Vacation Overview
Tour Details
Natural Wonders Of Iceland - Small Group
Circle Iceland in a Small Group, linking glaciers, geothermal bathing and working farms with fishing towns and small harbors. Step onto the Langjökull ice cap in specially modified glacier vehicles and walk inside man-made ice tunnels. Bathe in GeoSea’s seawater pools above Skjálfandi Bay, visit Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and follow the south coast past black sand and well-known waterfalls. Along the way, call at an Icelandic wool factory, a dairy and equine farm, tomato greenhouses and a farm baking rye bread in hot springs, combining recognized natural landmarks with everyday places where people work with ice, heat and the North Atlantic.
Dining Summary
- 8 Breakfast (B)
- 5 Dinner (D)
Well-being
- Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.
- Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.
Additional Included Highlights
- Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
- Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
- We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
- From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
- Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
- If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.
Make Travel Matter
- Fridheimar: Visit a tomato farm where geothermal heat and greenhouse cultivation allow year-round growing. You’ll learn how artificial lighting compensates for limited winter daylight and see how controlled conditions support steady production before tasting the tomatoes on site. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
Top Rated Highlights
- Gullfoss Falls: See Gullfoss, where the glacial-fed Hvítá River drops in two stages into a rugged canyon, sending spray into the air as the water cuts through layers of rock. The falls sit at the heart of the Golden Circle and show the force of Iceland’s meltwater rivers, especially when seasonal flow increases.
- Hvolsvollur: Visit the Lava Center, an interactive museum where you will learn about the geology and natural occurrences that have influenced and created Iceland's incredible landscapes.
- Skogafoss: Visit Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, two south coast waterfalls shaped by rivers dropping from Iceland’s interior. Each fall offers a different profile, with water plunging over former sea cliffs and cutting into the rock below, illustrating how glacial meltwater and changing coastlines have formed this section of the island.
- Skaftafell: Move through the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park, where outlet glaciers, lava fields and plains meet at the edge of Europe’s largest ice cap. The landscape shows how volcanic activity and ice have worked together over time, carving valleys, feeding rivers and leaving moraines that mark the glacier’s earlier extent.
- Lake Jokulsarlon: Spend time at Jökulsárlón, a glacier lagoon where ice breaks from Breiðamerkurjökull and drifts slowly towards the sea. The lagoon doubled as an Arctic setting in the James Bond film Die Another Day, chosen for its floating icebergs and stark contrasts.
- Lake Myvatn: Spend time around Lake Mývatn, an area known for volcanic landforms and birdlife. You may explore the lava formations at Dimmuborgir, walk among pseudocraters or visit the sulfur fields and steaming vents at Námaskarð, gaining a sense of how recent volcanic activity has shaped this northern landscape.
- Goðafoss: Pause at Goðafoss, where the Skjálfandafljót River drops over a curved horseshoe of rock into a wide basin. The name, “waterfall of the gods”, refers to stories from the Christianisation of Iceland around the year 1000, and the site illustrates how glacial rivers cut through volcanic plateaux in the north.
- Akureyri: Join your Travel Director for an orientation of Akureyri, often referred to as the capital of north Iceland. See the harbourfront, Akureyri Church and key streets, and note how fishing, education, services and regional transport all center on this town at the head of Eyjafjörður.
- Hvammstangi: Visit the Kidka wool factory in Hvammstangi, where Icelandic wool is knitted into lopapeysa-style garments recognized worldwide as a symbol of the country. You’ll see how the dual-layer fleece is spun and knitted on modern machines, and how traditional patterns are adapted for export while keeping the character of Iceland’s best-known knitwear.
- Hólabak: Visit Holabak dairy and equine farm to see how a small Icelandic farm combines milk production with Icelandic horse breeding. You’ll hear how herd size, milking and grazing are managed, and learn why Icelandic horses that leave the country can never return, a rule that helps keep the island’s only horse breed disease free.
- Snaefellsjokull National Park: Visit Snæfellsjökull National
Daily Itinerary
Insight Vacations: Natural Wonders of Iceland - Small Group
Day 1 - The Smoky Bay of Reykjavík
Arrive in Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital on the edge of Faxaflói Bay. The city runs on geothermal heat and hot water, and its skyline mixes low-rise streets with landmark buildings such as Hallgrímskirkja and Harpa Concert Hall. This evening, you’ll meet your Travel Director and your small group for small bites. If time allows beforehand, you could take a short walk along Laugavegur for cafes and design shops, or follow the waterfront paths by the Old Harbor.
Accommodations: Radisson RED
Day 2 - Hot Springs, Waterfalls and Tomatoes
Start with a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at a local tomato farm, where geothermal heat supports year-round greenhouse growing. See how tomatoes are cultivated under artificial light through Iceland’s long winter darkness, then taste the crop on site. Continue to the Geysir geothermal area to witness erupting hot springs, followed by Gullfoss, where glacial water plunges in two stages into a rugged canyon. The afternoon opens out across South Iceland, a region linked to Njál’s Saga and marked by wide plains, farms and volcanic ridgelines. In clear weather, Hekla and Eyjafjallajökull rise on the horizon, and at times the Westman Islands appear offshore. Later, visit the Lava Center in Hvolsvöllur to explore interactive exhibits on Iceland’s tectonic forces before joining your small group for dinner at your hotel.
