Iceland’s Ring Road & Golden Circle

Arrive at Keflavík International Airport and make your way to the Blue Lagoon to rejuvenate after the flight. We recommend you stop here before going to Reykjavík because it is near the airport. After soaking in the geothermal spa, head into the city where you will spend the night.

Overnight in Reykjavík
Tenon Recommends: Grand Hotel Reykjavík 4⭑

Highlights (included): Entrance to Blue Lagoon (comfort package).
Optional Activities: Aurora Reykjavik, Reykjavík Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus Tour, Whale Watching or similar.

After breakfast, drive toward the northwest and the magnificent Snæfellsnes peninsula. Known for its unparalleled scenery, the highlight is no doubt the Snæfellsjökull glacier itself. The area is known for its national park, small fishing villages, birding and hiking opportunities, as well as history, culture and literature: the adventure in the Jules Verne novel A Journey to the Centre of the Earth begins here, and Game of Thrones fans will recognize Kirkjufell as “the mountain like an arrowhead.”

Overnight in Grundarfjörður
Tenon Recommends: Kirkjufell Hotel 3⭑ or similar.
(Breakfast included)

Optional Activities: Independent or guided hiking, guided kayak tour, Lava cave tour, Whale watching.

The journey today will take you through western Iceland, a region known for its Icelandic horses. You may see them roaming the open landscapes, or people out riding them. You will then spend the night in Akureyri, Iceland’s most populous city in the north. Visit Glaumbær Farm & Museum, an excellent exhibition of turf houses that have stood for hundreds of years.

Overnight in Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city.
Tenon Recommends: Hótel Norðurland 3⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Highlights (included): Entrance to Glaumbær Farm & Museum
Optional Activities: Horseback riding tour, Akureyri Botanical Garden, Icelandic Aviation Museum

North Iceland has a long history with maritime life, so you may want to take a whale watching tour and visit the Húsavík Whale Museum before continuing to Lake Myvatn. Stop along the way to experience the spectacular Godafoss waterfall. Lake Myvatn is a nature and birding paradise Lake Myvatn is a nature and birding paradise where you will see firsthand one of the most beautiful geothermal areas on the planet.

Overnight in Lake Mývatn
Tenon Recommends: Hotel Laxá 3⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Highlights (included): Myvatn Nature Bath
Optional Activities: Húsavík Whale Museum, Whale watching tour, Lofthellir lava cave tour.

Make your way through a portion of the interior Highlands and visit Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall. The Highlands region is an uninhabited volcanic desert void of vegetation with wild, dramatic scenery of mountains, canyons, lava fields, volcanic ash, and basalt and rhyolite minerals creating a unique landscape. Continue to the East Fjords, featuring narrow fjords, remote fishing villages and traditional farms, forests and high cliffs, migratory birds, and the rugged coastline. You may even see wild reindeer (this is the only place you’ll find them in Iceland)!

Overnight in Fáskrúðsfjörður
Tenon Recommends: Fosshotel Eastfjords 3⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Journey today along Iceland’s southern coast where the road closely follows the coast, with stunning rock formations, black beaches, waterfalls, and glaciers. A boat tour in the glacial lagoon in Vatnajökull National Park will take you in between icebergs for a closer view of the mighty glacier. There are several photo opportunities today!

Overnight in Kirkjubæjarklaustur
Tenon Recommends: Laki Cottages 3⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Highlights (included): Glacial lagoon cruise
Optional Activities: snowmobiling across a glacier, ice cave tour

Explore more of south Iceland as you travel west. From more glaciers to lava beaches to waterfalls and wildlife, today will continue to surprise you. This area is home to many bird species including the world famous puffin, so keep your eyes peeled when around the cliffs. Learn about volcanoes at the interactive Lava Show in Vik, and admire the lush farmland along the south coast. South Iceland is where the geothermal energy is harnessed for many greenhouses which produce most of Iceland’s vegetables. At the Geothermal Park in Hverargerði, you can learn about Iceland’s geothermal resources and its history.

Overnight in Hveragerði
Tenon Recommends: Hotel Örk 3⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Optional Activities: Geothermal Park, Lava Show, bird watching boat tour, lava caving, horseback riding

Iceland’s famed Golden Circle route includes the island’s most spectacular natural features: Þingvellir National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Geyser hot springs, and Gullfoss waterfall. Þingvellir National Park is the location of Iceland’s first parliament and where two tectonic plates meet, with cracks and fissures clearly visible. Have your camera ready because the sites are nothing short of spectacular! After taking in the wonders, you’ve come full circle arriving back in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.

Overnight in Reykjavík
Tenon Recommends: Grand Hotel Reykjavik 4⭑ or similar
(Breakfast included)

Enjoy some last minute sightseeing or shopping in the city before driving back to the airport. Option to stop at the Blue Lagoon enroute to the airport. Say goodbye to Iceland or continue onwards to more Icelandic adventures!

(Breakfast included)

Highlights (optional): Aurora Reykjavik, Northern Lights Center, National Museum of Iceland