Iceland’s natural wonders are big on drama — milky blue geothermal lagoons, dazzling glaciers, volcanoes like the one in the Geldingadalir valley currently putting on a show. Even the ash cloud didn’t put visitors off for long. Though they are more likely to be drawn by the chance to see the aurora borealis or migrating orcas.
Before the pandemic, plenty came. To the point where this tiny country, which has a population of about 360,000, was starting to feel crowded. Then coronavirus hit.
Last summer, having got Covid-19 under control, Iceland was one of the first holiday destinations to reopen its borders to tourists in July. It was the first place I visited. “This is Iceland how it used to be ten years ago,” locals took pleasure in telling me, as I bounded around the country without any of the hassle of dodging tourists.
I bathed in geothermal rivers listening to the chatter of Icelandic voices; I had the ancient parliament site of Thingvellir — a popular stop-off point on the Golden Circle and usually overrun with coach tours — all to myself.
Since April 6, Iceland has been welcoming tourists who have been fully vaccinated or can show a certificate proving immunity. Non-vaccinated passengers require proof of two negative PCR tests to get in and must undergo up to six days of hotel quarantine. Although it remains to be seen whether international travel from the UK will resume from May 17, with Iceland’s own cases of Covid-19 now in single digits and 15 per cent of the population vaccinated, the country is a likely contender for the government’s “green” list. Better still, this summer you are likely to experience this magical country at its quietest best.
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Wild rides and photo opps
This week-long tour reveals Iceland’s more remote sights. Spend long summer days riding on Icelandic ponies and picnicking while staying at the Skalakot Manor Hotel, a working farm in the southern peninsula, which offers luxury manor house bedrooms in moody slate greys. Brush up on your photography skills in the wild interior region of Landmannalaugar with your own dedicated expert on hand to make sure your holiday snaps are Instagram-ready. A Jeep safari is the only way to access the jet-black canyons and multicoloured layered rock in this region, and you’ll be spoilt for photo opportunities.
Details Eight nights’ B&B from £8,250pp, including flights (steppestravel.com)
Swim with humpbacks
Iceland is made for adventure and this new five-night tour keeps things heart-racing. After staying overnight in Reykjavik, you’ll fly north in a tiny propeller plane to the country’s second biggest city, Akureyri. From here you’ll explore the windswept northern coastline. After a boat trip to watch tuxedo-breasted puffins at Grimsey, there’s the chance to swim with humpback whales in a fjord, lit by the glow of the midnight sun. Bracing? Yes, but you’ll have the benefit of a drysuit.
Details Five nights’ room only from £7,950pp, including flights (blacktomato.com)
Wellness reboot
Seeking something more calming? This health-themed holiday in the southwest delivers outdoor yoga classes by the waterfalls of Thingvellir National Park, and mantra meditations on the black sands of peaceful Reynisfjara Beach. Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls will give you plenty of chance for reflection and you can top up your rejuvenation with a silica-mud body massage at the Retreat at the Blue Lagoon, one of the world’s best spas.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £2,699pp, including flights (gadventures.com)
Foodie Viking retreat
Last year Dill, a restaurant in Reykjavik, was awarded the country’s only Michelin star, and it’s a sign of the culinary direction in which Iceland is heading. This tour takes your taste buds on a journey along the Golden Circle route. You’ll stay off-grid at the eco-luxe Torfhus Retreat — a Viking-style turf hut that has one of the best fine-dining restaurants in the country. Chef Thorarinn Eggertsson sources most of the ingredients for his candlelit alpine-style dining room from a ten-mile radius of the kitchen. Think refined-rustic, with dishes including garlic Arctic langoustines and vegetables from a nearby geothermal greenhouse farm.
Details Five nights’ room only from £4,500pp, including flights (abercrombiekent.co.uk)
Off-piste in the Westfjords
About 7 per cent of tourists make it to the Westfjords region in Iceland’s northwest. This is mainly because it’s cut off from the popular ring-road route. On this self-drive tour you’ll stop by the Dynjandi waterfall; weave on roads etched in V-shaped fjords; see the elusive Arctic fox; and visit the Museum of Everyday Life in Isafjordur. The locals will tell you this is the real Iceland. Before you rejoin the road back to Reykjavik, you’ll realise what the other 93 per cent of visitors are missing out on.
Details Fourteen nights’ B&B from £2,537pp, including flights (discover-the-world.com)
Late nights in Reykjavik
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Spend a long weekend getting to know Icelanders in Reykjavik’s sparky bar scene, which includes places such as Kaffibarinn, a fantastic candlelit live music spot once owned by Damon Albarn. Stay in the thick of it at the modern and roomy Alda Hotel on Laugavegur, and you’re just two streets away from the spectacular Hallgrimskirkja church — Iceland’s most recognisable building. Stop by the harbour to see the Harpa concert hall at night; the exterior is bathed in coloured light and it’s worth queueing for ice cream at nearby Valdis because it’s never too cold — or too late — for gelato.
Details Four nights’ B&B from £437pp, including flights (southalltravel.co.uk)
South-coast thrills
It will be impossible to get bored in the back seat on this self-drive tour exploring the beautiful south coast. There are vertiginous waterfalls to eye-spy along the roadside and moss-covered lava fields resembling an otherworldly moon-like planet. Stop off at Vik’s black-sand beaches to see the jagged basalt sea stacks and carry on along to powder-blue Jokulsarlon Iceberg Lagoon, which featured in a James Bond film. Finally, set eyes on Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano that halted tourism with its huge ash cloud long before Covid-19 turned up. The trip also includes an Icelandic Lava Show and snorkelling in gin-clear water between tectonic plates at Silfra.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £1,099pp, including flights (trailfinders.com)
Reykjanes peninsula
Most people land at Keflavik airport on the southwest Reykjanes peninsula and go north to the city centre, but it’s worth more than a drive-by and this chauffeur-driven tour is the way to do it. This is the most geothermally active region in Iceland, which means you can snorkel in the champagne-fizzy water of Lake Kleifarvatn, wander through gurgling rainbow sulphur-scented pools at Seltun and walk the bridge between the North American and European tectonic plates. You’ll also see the latest eruption site at Fagradalsfjall, visit a BioEffect geothermal greenhouse and marvel at the billowing white plumes from the Gunnuhver Hot Springs. Your base is equally striking — the stylish and remote Deplar Farm.
Details Five nights’ half board from £6,750pp, including flights (untoldstorytravel.com)
Volcanic island
The highlight of this Volcanic Explorer self-drive tour along the south coast is the saw-edged Westman Islands, a 40-minute ferry ride away. Wildlife is so abundant, even David Attenborough would be impressed. The islands are home to half the world’s puffins and you can hunker down with binoculars in a lookout to watch them nesting or diving for herring. There’s a beluga whale sanctuary in the bay, as well as the Eldheimar Museum: one partially excavated house of the 400 buried during the island’s big volcanic eruption in 1973.
Details Five nights’ B&B from £950pp, including flights (discover-the-world.com)
From the air
In the market for a blowout? Don’t blame you. This helicopter tour will kick off your return to travel in serious style. The Canopy by Hilton hotel in Reykjavik is your base for three helicopter flights, including one in search of minke whales; another over the top of Eyjafjallajokull volcano, where you can wonder at the wisps of smoke curling across the crater; and the last past the Vatnajokull glacier, where you can pull on some crampons for a crunch across the ice.
Details Five nights’ room only from £10,855pp, including flights (blacktomato.com)
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All tours listed are for travel from July onwards
Travel restrictions are in place. Check gov.uk for details
