Auroras Volcanoes and Glacier Lagoons Escorted Vacation

Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Reykjavik. Spend the rest of the evening exploring Iceland’s capital or ask your guide for dinner suggestions! Overnight in Reykjavik.

You’ll meet your guide and start your day with a short introduction to Icelandic geology while watching a striking film at the Reykjavik Volcano House documenting the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull and Fimmvorduhals in 2010. At the Volcano House, you can experience a hands-on geological exhibition where you will examine various pieces of pumice, ash and lava from Icelandic volcanoes. Later on, you will depart Reykjavik and drive to Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and where the Althingi, the oldest legislative assembly in the world was founded. Thingvellir is also important for its remarkable natural phenomena as the site is part of a fissure zone running through Iceland and is situated on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The faults and fissures of the area make evident the rifting of the earth’s crust. Next you will explore the hot springs at Geysir, natural hot springs bubbling away in the ground until the pressure becomes too much and they explode in spectacular style! Continue on to Gullfoss, the golden falls, a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvita River. You will also witness the explosion crater called Kerid which is filled with water and resembles an ancient amphitheater. In the evening you will learn about the Northern Lights from your guide then, once darkness falls, head to your hotel’s garden in search of the elusive Aurora Borealis. Overnight in Ulfjotsvatn. (B)

Embark on a long drive to a world of glaciers, ice and icebergs. Travel to Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon filled with floating icebergs. Explore this extraordinary site and perhaps see some seals swimming in the Arctic waters. Continue to Vatnajokull National Park, about 12,000 square kilometers and the second largest National Park in Europe. In the park you will find Iceland’s highest mountains, an alpine environment, and Europe’s largest glacier. Tonight you can enjoy a movie presentation about the Northern Lights as part of the Northern Lights educational program. Don’t go to bed too early as the quiet and remote location is ideal for Northern Lights spotting. Overnight in Vatnajokull National Park. (B)

Today you will head across the Laki lava field to the village of Vik for a photo stop and a stroll on the black lava beach and along the bird cliffs at Reynisfjara beach in South Iceland. You will pass the glacier Myrdalsjokull and the infamous volcano Eyjafjallajokull then continue to Skogafoss waterfall, 62 meters high and belonging to the most impressive waterfalls in the country. Further west you will reach the high, but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall, 65 meters high and plunging over the mountainside. In the evening you return to Reykjavik for an optional Northern Lights bus tour or fjord cruise which can be booked on the spot if the weather conditions admit. Overnight in Reykjavik. (B)

You will be transferred from your hotel to Reykjavik airport for your return flight home. (B)