Colors of Iceland: Fire, Earth, Ice and Water

After your arrival in Keflavik International Airport you may take either a public flybus to Reykjavik or a taxi. In Reykjavik you may use the afternoon for a relaxing walk through the old town before the group meets up in the evening.
Services: Guest house

We leave Reykjavik to drive into the thermal area of ​​Neskjavellir and continue to the national park Thingvellir. Thingvellir is so special because there is hardly no other place on earth that illustrates so well the vertical and horizontal movements of the earth's crust. This national park is furthermore known for its natural beauty and also represents one of the most important moments of human history as here, in 930, the oldest democratic parliament in the world was founded. An hour's drive away is the Geysir geothermal area, famous for its colorful springs, pools and numerous water and steam vents. Whereas the Great Geyser´s centuries-long activity ended in 1915, his world famous neighbour Strokkur is still active and explosively shoots up its water masses every 10 minutes. A few minutes'drive away we arrive at the Gullfoss, one of the most impressive waterfalls in Europe. Above its two cascades rises a water vapor cloud which shimmers in all colours of the rainbow, probably giving him the name "Goldwaterfall". Afterwards we take a two-hour trip to the western highlands and the rhyolite area of ​​Kerlingarfjöll.
Services: at the guest house in Kerlingarfjöll, breakfast, Lunch, dinner

Today we have the whole day to explore the unique rhyolite area of Kerlingarfjöll as the "Woman mountain" is a high-temperature thermal area with wonderful short and longer hiking possibilities in a volcanically extraordinary landscape: colorful mountains, dark obsidian and white glaciers - altogether a bizarre landscape which is unique in the world. Kerlingarfjöll was formed by volcanic eruptions in the later ice age when its mountains were made of rhyolite rock as well as globally rare ocher and almost black hyaloclastite rocks. This explains the strong contrast in both shapes and colours between Kerlingarfjöll and the surrounding landscape.
Services: at the guest house in Kerlingarfjöll, breakfast, Lunch, dinner

In the early morning we continue to the thermal area of Hveravellir – a fascinating world of hot thermal springs, where we can take a hot bath. The northern part of the Kjölur slope is well developed as an access road to the Blöndulón reservoirs. Visualize and relive for a moment the harsh living conditions of the of the 19th and early 20th centuries at the old Glaumbær peat homestead in the Héraðsvötn River delta and visit the old peat church Víðimýri.
Continue via to small village of Hofsós and admire particularly slender basalt columns on the coast. Continue a wonderful scenic drive around the large Tröllaskagi Peninsula and through the dreamy fishing villages Siglufjördur and Olafsfjördur to Dalvik.
Services: night in a guest house in Dalvik, breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, go for whale-watching! In the large Eyafjördur near Dalvik, several humpback whales and many smaller whales and dolphins frolic in the summer. During an optional 3-hour trip, you have the chance to observe these large marine mammals from up close. This excursion costs about 75,- €.
In the afternoon, continue Akureyri to the legendary horseshoe-shaped Goðafoss waterfall, whose waters cascade dramatically over several parallel steps into the depths of a gorge.
In the late afternoon, discover the natural beauties around Mývatn lake, a place full of unique volcanic features: pseudo-craters, deep fissures, explosion craters, ancient lava lakes and much more. We take short walks in this surreal landscape.
Services: Guest house in Mývatn, breakfast, lunch, dinner

Today is to discover the natural wonders around the Mývatn lake in Iceland's center: pseudocraters, deep crevasses, various explosion craters, active fissure volcanoes, young and ancient lava fields.
We take a few short walks to see these attractions in the area. If you like, you can also enjoy a natural thermal bath in the surreal landscape all around Myvatn.

Early in the morning we head south, past the old volcanoes Hrossaborg and Herdubreid through the barren lava desert Ódáðahraun to the volcanic massif of Askja in the central highlands.
We hike the 2.5 kilometers to the sulfur-water-filled Viti crater, which formed during a violent eruption in 1875. From here we have a great view over the big crater lake Öskjuvatn and the almost 9 km wide Askja caldera.
In the afternoon return to our guesthouse in Mývatn, where we you can also take a relaxing bath.

Today we leave the Mývatn area and drive to mightiest waterfall in Europe: Dettifoss. Here
one of Iceland's mightiest glacial rivers falls into a 44 meter deep basalt canyon, with a deafening roar.
Along the canyon of the Jökulsá á Brú river, we continue to head east, to reach the coast at the finishing town of Borgarfjördur Estri. Its tiny harbour is one of the best spots to observe the charming puffins that nest on the steep lava cliffs (during July).

This morning we could again observe puffins before we drive back to Egilsstadir, where we take a short break and then continue into the east fjords. Before we reach our guesthouse in Berunes we pass several wonderful water-falls along the way.

Continue along the fantastic coastal road with breathtaking views into deeply cut glacial valleys and over vast sand fans. Arrive at Höfn on the Stokksnes Peninsula, where we have time for the famous Vestruhorn mountain behind a big black beach with black dunes - a photographer's highlight!
Short drive to our next guesthouse and on to the Jökulsárlón ice lagoon. The whole afternoon and evening is available to explore and photograph this fascinating area, including the "Diamond Beach" and the glacier itself. Depending on the weather and individual photo interests we can also go to the small island Ingolfshöfði in the afternoon. Connected to the mainland by a small watt, this isolated rock is home to a myriad of birds and has gorgeous views of the ice-capped, highest mountain in Iceland, Hvannadalshnukur (2119 meters).

On our way to Skaftafell national park we will pass the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón again and be able visit it for the second time. Amazing biodiversity characterises the Skaftafell mountain ridge which is surrounded on three sides by the ice masses of the Vatnajökull. Hikes of different difficulty and length are possible. The highlight is the Svartifoss waterfall which showcases basalt columns that look like organ pipes. Afterwards we cross the expanse of the Sanderðarársandur desert and continue onwards to the southern highlands whilst passing by Eldgjá, one of the world´s largest fissure volcanos. In the evening we reach the colorful world of Landmannalaugar.
Sevices: simple mountain hut; breakfast, lunch, dinner

Already the first settlers of Iceland enjoyed the hot springs of this region as a welcome break from the stressful highland crossings. The region around Landmannalaugar offers fascinating color contrasts. At the foot of colorful rhyolite mountains lies a black obsidian lava flow which forms a natural dam at the wide valley of the glacial river Jökugilskvísl. Many delightful trails through the area are possible.
Sevices: simple mountain hut; breakfast, lunch, dinner

Drive back to the south coast for a second chance to admire and photograph the magnificent mountain landscape in a better light. Continue to Cape Dyrhólaey, the huge rock arch at the southern tip of Iceland, and stroll around the large black beach Reynisfjara in the afternoon and evening, located right near our guest house.
Services: Guest house near Vík; breakfast, lunch, dinner

If you are interested, return to the black beach in the morning light. After that we head back towards Reykjavik early, but along the way, we visit the two large, beautiful waterfalls Skogarfoss and Seljalandsfoss at the feet of infamous Eyafjallajökull volcano (the one that stopped air traffic in spring 2010).
Services: overnight in same guesthouse in Reykjavik as on the 1st day; breakfast, lunch

Own transfer to the airport in time for your flight.