Travel
From speeding over black sand beaches to walking behind waterfalls, descending into volcanoes, hiking on glaciers or driving across the wild Highlands: read about our Iceland travels within.
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Music, Walks & Classic Eateries: Albert Finnbogason’s Perfect Day In Reykjavík
Albert Finnbogason is a guitarist—often seen performing with sóley, JFDR and a variety of other bands—and a producer at the Iðnó recording studio. Here’s how he’d spend a perfect day in Reykjavík. First thing A perfect day starts with a morning. Bright…
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The Winter Ring Road Pt. 2: Driving Route One In Iceland’s Stormy Season
This is part two of The Winter Ring Road: our five-day ring of Route One—and the people we met, and places we saw—in Iceland’s dark season. You can start at the beginning and read part one here. Day Three 217 km, Fáskrúðsfjörður…
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The Winter Ring Road Pt. 1: Driving Route One In Iceland’s Stormy Season
Route One is Iceland’s main highway. Completed in 1974, it loops the country, carving a path through tracts of farmland before reaching the lava fields and sweeping floodplains of the southern coastline, rattling over countless bridges along the way. The single carriageway…
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The Wild Westfjords: A Whistle-Stop Tour Of Ísafjörður And Súðavík
It was a very frosty morning in early March. I woke up too early for my own good, as I always do when I have a plane to catch, and headed to the Reykjavík airport for a flight to Ísafjörður. Along with…
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The Eastern Outback: Spring Comes To Borgarfjörður Eystri
Spring is in the air when we set out from Egilsstaðir along Route 94 to Borgafjörður Eystri. A cloudless blue sky casts soft hues onto the white spine of mount Tindfjöll, gleaming brightly across the snow-streaked plain of the Fljótsdalshérað valley. The…
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Vopnafjörður Town Guide: Seaside Life & Lava Hikes In East Iceland
The tiny town of Vopnafjörður lies tucked in a beautiful fjord 126km north of Egilsstaðir. Home to around 700 people, a small tangle of streets is dominated by the harbour, with a hulking fish-freezing plant that’s the town’s main employer. There’s been…
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Coffee, Concerts & Escaping Zombie Mode: Bára Gísladóttir’s Perfect Day In Reykjavík
Bára Gísladóttir is a contrabass player and composer who recently won the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize in Denmark, as well as a “Shout Out” at the last Grapevine Music Awards. “I haven’t lived in Iceland for some years,” she says, “but when…
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Town Guide: Shipwrecks, Cabins And Saltfish In Grindavík
With its small, busy harbour, views across to Reykjanesviti and Reykjanesfólkvangur nature reserve, and close proximity to the Blue Lagoon and Keflavík Airport, the humble fishing town of Grindavík—population, 3,000—is an interesting option for weekend visitors less interested in the hubbub of Reykjavík…
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Enter The Underworld: Lava Tubes And Ghosts In South Iceland
It was just another day in Iceland in February. Heavy rain was pouring down, with howling winds reaching an impressive 40 km/h. We had scheduled a tour with our guide Erla from Fjallahalla Adventures, and I was worried that the inclement weather…
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Korean Chicken, NFL & Plútó DJ Crew: Steinþór Helgi’s Perfect Day In Reykjavík
Steinþór Helgi is a music professional, promoter of Sónar Reykjavík, new father, and general well-known flaneur and man-about-town. Here’s how he’d spend a perfect day in Reykjavík. First thing in the morning I just had a son. He‘s only 2 months old…
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Iceland Trip Blown Off Course? Save Your Holiday With Our Reykjavík Rúntur
“You can’t plan Iceland. Iceland just sort of happens,” wrote Grapevine contributor Parker Yamasaki, during an Iceland trip back in March of 2017. She was writing whilst marooned in Vík, during a Skaftafell road trip that was derailed by a fierce and…
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Laugarvatn Town Guide: Caves, Ecotourism & Lakeside Bathing
The small, calm village of Laugarvatn lies on the shores of a lake that goes by the same name. It’s right on the Golden Circle route, so many people pass through Laugarvatn each day on their way from Þingvellir to Geysír, but…
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Go Steam Yourself: The Krauma Geothermal Spa Is A Relaxing Treat
The rural area of Borgarfjörður was, until recently, a relative backwater of Iceland’s tourist trail. Known for the waterfalls of Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, the historic village of Reykholt, the Deildartunguhver hot spring, the cave-riddled Hallmundarhraun lava field, and its close proximity to…
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The Smooth White Sea: Dog Sledding In South Iceland
The sun was high, and the snow too, on the day I joined up with Dogsledding Iceland. Only a twenty minute drive from Mosfellsbær, the meeting place was already swamped by a chorus of bonkers pups as I pulled up. Yipping, barking,…
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Clouds Vs. Zen: Escaping Reality In Search Of The Aurora
It had been a long day when we boarded the minibus to venture out into the darkness of the Icelandic winter in search of the northern lights. Indeed, the prospect of gorging ourselves at the Laugarvatn Fontana’s restaurant, before baking in their…
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The Great Escape: A Luxurious Getaway At The Ion Adventure Hotel
Þingvallavatn, Iceland’s biggest lake, sits cradled in the snowy tundra 45 kilometres east of Reykjavík. Surrounded by mountains and dotted with islands, the shimmering water recedes into the hazy distance, semi-frozen in the depths of the Icelandic winter. Shards of ice clink…
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Town Guide: Whales And Wonders In Grundarfjörður
Although you may not have heard of the town of Grundarfjörður, you’ve more than likely seen the nearby mountain of Kirkjufell on postcards, photographs, and even in movies. This distinctively steeple-shaped mountain is an iconic landmark, attracting many people to visit the…
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Silja Glømmi’s Perfect Day In Reykjavík: Brunch, Cats, Cooking, Vinyl
Silja Glømmi is a DJ often found spinning atmospheric tunes at various top downtown bars. Here’s how she’d spend a perfect day in Reykjavík. First thing in the morning On my perfect day, I would wake up early so I would have…
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Photos: A Sunset Road Trip In The Snowy South
We took a drive down into the deep countryside of South Iceland this week to stay at the Ion Adventure Hotel, near Iceland’s biggest lake, Þingvallavatn. On the way there and back, we passed some wonderful snowy landscapes in the long dusk…
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Steinunn Jónsdóttir’s Perfect Day In Reykjavík
Steinunn Jónsdóttir is a musician in Amabadama and RVKDTR. This is how she’d spend a perfect day in Reykjavík. First thing in the morning? I wake up early feeling fresh and rested. That’s not something that happens often because I tend to…
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Race Against The Sun: The Icy Wonderland Of Skógafoss And Jökulsárlón
Just over 370 kilometres from Reykjavik, in the far southeast corner of the country, you’ll find the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. This particular lake—Iceland’s deepest, in fact, at a depth of around 250 metres—is considered to be amongst one of the crown jewels…
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2017 In Travel: Hikes, Quads, Faroes & Windstorms
Travelling in Iceland is often dictated by the weather. It’s an ever-present spectre: wind, storms and fog can descend on the country at any time, even on midsummer night. While it makes for occasional difficult journeys, it also creates dynamic, ever changing…
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Challenge Accepted: Hiking Esja in Winter
Esja, the light of my life, and the fire of my loins. Having been to Iceland twice before, I’ve always seen Mount Esja from downtown Reykjavik. Along with the calming ocean, it’s an otherworldly and awe-inspiring backdrop for the city. Only about…