Land of fire and ice: Iceland

25 October 2024 - 8 days - Sold out

Register for March and October 2025 now at tours@newscientist.com and we will contact you later this year with confirmed tour details.

Join an unforgettable tour of Iceland’s majestic landscapes, timed to give you days filled with volcanic and geological adventure, and evening opportunities to see the Aurora Borealis.

Volcanologist Tamsin Mather and local guides will accompany you as you discover the awe-inspiring might of the planet and marvel at the sights, sounds and smells of erupting geysers, hot springs and bubbling fumaroles. You will get up close to stunning glaciers, waterfalls and tectonic plates pulling apart. 

On four of the nights, you will be staying in stunning rural locations with little light pollution, so ideal for observing the Aurora Borealis. Plus three nights in the world's northernmost capital, the coastal city of Reykjavik.

In partnership with Intrepid Travel.

DAY 1: ARRIVE REYKJAVIK

Welcome to Iceland! Check in to the Hotel Reyjavik Saga and meet your tour leader and your fellow guests, followed by a tour briefing.

In the evening, Volcanologist Tamsin Mather will give the first of three talks on Iceland’s formation at the centre of the North Atlantic Ocean and the volcanic processes demonstrated across the island.

Tamsin and the tour leader will then accompany you for a group dinner in the hotel.

DAY 2: GOLDEN CIRCLE TO HVOLSVOLLUR VALLEY VIA GEYSIR AND THE GULLFOSS WATERFALL

Accompanied by Tamsin, you will visit Þingvellir National Park, the site of Iceland's first parliament, founded in 930, and a geological wonder where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. Next, head to Iceland's Geysir geothermal area, where you'll see the Strokkur geyser shoot water 30 metres into the air. The immense beauty and sheer power of the Gullfoss Waterfall, also known as Golden Falls, can be spellbinding and after seeing that you will continue on to the Hvolsvollur Valley.

Tonight, you will check in to the Hotel Stracta for two nights, a four-star hotel near the south coast. Far away from the city and an ideal location to observe the Northern Lights. If the skies are clear tonight, why not take a stroll out into the snow and look skywards for the dancing green lights.

Tamsin will then give a second talk on her work around the world and the findings from her research.

DAY 3: HVOLSVOLLUR AREA INCLUDING THE GÍGJÖKULL GLACIER

After breakfast, meet your Superjeep drivers and head to the elegant Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and walk behind the plummeting falling stream without getting (too) wet, for a unique viewing angle. 

After drying off, continue to the legendary Thórsmörk valley, nestled in between three glaciers, with a stop at the Gígjökull glacier further up in the valley. It is here you will be able to observe the rock destruction caused by extreme glacial melt during the 2010 eruption of the glacier volcano Eyjafjallajökull. It is truly a magnificent site and made all the more engaging as Tamsin will bring to life and explain the powerful forces behind the eruption. 

In superjeeps, you will cross the deep and roaring rivers that guard the wooded surroundings of Thórsmörk, and you will have time to hike around the area and admire some of the many viewpoints it offers. Thorsmörk is Iceland‘s most popular hiking area, and visitors are captivated by its natural beauty and charm. 

At the end of the day, return to the Hotel Stracta, where Tamsin will give a third talk on some of the amazing sites you will visit later in the tour. This is Tamsin’s final day accompanying you, but don’t worry, the Icelandic tour guides we use and who will accompany you on the rest of the tour, are particularly knowledgeable and engaging. Not only about geology, volcanoes and glaciers but also all aspects of life in Iceland, its history, culture and politics. All told with an Icelandic dry sense of humour.

DAY 4: SOUTH COAST – SKOGAFOSS WATERFALL AND JOKULSARLON GLACIER LAGOON

Start the day with a trip to the eerily beautiful Skógafoss waterfall. It is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, stretching 25 metres wide and dropping down 60 metres. You can get up close and feel its power, and also climb a windy set of stairs up to a stunning viewpoint. On a sunny day, you should be able to spot rainbows in the spray. Continue along Iceland's South Shore to take in more of the country’s renowned natural wonders. From the stepping-stone rock formations of Reynisdrangar, the promontory of Dyrhólaey, and the night black sand beach of Reynisfjara, this is one of the country's most scenic regions. En route, you will pass the lava of the Laki eruption of 1782 to 1783.

In the afternoon, you will visit the famous Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, a stunning sea of floating icebergs with blues that contrast vividly with the charcoal-coloured sand of the beach.

You will rest for the night at the stylish Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. Weather permitting, there will be another opportunity to step outside to witness the natural wonders of the Northern Lights tonight and its rural location away from town lights will make the phenomena much brighter.

DAY 5: VATNAJOKULL GLACIER

Today, you will visit Europe's biggest icecap – Vatnajokull – which has around 30 glaciers flowing out from it. It is sobering to think that the ice cap has been shrinking because of global warming, and in future years the glaciers may be gone. You will arrive by superjeep, take a short 30 minute walk and depending on weather conditions, you will either walk across some of the glacier or visit a stunning ice cave underneath it.  No experience is necessary to partake in the hike, but if you would like to opt-out, just embark on a hike to the glacier's tongue or return to the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarlon or Fjallsarlon.

Later on today, journey to the black sand seaside town of Vik for lunch. With the sea on one side and high cliffs on the other, this dramatically positioned quaint village is Iceland's most southerly mainland settlement.

In the evening, you will check into the family run Hotel Dyrhólaey, near the town of Vik, but in a rural location ideal for experiencing the night sky.

Please note that the total driving distance approximately 250 kilometres (3-4 hours). Today's glacier walk is dependent on weather conditions. In addition, in order to be able to fit the ice crampons you will need to wear high ankle shoes.

DAY 6: LAVA CENTRE, THE SECRET LAGOON AND REYKJAVIK

This morning, you will make your way to the Lava Centre, which is an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity, earthquakes and the creation of Iceland over millions of years. The centre introduces the Katla Geopark plus Iceland’s elaborate monitoring system for surveying volcanos and earthquake zones. After the visit, you will continue to the Secret Lagoon natural hot springs. Located in a small village called Fludir, this will give you the opportunity to relax in the warm thermal waters before travelling to Reykjavik and checking back into the hotel where the remainder of the day will be at leisure. 

DAY 7: REYKJANES PENINSULA

Head out to the Reykjanes Peninsula. It is a land-based, highly volcanic counterpart of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where two tectonic plates part at an average rate of more than 2 centimetres per year. Four volcanic systems and fissure swarms line the peninsula and contain open fissures, high-temperature geothermal fields and volcanic fissures.

The final itinerary will be decided on the day but is likely to include Gunnuhver (mud pools and steam vents), Stampar (volcanic fissures), the bridge between continents (literally where two continental plates are diverging) and Seltún (a high-temperature geothermal area). Although there is currently no fresh lava at the recently erupted Fagradalsfjal volcano, we also think this is well worth a visit. 

On the final evening, there is a farewell dinner with your tour leader in the hotel, to celebrate your exploration of Iceland.

DAY 8: DEPART REYKJAVIK

Today is the departure day and time to say "sjáumst". Your group departure transfer will take you to the airport for your flight home.