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The Dust Storm: Wild Winds & ATV Adventures On The South Coast
We’re approaching Seljalandsfoss when the sky suddenly turns dark. The drive from Reykjavík has been blustery, with violent gusts pushing at the car as we sweep through the rust-coloured countryside of southern Iceland. Fast-moving bands of cloud drag across the sky under…
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Over The River: A Taste Of Winter In Selfoss
The Ölfusá river near Selfoss gushes down through southern Iceland, from the place where the Hvítá and Sog rivers meet. The rapidly flowing torrent is sped along by springwater tributaries, creating a roaring, tumultuous flow that winds its way circuitously down to…
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A Flying Visit: Keflavík’s Hotel Berg Is A Tucked-Away Gem
We streak out of Reykjavík along Route 41, escaping snarls of Saturday morning traffic and shooting into the snowy wilderness of Reykjanes. Soon enough, the city is far behind us. It’s midday but the sky is still tinged with pink—daytime never really…
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Geothermal Beer: Hveragerði’s Ölverk Brew Pub Is A Must-Visit
Until recent years, many of Iceland’s small rural towns have had—despite a couple of top-notch exceptions—very limited options when it comes to dining and drinking. Due in part to the country’s ongoing tourist boom, today this situation is changing. With more potential…
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Town Guide: Stylish Cabins, Seafood, and Beautiful Coastline In Sandgerði
A small town on the tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula, Sandgerði boasts one of the most active fishing harbours in Iceland. With straight roads leading directly from Reykjavík to Sandgerði, it is arguably one of the easiest small towns to reach during…
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The Invisible Canyon : A Hike In The Windblown Outback Of Landmannahellir
For many Icelanders, the summer isn’t complete without a visit to the vast, desolate heart of Iceland—The Highlands. This region is dotted with some of the most amazing sights of the country. Landmannalaugar—the famous basecamp for many beautiful hikes, and the destination…
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The Real Lava Experience: A Visit To Vík’s Brand New Icelandic Lava Show
This September, almost 100 years after Katla’s last eruption, a particularly volcanic piece of history is brought back to life. Fittingly located in the middle of the Katla UNESCO geopark in the town of Vík, The Icelandic Lava Show pours forth the…
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The Best Seat In The House: Paragliding Iceland
If there is one natural resource Iceland will always have in abundance, it’s wind. While the country continues to inch its way towards wind power, one company has already harnessed it for the purposes of improving our quality of life: Happyworld, which…
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Down To Middle Earth: Exhilaration & Relaxation At Midgard Base Camp
Off a newly demarcated dirt road—literally off the beaten path—one finds themselves at a curious location that combines the sheer idyllic beauty of the southern countryside with rural industrial grit. Set inside a former mechanics warehouse and garage, Midgard Adventures and Base…
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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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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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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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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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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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In Photos: South Iceland Road Tripping In Deep Midwinter
On day two of our recent road trip around the back roads and coastal routes of South Iceland, we took a few stops in desolate but beautiful parts of the South Icelandic outback. Starting from Hotel Ion in the geothermal valley of…
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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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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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Best Of Iceland Awards: South
Welcome to Grapevine’s Best Of Iceland—a guide to the best hikes, hotels, must see spots, eateries, road trips, tours, shops and more, all around the black shore of this rocky subarctic isle. We assembled panels of locals, travellers and Iceland experts to…
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The Winter Outback: A Christmas Feast At Úlfljótsvatn
Tucked away in a lake-strewn tract of land between Route One South and the Golden Circle lies a rural municipality known as Grímsnes og Grafningshreppur. In the summer, it’s easily accessible from Reykjavík by a network of little-used back roads that pass…
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The Old School: A Getaway In Þingvellir And Laugarvatn
Autumn is possibly the shortest season in Iceland, but it’s also one of the most beautiful. As we drive north out of Reykjavík and turn off Route One towards the small town of Laugarvatn, the afternoon sunlight catches the yellow and copper…