.

Compris

• Reynisfjara and Reynisdrangar
• Dyrholaey headland and sea arch, when open
• Eldhraun lava field
• Fjadrargljufur canyon, when the path is open
• Sit-down lunch near Skaftafell
• Skaftafell, Vatnajokull National Park: a glacier walk of about 3 hours with a certified glacier guide, or the walk to Svartifoss with your guide
• Dinner at or near the hotel

Jokulsarlon, Diamond Beach and back west

Hof to Jokulsarlon and Diamond Beach, then Fjallsarlon and west along the South Coast by Kirkjubaejarklaustur and Vik to Hvolsvollur

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Hvolsvollur
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Soir

The night near Hof puts us at Jokulsarlon about half an hour after breakfast, ahead of the day tours that drive out from Reykjavik and Vik. Icebergs break from the front of the Breidamerkurjokull glacier and drift slowly across the lagoon towards the sea, and seals often swim among them. Our boat trip on the lagoon is included, about 40 minutes among the ice in season. Across the road, chunks of ice wash up on the black sand of Diamond Beach. Heading back west, we stop at Fjallsarlon, a smaller, quieter lagoon close to its glacier front, then pass Skaftafell below Oraefajokull, the ice-capped volcano that holds Iceland's highest summit. This is our other long driving day, about 315 km and four and a quarter hours, a little over our cap because there is no closer base for the next day's run to Snaefellsnes. The boat comes first, the longest leg is about an hour and three quarters to lunch, a proper stop in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur. A stretch stop in Vik breaks up the afternoon, and we reach our hotel in or near Hvolsvollur by about 5:30 pm. The evening is free.

Compris

• Boat trip on Jokulsarlon, about 40 minutes (in season)
• Diamond Beach
• Fjallsarlon glacier lagoon
• Sit-down lunch in Kirkjubaejarklaustur
• Stretch stop in Vik

Borgarnes and on to Snaefellsnes

Hvolsvollur by Selfoss and Reykjavik to Borgarnes, then Gerduberg and the Berserkjahraun lava field to Grundarfjordur

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Grundarfjordur
• Environ 4 h de route

Après-midi

In Borgarnes the Settlement Centre tells how Iceland was settled and the story of Egil Skallagrimsson, the poet and fighter of Egil's Saga, who grew up here; entry and lunch are included. In the afternoon the road runs north west onto the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, past the long wall of basalt columns at Gerduberg, then over the Vatnaleid pass to the north shore. We stop in the Berserkjahraun lava field, named for two berserkers in Eyrbyggja saga who were set to clearing a path through it, and walk a short part of the way.

Soir

Grundarfjordur, our home for two nights, sits beside Kirkjufell; we arrive at about 4:30 pm, and the evening is free.

Compris

• Settlement Centre in Borgarnes, entry included
• Sit-down lunch in Borgarnes
• Gerduberg basalt columns
• Short walk in the Berserkjahraun lava field

Round the Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Grundarfjordur to Kirkjufell, Olafsvik and Rif, then Saxholl, Djupalonssandur, Londrangar, Hellnar, Arnarstapi and Budir, and back over the Frodarheidi pass by Olafsvik

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Grundarfjordur
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

The Londrangar sea stacks come next, then lunch in Hellnar. After lunch, the cliffs and sea arches of Arnarstapi below Snaefellsjokull, the glacier-capped volcano where Jules Verne began his Journey to the Centre of the Earth. At Budir, beside the small black church, we walk into the Budahraun lava field for about an hour among moss and ferns.

Soir

Then we cross the peninsula by the Frodarheidi pass to Olafsvik and run east along the north shore to Grundarfjordur by about 5 pm, with a farewell dinner tonight.

Compris

• Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss
• Olafsvik and Rif
• Saxholl crater
• Djupalonssandur
• Londrangar sea stacks
• Sit-down lunch in Hellnar
• Arnarstapi cliffs and sea arches
• Guided walk in the Budahraun lava field at Budir, about 1 hour
• Snaefellsjokull National Park
• Farewell dinner in Grundarfjordur

Back to Reykjavik and home

Grundarfjordur over the Vatnaleid pass to Borgarnes, through the Hvalfjordur tunnel to Reykjavik and Keflavik International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 3 h de route

Matin

A gentle last morning. After breakfast there is time for a final look at Kirkjufell or a walk by the harbour before we leave at about 9 am. The road crosses the peninsula by the Vatnaleid pass, with a last view back over the lava, and follows the coast to Borgarnes for a coffee stop. Beyond the long bridge over Borgarfjordur, the tunnel under Hvalfjordur saves the drive round the fjord, and we reach Reykjavik at about 11:45 am.

Après-midi

Guests staying on are dropped in the centre, and your guide can suggest where to spend the afternoon: the National Museum, a city pool or the harbour. The rest of us reach Keflavik International Airport by about 12:45 pm, in good time for the afternoon flights to North America and Europe. Your guide stays with the group to the airport and says goodbye there. Lunch today is your own, in Reykjavik or at the airport.

Compris

• Coffee stop in Borgarnes
• Drop-off in central Reykjavik or at Keflavik International Airport (KEF)