Iceland is a true adventurer’s dream!

It’s difficult to describe Iceland. One of Nature’s Masterpieces. It’s not necessarily pretty, but it’s magnificent. It’s barren, but mind-blowing. Never before have I felt so insignificant as a human being as all around you, there’s evidence of the whole planet turning inside out. Diagrams from an A-level geography text book come alive with shameless displays of environmental chaos. Iceland is remarkable, and unbelievably only a 2 hour flight from London.

What you can discover in Iceland is best seen and not described….

On a 6 day self drive tour of Iceland, we drove over 1000km on beautifully maintained roads. Even though you won’t veer too far off the Route 1 Ring Road, and have little chance to get lost on a self drive tour to Iceland, it’s essential to plan an itinerary so you can get the most out of each day, know where to spend extra time, where to hike, to eat and navigate (or wait out) incoming weather patterns.  But also be ready to be flexible with your itinerary as torrential rain, wind, hunger or exhaustion sets in. It’s important to also know where there’s a hot mineral bath in sight.

Our itinerary was switched up within 10 minutes of landing at Keflavik International Airport. Learning that the ongoing eruption of Fagradalsfjall Volcano was building again, we couldn’t miss the chance to view a live eruption. Sadly, all the helicopter tours were fully booked last minute, so we drove 30 minutes from the airport, quickly threw a hiking pack and our gear on in the car park and ventured to the hiking site. We ascended vertically up a steep switchback gravel face for twenty minutes and got a glimpse of the orange glow in the distance as Fagradalsfjall pulsed. Below us in the valley, we could see the recent black lava flow, parts of which were still steaming. But sadly the 40mph hour winds and approaching dusk got the better of us and we retreated. It was a good taste of the week that lay ahead!

Yes it’s true that you can experience some of the jaw-dropping highlights on a single day tour of the Golden Circle: geysers, waterfalls, volcanos, mineral baths and tectonic plate fissures can all be viewed within 100km of Reyjkavik, but it’s when you really venture far out from the city will you get to the true core of Iceland. This is a land of dramatic contrast, where weather changes wildly by the minute, geological features exist against all logic and breath-taking sights greet you at every turn. In a landscape so vast, the stillness seems endless yet there’s chaos around every corner.

Odyssey World partners with local Icelandic ground handlers and we can can create an itinerary with conveniently located comfortable or luxurious hotels, ensuring your self drive tour is well-paced, stress-free, organised, safe, both relaxing and efficient. We can arrange activities with highly recommended tour guides (which do sell out during peak periods so pre-booking is essential), provide detour suggestions and make sure you wake up every morning in the best position to enjoy all the adventure ahead of you.

Call us to plan your Iceland adventure!