Compare Iceland's hidden highlights self-drive by Audley Travel vs Iceland: See & Experience it ALL in 9 Days, 1st Class Custom Tours by Charlie The Traveler

Day 1: Hveragerði

Accommodation: Frost & Fire Boutique Hotel

On arrival at Keflavík airport and collect your rental car. All insurances have been included for you, and a GPS navigation system can be added locally. To navigate Iceland’s more remote rugged landscape, we’ve booked a 4x4 for you. Drive to your hotel, located in the heart of the Reykjadalur valley where geothermal activity causes steam to rising atmospherically from the surrounding hills.

Day 2: Hveragerði

Accommodation: Frost & Fire Boutique Hotel

Meet your guide this morning and embark on a full-day, private superjeep tour to the Þjórsárdalur valley in Iceland’s remote southern highlands. This region is celebrated for its impressive waterfalls, including Háifoss and Gjáin, and its verdant meadows, which bloom with wildflowers during the summer. You’ll also stop at the Stöng farmhouse – one of Iceland’s few Viking archaeological sites.

Day 3: Vík

Accommodation: Hotel Vík

Drive to Landeyjahöfn where you’ll take the half-hour ferry across to the Westman Islands. Formed thousands of years ago by submarine volcanoes, the Westman Islands are scenically and culturally different from the rest of Iceland, and you’ll have the full day at leisure to explore. You might like to visit the Eldheimar Museum to learn more about the devastating impact the 1973 eruption had on the island community, or hike to the top of Eldfell volcano and take in the views across the sea of the glaciers on the Icelandic mainland.

Day 4: Vík

Accommodation: Hotel Vík

See the renowned south coast from another perspective, joining a local Icelander on a small-group quad-bike tour. Along the way, your guide will share stories of Iceland’s past, and cook a meal for you in an ancient cave that was hand-carved by Irish monks over a millennia ago.

Day 5: Hof

Accommodation: Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

Continue your self-drive tour east towards the town of Kirkjabæjarklaustur and the vast Eldhraun lava field, which was created by a huge eruption in the 18th century and is the largest in the world. Your 4x4 will allow you to access some of the area’s more rugged roads and explore the waterfalls, canyon and lava formations of this extensive wilderness area at leisure.

Day 6: Höfn

Accommodation: Hotel Höfn

Your focus today is the vast Vatnajökull National Park, whose mammoth ice cap covers 20% of Iceland. Most visitors flock to the much-celebrated Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon; instead you’ll take a small-group, guided boat tour on its nearby sister lagoon Fjallsárlón, and watch huge chunks of ice, which have calved from the glacier above, float beside your boat.

Day 7: Fáskrúðsfjörður

Accommodation: Fosshotel Eastfjords

Your self-drive tour continues along the coast to Iceland’s spectacular Eastfjords. This region is one of the least visited in the country, and you can expect some of Iceland’s best scenic driving opportunities as you weave your way through this remote fjordland area, passing towering mountains, alpine lakes and tiny fishing communities that are scattered along the coast.

Day 8: Egilsstaðir

Accommodation: Gistihúsið — Lake Hotel Egilsstaðir

Continue your drive through the Eastfjords to the village of Borgarfjörður Eystri. Here, take a guided tour with a local, learning more about traditional folklore and the way of life for Icelanders in this remote corner of the country. If visiting between May and August, you can also visit a thriving puffin colony, whose residents come to nest on a rocky outcrop just outside the village. Spend the rest of your day at leisure, exploring the region’s wide array of hiking trails, visiting some of its museums, or simply taking in the rural scenery by car.

Day 9: Reykjavík

Accommodation options: Centerhotel Miðgarður, Hotel Borg, Icelandair Hotel Reykjavík Marina & Reykjavík Residence Hotel

Drop off your car at Egilsstaðir Airport and take a short flight west to Reykjavík. On arrival, take a taxi to your hotel, which is a short distance away in the heart of the city. You’ll have the afternoon to explore Iceland’s compact capital under your own steam; stroll through the town’s Old Harbour, browse the shops of Laugavegar, admire the architecture of the Harpa concert hall or get sweeping views from the top of Hallgrímskirkja cathedral.

Day 10: Return home

You’ll be met at your hotel this morning and transfer by private car to Keflavík International Airport in time for your flight.

