6 Days: Reykjavík - Hella - Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Tour overview:

Celebrate Christmas in the Land of Fire, Ice and Northern Lights. Discover beautiful holiday lights, enchanting local traditions, and delicious Christmas food. You’ll also enjoy all the sights and experiences of our best-selling Hidden Powers tour, including Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall, the Glacier Lagoon/Diamond Beach, Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the Blue Lagoon.

Day 1 - Arrive Iceland

Arrival at the Keflavík airport. Transfers to your hotel in Reykjavík.

If you arrive earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. We’d be happy to make suggestions based on your interests. This evening, you will enjoy a walking tour in downtown Reykjavík. At 18:00 (6:00pm), one of our local guides who is an expert in Icelandic traditions and folklore will meet you at your hotel. Enjoy Reykjavik’s twinkling lights and festive decorations as your guide tells you about holiday traditions. Today is St. Þórlákur’s Day, a day when stores are open late into the evening and Icelanders enjoy last minute shopping and greeting friends throughout the day and evening. You’ll surely enjoy this cheerful backdrop for your walking tour.

 Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavík offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses.

 Please note that hotels in Iceland start check-in around 14:00 (2:00pm), and early check-in is not guaranteed. Most hotels will be happy to store your luggage if you are not able to check in early

Day 2 - The Golden Circle

Breakfast at your hotel. Your guide will meet you in the lobby of the hotel. Start your adventure by visiting the fascinating Aurora Reykjavík Northern Lights Centre. You’ll get a great introduction to northern lights, how they are formed, and the folklore surrounding them. You’ll also get tips about how to capture northern lights on film. Depart Reykjavík and head onwards to Þingvellir National Park (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. You might even have a rare chance to walk between two continents! Continue to the geothermal fields of Geysir with bubbling mud pools and the high-spouting Strokkur hot spring. Finally, you’ll visit the dramatic two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade. 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 power and hot water. You’ll visit a unique outdoor geothermal bakery where sweet Icelandic rye bread is baked in hot sands. You can taste some of the freshly baked bread, hot from the ground. It’s especially delicious eaten with Icelandic butter and smoked trout. Tonight, enjoy a Christmas Eve buffet dinner at your hotel. If weather conditions are right, your guide will take you on a northern lights hunt on foot in the area outside your hotel tonight, or on the evening of Day 3 or 4.

 Dinner and overnight in the Hella area.

Day 3 - Iceland’s South Shore

Gleðileg jól! Merry Christmas! After breakfast at your hotel, drive along the South Shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter. This part of Iceland is home to the wonderful LAVA Centre, an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity, earthquakes, and the creation of Iceland. Enjoy the exhibit and an interesting film about Icelandic volcanoes. 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).Stop at the spectacular waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. Each waterfall is unique, and each is a perfect subject for a photo. Head onwards 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 to your overnight. Celebrate Christmas with a festive Christmas dinner at your hotel. You’ll also receive a little gift to commemorate your Christmas visit to Iceland.

Dinner and overnight in the Kirkjubæjarklaustur area.

Day 4 - Vatnajökull National Park – Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon

Breakfast at your hotel. Today you’ll be visiting the southern area of Vatnajokull 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! Visit Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon where you can enjoy the breath-taking sight of icebergs floating in the fantastic 180m (591 ft.) deep glacial lagoon. Nearby is the dramatic beauty of the Diamond Beach, where shrinking icebergs settle on the black sands before they drift out to sea.

Visit the national park’s famous Skaftafell area, a site of outstanding natural beauty dominated by several magnificent glaciers.

 Dinner and overnight in the Kirkjubæjarklaustur area

Day 5 - Hveragerði – Blue Lagoon – Reykjavík

Breakfast at your hotel. Head back along the beautiful South Coast, enjoying a different view of the winter landscapes. Visit the village of Hveragerði, one of the few communities in the world located directly in the middle of a geothermal area. Hveragerdi is often called “The Flower Village” because of its geothermal greenhouses. Next, you’ll visit a horse farm to meet some locals: Icelandic horses. This Viking horse breed played a pivotal role in Icelandic history. Enjoy petting these friendly horses and snapping a few selfies with them. You’ll also taste some sweet refreshments that are traditionally served on Icelandic farms. Turn onto a southern coastal road and follow alongside the shoreline with its breathtaking sea waves. The road 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 bids you farewell at the hotel. The evening is open for you to enjoy your own activities. Dinner is on your own.

 Overnight in Reykjavík.

Day 6 - Farewell to the Land of Fire and Ice

Breakfast at your hotel. Please note that this might be a light breakfast if you are taking an early morning departure flight. Transfer to the international airport for your departure flight. We recommend you depart 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!