28 May There are many essential places to visit in Iceland
There are many essential places to visit in Iceland, a land where you will come into contact with the most virgin nature and enjoy unique experiences, surrounded by postcard landscapes.
Volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs, and lava fields dot the landscape of this island known as the Land of Ice and Fire, where it is essential to rent a car, a 4×4, or a motorhome to get to its main tourist attractions and have the freedom to stop where and when you want.
Although any time is a good time to visit Iceland, if it is your first time in the country, we advise you to travel in summer, when the weather is more pleasant and you can go around the island without difficulty. Another good time is winter when, if you’re lucky, the spectacular Northern Lights appear in the sky.
Reykjavik
After landing in Keflavik you can get to know the country by spending a few hours in its small capital, Reykjavik.
This lively city, which concentrates a large part of the population of Iceland, has several points of interest such as the modern Hallgrímskirkja church, the picturesque old port, and the curious Sun Traveler monument.
After completing this list of places to see in Reykjavík We recommend you take this excursion to see the friendly puffins or this one to spot incredible humpback whales in their natural habitat.
Once you return from the excursion, you can recharge your batteries by eating the famous hot dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur or the soups at Icelandic Street Food, both of which are among the best places to eat in Reykjavík.
Blue Lagoon
50 kilometers from Reykjavík is the Blue Lagoon, the most popular thermal bath in the country and one of the best things to do in Iceland.
Keep in mind that throughout the island there is great geothermal energy that dots the land with numerous hot springs of all sizes and perfect for relaxing and enjoying the contrast between the heat of its waters and the cold outside.
The Blue Lagoon is the most touristic and has all the services such as saunas, hammams, and a large outdoor pool where you can have a drink while you submerge yourself in 40-degree temperatures. If you don’t have a car, you can get there by bus from Reykjavík, and considering that it is one of the best-known tourist attractions on the island, it is advisable to book your ticket in advance from this page
Circle of Gold
The Golden or Golden Circle formed by the Þingvellir park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Haukadalur valley, is another of the most emblematic places to visit in Iceland.
The Þingvellir National Park was where the Vikings established the first democratic Parliament in the world in 930 and the geological origin of the island, while the Haukadalur Valley concentrates some of the most impressive geysers in Europe, such as the dormant Great Geyser, the oldest in the world, and the Strokkur, which generates a powerful jet of hot water every 10 minutes.
To finish the visit to the Golden Circle area you can go to the fantastic Gullfoss waterfall and make a short stop at the photogenic Kerio crater.
Hunt Northern Lights
If you travel to Iceland between the end of August and the middle of April, you have the chance to catch the Northern Lights, one of the most incredible natural phenomena to see in the world. Although they can appear anywhere on the island, as long as the sky is clear, one of the most accessible is around the capital, in points without light pollution such as the Grótta Lighthouse or the farthest, Kirkjufell.
A very comfortable option is to book this tour that leaves from Reykjavík with which you will have the help of a guide in Spanish who will take you to the best observation points.
If you go on your own, we recommend you consult this page that offers good predictions and thus you will not have to do hours of guard duty below zero waiting for the sky to light up with green dances.
Landmannalaugar
One of the most incredible treks in the world takes place in Landmannalaugar, an area located 3 hours by car from Reykjavík, within the Fjallabak Natural Park.
To get to the starting point of the trek you must rent a 4×4 vehicle, take one of the regular 4×4 buses or book this excursion with a guide in Spanish since during the journey you will have to cross rivers and irregular areas, which are dangerous for a vehicle conventional.
Once in the park, you will have to choose between several itineraries, such as a 4-hour circular route that will take you through landscapes that do not seem from this planet, in which colorful mountains, fumaroles, rivers, lakes, and volcanoes are mixed, or others that take several days. long, like the famous Laugavegur trek, one of the best known in the world.
Myrdalsjökull Glacier
Another of the best experiences we had in Iceland is walking with ice axes, helmets, and crampons above the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier enjoying landscapes of ice sculptures, water cauldrons, and vertical cracks.
During the excursion, which usually lasts between one and two hours, you will be accompanied by an expert guide who will show you the route and will teach you how to handle yourself in the best way so as not to slip.
Although if you want to walk on top of the third largest glacier in the world and which occupies almost 10% of the Icelandic territory, we suggest you go to Vatnajökull. On this endless glacier, where scenes from the Game of Thrones series have been filmed and movies like James Bond, you can do several treks of different difficulties and if it’s winter, go into the impressive blue ice cave of Vatnajökull.
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