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Iceland is home to some of the most fascinating and surprisingly beautiful places in the world. Its largest city, Reykjavik, is a charming, colorful and eclectic city with a wide variety of architecture and vibrant art and music scenes. But any visit to Iceland should also get away from the cities a bit to explore the incredible landscapes that the small island nation has to offer: volcanoes, hot springs, glaciers, fjords, and the famous Northern Lights and the midnight sun. A tour is a great way to get out of town with a local guide to show you the really good stuff (and often without having to drive yourself – bonus!) And travelers of all ages and with all interests. They should consider booking these excellent ones.
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Best comprehensive tour: six-day small-group adventure tour of Iceland
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Surrounding the entire island with stops along the way, this small-group tour (capped at 15) offers a look at every corner of beautiful Iceland. Thingvellir National Park (where Iceland’s parliament was founded over a thousand years ago), Seljalandsfoss and Skogarfoss waterfalls, glaciers in Skaftafell and Vatnajokull National Park, Myvatn nature baths, a whale watching cruise in Eyjafjordur and the Reykholt Historic Site. Just a few of the places you will visit, see and explore on foot. Each night, you will stay in a cozy country hotel or small village inn and enjoy a hearty Icelandic breakfast. There is some moderate walking and a good pair of hiking boots or shoes (and rain gear) is recommended. The tour starts and ends in Reykjavik.
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Best Adventure Tour: Three-Day Golden Circle, Glacier, Rafting, and Blue Lagoon
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If you are a nature lover type, well, first: good option, choose Iceland. It’s an outdoor sports enthusiast’s dream! And this tour, in particular, allows you to climb, hike, raft, and yes, relax a bit. You will climb the Solheimajokull Glacier, where you can also try ice climbing (with a guide and plenty of safety gear), explore the Golden Circle area on foot, take a whitewater rafting trip down the Hvita River, and take an observation. whale watching from Reykjavik harbor. After those three adventurous days, the final stop, a soak in the hot pots at the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, will feel like heaven. All activities depart from Reykjavik daily and accommodation is not included in the price.
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Best 3-Day South Coast Tour: Golden Circle, Blue Ice Cave, Jokulsarlon and more
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The south coast of Iceland is home to most of its most famous natural attractions, and this guided mini-tour gives you the opportunity to visit the best of them at a pleasant and slow pace that allows you to really take the time to appreciate the astonishment. An eye-catching environment. You will visit the site where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, you will see the geysers in the Haukadalur valley, you will see Gullfoss, known as the ‘golden waterfall’, as well as several other impressive waterfalls, you will see the volcanic crater at Kerið, the Black sand volcanic beach in Reynisfjara, visit a natural blue ice cave only reachable by private jeep and more. Accommodation is in a rural guesthouse near Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and daily breakfast is included.
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Best Private Tour: Eyjafjallajökull and Thorsmork Private Super Jeep Tour
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If you’re staying in Reykjavik and looking for a short ride outside of the city, consider this luxury option, which takes you off the beaten path to some of the most fascinating places in the Thorsmork Valley. Your guide will pick you up from your accommodation in a road-ready Super Jeep and your first stop will be the Gigjökull Glacier, which split from Eyjafjallajökull, a glacier-covered volcano that erupted in 2010. Other stops include Stakkholtsgja Canyon, where you can do a short walk, if the weather permits, and Basar, a green valley that is also an option for hiking. The last stop of the day is Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall that you can walk behind. Your guide is a well-trained local expert with extensive knowledge of Icelandic geology, history, and flora and fauna, and as the only one (s) on the tour, you’ll be able to ask all the questions you can think of and even customize things a little to your liking. At the end of the day, you will return to your accommodation in Reykjavik.
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Best wildlife tour: Puffin cruise plus whale watching tour from Reykjavik
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This combo tour offers a discounted price on two favorite Reykjavik-based activities, both with adorable animals, some small, some… less small. First, depart from Reykjavik’s Old Port for an hour-long cruise close to shore to the puffin-filled island of Akurey. Bring your binoculars and you’ll see hundreds of these little big-nosed beauties, plus other seabirds like arctic terns and black guillemots, before heading back to port. Your second tour is a bit longer (3.5 hours), and it also runs out of the Old Port. Humpback and minke whales are almost constant visitors to these waters, as are varieties of dolphins and porpoises, and your guide will help you spot them as you sip hot chocolate and enjoy the view. You can take these two tours on the same day or extend them, if you wish.
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Best Hiking Tour: Thorsmork Volcano Hiking Adventure from Reykjavik
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This day trip takes you by jeep from Reykjavik on a 16 km (10 mile) hike from Basar to the Fimmvorduhals volcano in the Thorsmork Valley, with a stop at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This is a serious hiker trail that involves several steep climbs, so you’ll want to bring good boots (and if you’re not in shape, you may consider a tour that takes some gentler hikes). However, if you are a serious hiker, you will not find anything better, between the views, the expert guides and the sheer novelty of the terrain.
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Best Snowmobile Tour: Mýrdalsjökull Glacier Snowmobile Experience
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This is a mini trip, only two hours long, but it is a totally unique experience that you won’t soon forget. You’ll snuggle into several comfortable layers of clothing, hop on your snowmobile, and head out on safari through beautiful, desolate, and snow-covered scenery, with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Photographs are plentiful (your guide will help make sure you take some in the photo) and you will love the feeling of navigating through this beautiful, arid place. The tour departs from a base camp on the outskirts of Vik, so you will need to get there, probably in a rented car.
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Best Snorkeling Tour: Little Golden Circle and Silfra Snorkeling Adventure
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Snorkeling… in Iceland? Yes, and it is spectacular! Your day trip will begin with hotel pickup in Reykjavik, from where you will head directly to Thingvellir National Park. After a short walk, you will head to Lake Thingvallavatn, a lake that sits on the edge of two tectonic plates. You’ll dress up in a cozy, thick drysuit, take a quick safety lesson, and then dive in. The water is only a degree or two above freezing, but in your drysuit, it will be very hot as you float above the tectonic rift at the bottom of the crystal clear waters. After your snorkeling adventure, you will visit Haukadalur and its famous geyser (and the one that gave us the English word for the geological feature), Geysir, and then a final stop at Gullfoss waterfall before returning to your hotel in Reykjavik.
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Best Game of Thrones Tour: Game of Thrones Filming Locations Tour from Reykjavik
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The hit TV series Game of Thrones is known for searching for the strangest and most impressive places in the world to use as filming locations, so naturally their location scouts have taken them to astonishing Iceland more than once. Designed for GoT fans, but probably quite enjoyable for anyone who wants to see some of the most interesting scenery in the region, this day tour outside of Reykjavik takes you to some of these places, guided by an actor who was a extra in the show. Much of Iceland’s contribution to the Westeros landscape has been like the legendary Beyond The Wall, where the white walkers and the wildlings live (in real life, this is largely in Thingvellir National Park). You will see the Thorufoss waterfall, the Almannagjá gorge and the Thjorsárdalur valley, as well as the tectonic rift at Thingvellir and the Nesjavellir geothermal power station, neither of which were featured on the show, but both are extraordinary sights. It’s a fun day with a fun theme that also allows you to see some fascinating landscapes.