Accommodations: Loa, Hvolsvöllur
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - By Glaciers and Icebergs
Spend the day along Iceland’s south coast, pausing at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, two waterfalls where rivers plunge from the highlands towards the Atlantic. Continue to Vík for a visit to Víkurfjara Black Sand Beach that highlights the island’s volcanic origins, then travel into the Skaftafell area of Vatnajökull National Park, with views towards Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest ice cap. Later, stop at Diamond Beach, where ice from the glacier lagoon washes up on the black sand, before arriving at Jökulsárlón to watch icebergs drift from the glacier towards the sea. Here, you may choose to join an Optional Experience: an amphibian boat tour on the lagoon. Your day concludes at your Fosshotel, with dinner shared with your small group.
Accommodations: Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 - Eastern Fjords
Arrive in Höfn, a small harbor town known for its fishing heritage and views back towards Vatnajökull. Enjoy some free time to walk the harbourfront, look in on the quayside or pause in a cafe. Continue through the Eastfjords, where steep mountains and narrow inlets frame small fishing villages. In clear weather, you may spot low-lying Papey Island offshore. In Breiðdalsvík, you may choose to join an Optional Experience at Beljandi Brewery, a microbrewery set in a former fish plant, before traveling on to Fáskrúðsfjörður. The village served as a base for French fishing fleets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and former French hospital buildings, a small cemetery and bilingual street signs still reflect that history. This evening, join your small group for dinner at your hotel.
Accommodations: Fosshotel Eastfjords
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - By Desert, Lakes and Divine Waterfalls to Akureyri
Cross the interior via Möðrudalur, one of Iceland’s highest settled farms, and pause at the Herðubreið viewpoint to see this flat-topped volcano rising from old lava fields. Continue to Lake Mývatn, with time to explore features such as the lava formations at Dimmuborgir or the sulfur fields and steaming vents around Námaskarð. Travel on to Húsavík to relax at GeoSea Baths, where warm geothermal seawater pools look across Skjálfandi Bay in the afternoon light. Later, stop at Goðafoss waterfall before reaching Akureyri. This evening, explore at your own pace — perhaps walk the Eyjafjörður waterfront, visit Akureyri Church above the harbor or try restaurants serving North Iceland dishes such as fish soup, grilled cod or lamb.
Accommodations: Kea, Akureyri, Akureyri Skjaldborg
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6 - From the Capital of the North to Borgarfjörður
Start the day with an orientation of Akureyri, Iceland’s second-largest urban area and main town in the north. See the harbor, Akureyri Church and central streets, and gain a sense of daily life along Eyjafjörður before heading into the countryside. Call at Holabak dairy and equine farm to see how milk production sits alongside Icelandic horse breeding, a protected native breed that has remained pure for over a thousand years. Afterwards, continue to Hvammstangi to visit the Kidka wool factory, where Icelandic wool is turned into knitwear using modern machinery and local patterns. Travel onwards to Borgarfjörður, where you’ll join your small group for dinner.
Accommodations: Varmaland
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Exploring Snæfellsjökull National Park
Head along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula to Snæfellsjökull National Park, where a glacier-capped volcano marks the peninsula’s outer tip. See coastal lava fields and views towards Snæfellsjökull before stopping at Búðir, known for its black church set on a lava field near the shore. Continue to Arnarstapi to walk the sea cliffs, with basalt formations, rock arches and nesting birdlife, then visit the black-pebble bay at Djúpalónssandur. Return to Borgarfjörður for an evening at leisure: follow local walking paths, look in on nearby viewpoints or choose a restaurant serving regional dishes such as lamb, Arctic char or freshwater trout from local farms and rivers.
Accommodations: Varmaland
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8 - Langjökull Glacier and on to Reykjavík
Begin on Langjökull glacier, boarding modified glacier vehicles to reach the ice cap. With a Local Expert, learn how the glacier formed and is monitored, then walk through man-made ice tunnels to see layers of snow and ash at close range. Continue to Húsafell, where free time allows for short woodland walks or a visit to the small church. Later, call at Sturlureykir, a family-run horse-breeding farm, to meet Icelandic horses, hear about their five gaits and see the hot spring used to bake rye bread, which you’ll taste on site. In the evening, arrive in Reykjavík and join your small group for a final dinner, toasting your journey through Iceland.
Accommodations: Radisson RED
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9 - Farewell Reykjavík
Your journey ends in Reykjavík after breakfast. Transfer to the airport, say goodbye to your Travel Director and small group, and bring your journey through Iceland’s glaciers, coasts and villages to a close.
Meals: Breakfast