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 in a northerly direction and drive under Hvalfjörður (tunnel) into Reykholtsdalur to the Hraunfossar (lava falls). Here, a stream gushing out from under an old lava falls into the larger river Hvitá. A few kilometres further on, we visit the largest hot water springs in Europe at Deiltartungahver, where 180 litres of boiling water gush out of the ground every second.
We continue along the south coast of the large Snæfellsnes peninsula, where we visit the beautiful wooden church of Buðir and, if the weather is fine, take a short walk along the sea.
Continue to Olafsvík, where we will stay in our accommodation nearby.
Overnight stay: Guest house
Meals: breakfast (F), lunch (L), dinner (A)

Today we will circle the tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and, with a bit of luck, see the glaciated Snæfellsjökull volcano. We take a few photo hikes along the picturesque and sometimes wild coastline. As we continue eastwards along the north coast of the peninsula, we pass the famous Kirkjufellsfoss (Church Mountain Waterfall) shortly before Grundarfjörður, where we make a longer photo stop.
In the afternoon we continue to the last kákarl producer in Iceland. Hákarl is the famous fermented Greenland shark, which looks like overripe muenster cheese and tastes a little bitter, but is a delicacy. Shortly afterwards, we pay a brief visit to the charming little town of Stikkisholmur before traveling further north-east to Hrútafjörður, where we spend the night in a guesthouse right by the sea.
Services: Overnight stay in a guesthouse at Hrútafjörður; F,L,A

Early in the morning, we continue on the main road to the village of Varmahlíð, where one of Iceland's most beautiful traditional turf churches can be seen just beforehand.
A few kilometres further on, in the river delta of Héraðsvötn, you can explore the old peat farm Glaumbær, which is particularly worth seeing. Here you can experience the harsh living conditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
We continue via the small village of Hofsós, where we can marvel at and photograph particularly slender basalt columns on the coast. This is followed by a scenic drive around the large Tröllaskagi peninsula and through the dreamy fishing villages of Siglufjördur and Olafsfjördur to Dalvik.
Services: Overnight stay guesthouse in Dalvik; F,L,A

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.

In the morning we drive north to Húsavík, the largest fishing village in the north-east with a population of around 2500. We stop in the town and can visit the largest wooden church in Iceland, the lively harbour and/or the whale museum, which is well worth seeing.
We continue around the Tjörnes peninsula to the Vatnajökull National Park, where the Jökulsárgljúfur (Glacier River Gorge) is located in the far north. There we visit two gorges that are unique in the world: Ásbyrgi (Castle of the Gods, or Castle of the Aesir) directly on the coastal road with its unique horseshoe shape and, further south, Europe's mightiest waterfall, Dettifoss (plunging waterfall), which plunges 44 metres into the depths.
Afterwards return to our accommodation at Mývatn.
Services: Overnight stay same guesthouse as last night; F,L,A

Today we leave the Mývatn area and drive eastwards across the eastern highlands along the gorge of the river Jökulsá á Brú.
Until 10 August we continue to the north-east coast to the remote coastal village of Bakkagerdi. The small, remote harbour rock is the best place in Iceland to observe puffins breeding at close range.
(The puffins in Bakkagerði programme item is offered until 10 August, as the puffins generally no longer breed on land after this date and can no longer be seen).
After 10 August to one of the most beautiful basalt column gorges in Iceland - Stuðlagil (Column Gorge). The glacial river Jökulsá á Brú has eroded here over many millennia into a massive lava flow consisting of basalt columns. A short hike of around 3 hours takes us to the most beautiful viewpoint.
Later we continue our journey via the village of Egilsstaðir to the East Fjords. Before we reach our accommodation in Berunes, we have some wonderful waterfalls along the way to spend some time at.
Services: Overnight stay in Berunes guesthouse; F,L,A

Along the marvellous coastal road with many views of deep glacial valleys and huge sandy areas, we finally reach the Stokksnes peninsula east of Höfn, where we can take plenty of photos of the famous Vestrahorn mountain behind the large black beach and the small black sand dunes. Finally, we drive to our next accommodation just before the large glacier lagoon.
Afterwards we have the whole day reserved for the large ice lake 'Jökulsárlón'and its breathtaking surroundings such as the 'Diamond Beach'and other glacial lakes.
Services: Overnight stay guesthouse east of the ice lagoon; F,L,A

There are still so many high-calibre photo opportunities around the large glacial lake that we will visit other small glacial lagoons and glacier tongues today, depending on the photo yield from the previous day. Depending on the weather and availability, we can also go to the mudflat island of Ingolfshöfði in the afternoon (optional for an extra charge). This island, which is connected to the main island by a small mudflat, is home to many seabirds and offers a fantastic view of Iceland's highest ice-covered mountain on a clear day.
Services: Overnight stay same guesthouse; F,L,A

On the way to Skaftafell National Park, we drive past the glacier lagoon and can make a short detour there.
Enclosed on three sides by the ice masses of Vatnajökull, the Skaftafell ridge is home to an astonishing variety of species. The highlight here is the Svartifoss waterfall, at the edge of which basalt columns overhang like organ pipes.
We then cross the expanse of the Skeiðarársandur sand plain. Passing the famous Eldhraun (fire lava), one of the largest lava fields in human history, we finally reach the large black beach at the southern cape of the island near Vík í Myrdal.
A few kilometres to the west lies the striking rock of Cape Dyrhólaey, the mighty rock arch at the southern tip of Iceland.
Services: Overnight stay guest house near Vík; F,L,A

We set off early today, as an extensive day programme awaits us: We visit the two large waterfalls Skogarfoss and Seljalandsfoss at the foot of the Eyafjallajökull volcano. Both are characterised by their impressive drop height of around 60 metres and once again impressively show us how overwhelming Iceland's natural wonders can be.
Then we continue on to Landmannalauger. The area offers fascinating colour contrasts. At the foot of colourful rhyolite mountains, a black lava flow of obsidian borders the wide valley of the glacial river Jökugilskvísl. Many attractive hiking trails criss-cross the area. After our short hike, we drive to our accommodation not far from Landmannalaugar.
Services Overnight stay same highland hotel; F,L,A

Today we start the eventful journey back to Reykjavik. The first major photo stop is Hjálparfoss (the Help Waterfall) in Þjórsárdal. We drive along the picturesque valley and turn inland again towards Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall), where we can marvel at the wonderful waterfall. A few kilometres further on we come to the thermal area of the famous geyser and the now very active Strokkur spring, which shoots its hot water up to 35 metres into the air every 10 minutes or so.
The last major photo stop is Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir is of great importance in terms of geological history. With its fractures and subsidence, it illustrates the vertical and horizontal movements of the earth's crust like no other region on earth. The national park, which is known for its natural beauty, is also linked to one of the most important moments in Icelandic history: The first major political assembly in the country's only 56-year history took place here in 930.
Return to Reykjavik in the late afternoon.
Services: Overnight stay in the same guesthouse in Reykjavik as on day 1; F,L

Own transfer to the airport in time for your flight.