10 essential places to visit in Iceland

There are many essential places to visit in Iceland, a land where you will come into contact with the most virgin nature and enjoy unique experiences, surrounded by postcard landscapes.

Volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs and lava fields dot the landscape of this island known as the Land of Ice and Fire, where it is essential to rent a car, a 4×4 or a motorhome to get to its main tourist attractions and have the freedom to stop where and when you want.

The route along the Ring Road or Highway 1, which goes around the island, will take between 10 and 14 days, although if you do not have that much time, you can choose to do the southern part, where most of the points are concentrated. Famous landmarks. Keep in mind that if you choose to tour Iceland by car or motorhome, to reach certain points in the interior, you will have to hire a 4×4 tour, which will increase the cost of the trip since it is impossible to access these areas with a normal vehicle.

Another option, if you don't want to drive or want to take a guide in Spanish to learn more about the country's history and its curiosities, is to book this circuit for the best of Iceland.

Although any time is a good time to visit Iceland, if it is your first time in the country, we advise you to travel in summer, when the weather is more pleasant, and you can go around the island without difficulty. Another good time is winter when, if you're lucky, the spectacular Northern Lights appear in the sky.

Thanks to the experience of our trip to Iceland in 14 days, during which we wrote this guide of tips for travelling to Iceland, we have made this list of the most beautiful places to see in Iceland. Let's start!

1. Reykjavik

After landing in Keflavik, you can get to know the country by spending a few hours in its small capital, Reykjavik.

This lively city, which concentrates a large part of the population of Iceland, has several points of interest, such as the modern Hallgrímskirkja church, the picturesque old port and the curious Sun Traveler monument.

After completing this list of places to see in Reykjavík, We recommend you take this excursion to see the friendly puffins or this one to spot incredible humpback whales in their natural habitat.

Once you return from the excursion, you can recharge your batteries by eating the famous hot dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur or the soups at Icelandic Street Food, among the best places to eat in Reykjavík.

Reykjavik

    

2. Blue Lagoon

Fifty kilometers from Reykjavík is the Blue Lagoon, the most famous thermal bath in the country and one of the best things to do in Iceland.

Keep in mind that throughout the island, incredible geothermal energy connects the land with numerous hot springs of all sizes. It is perfect for relaxing and enjoying the contrast between the heat of its waters and the cold outside.

The Blue Lagoon is the most touristic and has services such as saunas, hammams, and a large outdoor pool where you can have a drink while submerging yourself in 40-degree temperatures. If you don't have a car, you can get there by bus from Reykjavík, and considering that it is one of the best-known tourist attractions on the island, it is advisable to book your ticket in advance from this page.

You will find other less popular and equally relaxing baths in the Mytvan thermal area, the Secret Lagoon, near the town of Fluor, or the Geosea baths, near Husavik, although you can also find them without any equipment, in this case, You have to check if there is a sign that prohibits bathing because it is dangerous.

The Blue Lagoon, one of the places to see in Iceland

3. Circle of Gold

The Golden or Golden Circle, formed by the Þingvellir park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the Haukadalur valley, is another of the most emblematic places to visit in Iceland.

The Þingvellir National Park was where the Vikings established the first democratic Parliament in the world in 930 and the geological origin of the island, while the Haukadalur Valley concentrates some of the most impressive geysers in Europe, such as the dormant Great Geyser, the oldest in the world, and the Strokkur, which generates a powerful jet of hot water every 10 minutes.

To finish the Golden Circle area visit, you can go to the fantastic Gullfoss waterfall and make a short stop at the photogenic Kerio crater.

You can also visit this area 40 minutes by car from Reykjavík by booking this bus tour with a guide in Spanish or taking this offer that includes the city tour.

gold circle

4. Hunt Northern Lights

If you travel to Iceland between the end of August and the middle of April, you have the chance to catch the Northern Lights, one of the most incredible natural phenomena to see in the world. Although they can appear anywhere on the island, as long as the sky is clear, one of the most accessible is around the capital, in points without light pollution, such as the Grótta Lighthouse or the farthest, Kirkjufell.

A very comfortable option is to book this tour that leaves from Reykjavík, with which you will have the help of a guide in Spanish who will take you to the best observation points.

