Iceland Self Drive Tours - what to include

Iceland punches above its weight with touring 'must sees'.

Iceland - Nowhere else in the world have the seismic forces that shape it been so randomly thrown together and so beguilingly packaged. Iceland has everything the 'geology tragic' could wish for: glacier-fed waterfalls surrounded by ancient lava fields, subterranean ice caves and bubbling mud pots and fumeroles and black sand beaches. It has Europe's largest glacial mass and the world's oldest geyser, the ice-laden interior of its Central Highlands, a whopping thirty active volcanic systems, and the geothermal spas of the Blue Lagoon, the country's most-visited attraction.

Iceland is temperate for a supposedly 'cold' country, thanks to the warm waters of the North Atlantic Current, and has a verdant southern coastline that belies its position just south of the Arctic Circle. Isolated communities are connected by the world's most inspiring ring road, Highway 1, which encircles the country and binds it together and provides access to a never-ending panorama of elegant, elongated fjords and secondary roads that can, in minutes, take you from coastal fishing villages to glacial snow-covered alpine landscapes.

Its 'northern capital' Akureyri contains a wealth of 1920’s and 30’s Bauhaus architecture, and the capital Reykjavik has gobsmacking examples of portraiture and public art painted on the exteriors of its buildings that are nothing less than Fine Art in a country that brings out the creative best not just in its landscapes, but in the people who inhabit them.

Our Iceland self-drive itineraries include well-known landmarks as well as off-the-beaten track unforgettable experiences. We would love to let you in on Iceland's secrets. With each of our tours, you will be given some options about what to include that day. In the peak period, you might like to book ahead for each day. Activities such as horse riding, Northern Lights safaris, whale safaris and glacier climbs need to be pre-arranged (this is where we can step in). Other activities, you can generally leave until you arrive if you want to see what the weather and conditions will be like. Day tours such as 'Inside the Volcano', helicopter rides and such need to be pre-arranged.

Our guest, Barry Stone, spent 8 days on our Iceland Circle self-drive.