New Year’s Wonders of Iceland Group Adventure

Transfer from Keflavík International Airport to Reykjavík (included).

If you’re arriving earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. We’d be happy to make suggestions based on your interests. Just make sure you are back at the hotel in time for tonight’s walking tour.

One of our favorite activities after a long flight is to visit one of the neighborhood geothermal pools. It is so refreshing to relax in the warm water, breathing in the fresh Icelandic air. It’s a wonderful way to get to see Icelandic daily life and maybe meet a few locals. It’s also nice to take a stroll in the old city center, perhaps visiting one of the museums or relaxing with a cup of coffee in a cozy café.

Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavík offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses, making dinner a wonderful way to get better acquainted with Iceland’s capital.

Please note: If you have added extra nights in Reykjavík before your tour, your tour starts with the evening walking tour on Day 2 according to the standard “Winter Wonders of Iceland Group Adventure” itinerary.

Start your adventure by visiting the fascinating Aurora Reykjavik Northern Lights Center. You’ll get a great introduction to the Northern Lights, how they’re formed, and the folklore surrounding them. You’ll also get tips about how to capture the Northern Lights on film. You can also get assistance from the staff in adjusting your camera’s settings for Northern Lights photos.

Drive along the South Shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter. This is one of the main farm regions of the country, and the road will pass by typical Icelandic farms, often with Icelandic horses roaming in the fields.

Continue onwards. If the skies are clear you might see the area’s two most famous volcanoes in the distance: Mount Hekla (last eruption 2000) and Eyjafjallajökull (last eruption 2010). You might also possibly catch a glimpse of the Westman Islands archipelago off the coast of Iceland.

Stop at the spectacular Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. If trail conditions are right, you might be able to walk behind the ribbon-like Seljalandsfoss falls. Skógafoss is a beautifully shaped waterfall that makes a perfect backdrop for a selfie. It has an interesting history geologically, and it just may also be hiding some buried treasure from the Middle Ages.

Head onwards, passing Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, to visit Reynisfjara beach. Take a walk on the black sand, admiring the extraordinary rock formations and thundering waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Cross Eldhraun, a vast lava field created from a very destructive 18th-century eruption as you head into Southeast Iceland. The snows of winter make this landscape into something very mysterious.

Today you will be in a world of glaciers! You’ll be visiting the southern area of Vatnajökull National Park, named after Europe’s largest glacier. The total park area covers almost 14% of Iceland, making it the largest national park in Western Europe! Drive through vast sand plains created by glacial outwash as you head east.

Visit Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon where you’ll enjoy the breathtaking sight of icebergs floating in the fantastic 180-meter (591-foot) deep glacial lagoon. Make sure that camera is charged and ready! Nearby is the dramatic beauty of Breiðamerkursandur (the Diamond Beach), named for the shrinking icebergs that settle on the black sands before drifting out to sea.

Next, you’ll view Svínafellsjökull, one of the most beautiful glacial tongues that are slowly creeping down from Vatnajökull. Visit the national park’s famous Skaftafell area, a site of outstanding natural beauty dominated by several magnificent glaciers.

After your amazing day, your group will return to your hotel where you’ll have dinner.

Head back along the beautiful South Coast, enjoying a different view of the winter landscapes. Visit the village of Hveragerði, which is one of the few settlements in the world located directly in the middle of a geothermal area. Hveragerði is often called “The Flower Village” because of its many flower greenhouses heated by hot water from nearby springs.

Turn onto a southern coastal road and follow alongside the shoreline with its breathtaking sea waves, passing through a deserted community that once was a flourishing center for the region.

The trip then takes you through the surreal landscapes of the Reykjanes peninsula, where you can enjoy a dip in the famous Blue Lagoon, a unique wonder of nature with pleasantly warm, mineral-rich water in the middle of a black lava field.

Return to Reykjavík, where your guide will bid you farewell at the hotel.

Breakfast at your hotel. The day is open for your own activities. 

Please keep in mind that many shops and restaurants close around noon today, but your hotel should have a list of places that will still be open during the afternoon. We are also happy to suggest and book tours for you.

This evening, we invite you to enjoy the celebrations at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik!

6:30 p.m. – Welcome drink
7:00–10:00 p.m. – New Year’s festive dinner buffet with live music
10:00 p.m.–1:00am – Háteigur Room on the hotel’s 4th floor opens. Sparkling wine and canapés served. Enjoy a fantastic view of the fireworks. Countdown to midnight.

Happy New Year! Enjoy the first breakfast of 2022 at your hotel. Your guide will meet you in the hotel lobby around 8:45 a.m.

Start your day with a visit to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the world’s oldest parliament met for centuries on the shores of Iceland’s largest lake. This place makes us Icelanders enormously proud of our heritage, and your guide will show you some of the amazing sites here. You might even have a rare chance to walk between two continents!

Continue on to the geothermal fields of Geysir with bubbling mud pools and the high-spouting Strokkur hot spring. Last but not least, you’ll visit the dramatic two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade. Stop at Skálholt, Iceland’s capital during the Middle Ages, now a culture center with a beautiful church.

During the day you will also visit the town of Laugarvatn. The town is built around three hot springs, and the residents have cleverly harnessed the hot springs for heating, greenhouses and even cooking. You’ll visit a unique outdoor geothermal bakery where sweet Icelandic rye bread is baked in hot sands. You’ll have the chance to taste some of the freshly baked bread, hot from the ground. It’s especially delicious slathered in sweet Icelandic butter.

Head back to Reykjavík where your guide will say farewell to your group. Dinner is on your own. Several restaurants offer a special New Year’s Day dinner, so this is a nice evening to enjoy a festive dinner and an Icelandic tradition.

Transfer from Reykjavík to Keflavík International Airport by Flybus (included).

Breakfast at your hotel. Please note that this might be a light breakfast if you are taking an early morning departure flight.

We recommend you depart from your hotel no later than three hours before your departure flight. We wish you a pleasant trip back to your homeland and hope to see you in Iceland again!