If you go on your own, we recommend you consult this page that offers good predictions, and thus you will not have to do hours of guard duty below zero waiting for the sky to light up with green dances.

Northen Lights in Iceland

    

5. Landmannalaugar

One of the most incredible treks in the world takes place in Landmannalaugar, an area located 3 hours by car from Reykjavík, within the Fjallabak Natural Park.

To get to the starting point of the trek, you must rent a 4×4 vehicle, take one of the regular 4×4 buses or book this excursion with a guide in Spanish, since during the journey, you will have to cross rivers and irregular areas, dangerous for a vehicle conventional.

Once in the park, you will have to choose between several itineraries, such as a 4-hour circular route that will take you through landscapes that do not seem from this planet, in which colorful mountains, fumaroles, rivers, lakes, and volcanoes are mixed, or others that take several days. Long, like the famous Laugavegur trek, one of the best known in the world.

Landmannalaugar, one of the places to visit in Iceland

6. Seljalandsfoss waterfall, one of the places to visit in Iceland

Among our favorite places to visit in Iceland are the impressive Seljalandsfoss waterfall and the Gljúfurárfoss indoor waterfall, both separated by a few meters.

Located near the Ring Road (road 1), on the South Coast, Seljalandsfoss impresses with its waterfall that can reach 65 meters in height and that you can cross under, as long as you wear a raincoat and non-slip shoes.

The no less spectacular Gljúfurárfoss is hidden inside a small canyon, in which you will have to take off your shoes if the water of the stream is very high, although any effort is worth it after seeing its 40-meter jump.

Seljalandsfoss, one of the places to visit in Iceland

7. Myrdalsjökull Glacier

Another of the best experiences in Iceland was walking with ice axes, helmets, and crampons above the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, enjoying landscapes of ice sculptures, water cauldrons, and vertical cracks.

During the excursion, which usually lasts between one and two hours, you will be accompanied by an expert guide who will show you the route and teach you how to handle yourself best so as not to slip.

    

Although if you want to walk on top of the world's third-largest glacier, which occupies almost 10% of the Icelandic territory, we suggest you go to Vatnajökull. On this endless glacier, where scenes from the Game of Thrones series have been filmed and movies like James Bond, you can do several treks of different difficulties, and if it's winter, go into the impressive blue ice cave of Vatnajökull.

8. Skógafoss, another place to see in Iceland

Skógafoss, an impressive waterfall over 60 meters high and 25 wide, where scenes from the Vikings series were filmed, is another essential place to visit in Iceland.

In this curtain of water coming from the Skógá river and falling violently on a base of black volcanic stones, it is customary to form a beautiful rainbow on sunny days, which has become one of the typical postcards of the country. You can also go up to a viewpoint located at the top of the waterfall to feel the roar of the water up close and observe the contrast of the emerald green of the slopes that surround it with the blue of the water.

Skogafoss waterfall, another place to see in Iceland

9. Vic

Around the town of Vik, which stands out for its colorful and small wooden church, there are several tourist attractions such as the Reynisfjara black sand beaches and the Dyrhólaey cliff.

If you start the visit from the black beach, you will be able to observe perfect and surprising hexagonal basalt columns produced by the rapid cooling of the lava, as well as three large rocks on the sea, which according to a popular legend, were trolls who turned into stone after seeing the sunlight.

At one end of the beach is the spectacular Dyrhólaey cliff that stands out for its 120-meter-high stone arch, a beautiful lighthouse, and the possibility of seeing the elusive puffins.

    

Another increasingly fashionable and very Instagrammer spot, near Vik on Solheimasandur beach, is the remains of an abandoned US Army plane

Vic

10. Skaftafell National Park

Skaftafell National Park, located next to the Vatnajökull glacier, is another of Iceland's most beautiful places to visit.

This park offers incredible hiking trails, including the one that takes you an hour to the impressive Svartifoss, known as the "black waterfall" because it is surrounded by basaltic columns of volcanic origin.

From this park, you can also access several viewpoints of the Vatnajökull glacier and reach its visitor center to make the excursions we mentioned previously.

Svartifoss waterfall

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