Day 1: Whale Watching & Colorful Skies

From mid-May to mid-October, our tour starts in Iceland's second most visited city, Akureyri. Get ready to go on a whale watching tour. From late October to early May, whale watching is done instead in the capital that is Reykjavík. From September to early March, also included is a night tour to an area where we see the northern lights.

Day 2: A Lake Created by Lava & Geothermal Eruptions

As a land daytrip from Akureyri (mid-May to mid-October) or a flight daytrip from Reykjavík (late October to early May), we are taken on a tour to Goðafoss Waterfall, Lake Mývatn, a geothermal area called Hverir and Dettifoss Waterfall. Goðafoss waterfall has a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. Lake Mývatn was created by a large basaltic lava which erupted 2,300 years ago. The surrounding landscape is dominated by volcanic landforms, including lava pillars. Dettifoss is reputed to be the second most powerful waterfall in Europe.

Day 3: Approaching a Caldera & Bathing in a Crater or Iceland’s Best Bar Lagoon Accompanied with a City Tour

Today’s destinations and activities depend on the season. From mid-May to mid-October, as a daytrip from Akureyri, we first hike Askja Caldera and then visit a crater called Viti, the latter of which offers a pond where we go bathing. From late October to early May, we go bathing at a ‘fashionable’ geothermal spa called Sky Lagoon, located near to the capital. We are also provided with a tour of the capital.

Day 4: Why They Call This Area the ‘Golden Circle’

From mid-May to mid-October, we relocate from Akureyri to Reykjavík. From late October to early May, we are not based in Akureyri. Instead, we are still based in Reykjavík. Either way, today we are doing the so-called ‘Golden Circle’ as a daytrip from Reykjavík. Destinations include Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir/Strokkur geyser and Þingvellir National Park (a.k.a. Thingvellir National Park). Gullfoss is 32 meters tall and features not 1 but 2 drops. Geysir’s eruptions can hurl boiling water up to 70 meters in the air. Þingvellir is notable for its unusual tectonic and volcanic environment in a rift valley.

Day 5: One of the Ten Most Beautiful Beaches on Earth & Thundering Waterfalls

We leave Reykjavík and start the journey along the southeast coast. Highlights for today include Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Skógafoss Waterfall and the Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. We end up lodging in the Skaftafell area. The Seljalandsfoss Waterfall drops 60 meters. Visitors can walk behind the falls into a fascinating cave. Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country, with a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. Reynisfjara was ranked by National Geographic as one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches on Earth.

Day 6: Huge Icebergs, Exploring an Ice Cave & a Surreal Shoreline

Although today we head to Thorsmork Valley, many destinations are visited en route. They include Skaftafell Nature Reserve, Jökulsárlón Glacial Lake, the natural ice cave at Vatnajökull National Park and Diamond Beach. Skaftafell’s landscape is similar to some of the Alps. The difference is Skaftafell has been formed over thousands of years by different influences of fire and water. Jökulsárlón Lake provides outstanding views of icebergs which rise to a height of 910 meters. Jökulsárlón has been a setting for four Hollywood movies: (1) A View to a Kill, (2) Die Another Day, (3) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and (4) Batman Begins. Vatnajökull’s ice cave contains canals for water which run through or at the bottom of the glacier. Diamond Beach features icebergs which float onto the shore from Jökulsárlón.

*Note that the surreal looking Svartifoss Waterfall is sometimes-but not always-included on today’s tour. It depends on many factors, including the weather. Also, note that the ice cave is not open June through September. It is open only during the winter season.

Day 7: A Hiker's Paradise

Before returning to Reykjavík, we hike around Thorsmork Valley. The highlights are Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Stakkholtsgjá Canyon, Nauthúsagil Canyon and Gígjökull Glacier. This is arguably the best area in the country from where to go hiking.

Day 8: Mud Pools, Hot Springs & Blue Waters

From Reykjavík, we make a daytrip to the Reykjanes Peninsula: Lake Kleifarvatn, a geothermal area called Krýsuvík, Gunnuhver’s mud pools and hot springs and the Blue Lagoon. Krýsuvík consists of several geothermal fields. Here solfataras, fumaroles, mud pots and hot springs have formed. The soil is colored bright yellow, red and green. Nearby are several craters which were created by the explosions of overheated groundwater. The Blue Lagoon, one of the most visited attractions in Iceland, is a geothermal spa. There we enjoy bathing inside the warm water.

Day 9: Our Tour Ends Today

Transportation will be arranged for you to reach the airport in Reykjavík.