Otherworldly, panoramic, and oh-so-dramatic, Iceland is the ultimate icy volcanic playground. Plan a road trip around this incredible island isolated in the North Atlantic, and you’ll walk away with more than a few life-affirming, lifelong-lasting memories.
The best things to do in Iceland are, for many, a long list of firsts. The first time tentatively walking atop a glacier, the first time venturing inside an ice cave, and the first time scuba diving between two tectonic plates. Summarising all of Iceland’s best experiences only requires one word: phenomenal.
Even then, those firsts are different for all who travel to the land of fire and ice due to seasonal and seismic variations. Come in summer, and an Iceland road trip will deliver you to otherwise inaccessible ravines, while long winter nights can be rewarded with aurora sightings. No matter when you visit, these top activities in Iceland are sure to leave a lasting impression.
Go on an off-road adventure to Thórsmörk and Fjallabak Nature Reserve
The Midnight Sun isn’t the only reason to venture to Iceland in the summer. For much of the year, the country’s craggy, lunar-like interior is essentially cut off to visitors due to the closure of the 4WD-needed, river-crossing inland roads by snow and severe weather conditions. Come between June and September, though – arguably the best time to visit – and you’ll be able to rent a suitable 4×4 and drive Iceland’s F roads – the F meaning Fjallvegur or mountain road.
Where should you drive first to make the most of your mighty wheels? Thórsmörk. Named after the Norse god Thor, this highland valley is every bit as supernatural as it sounds. The drama is heightened by the fact that it requires driving skill and confidence to pass the Krossa River crossing, meaning a larger 4×4 isn’t just recommended but essential due to local restrictions on this gravel road. Once there, you’ll be staring out at one of Iceland’s most pristine, panoramic and outlandish scenes: moss-clad ravines and theatrical waterfalls that create steaking rivers in the glacier-carved landscape. Then, to make the most of your vehicle, backtrack and head to Landmannalaugar in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, where lava-shaped fields and hot springs contend for Iceland’s most unique setting.
Strokkur erupts around every 6-10 minutes
Glimpse geysers and geothermal activity in the Golden Circle
Not all Iceland road trips are seasonal, and not all require a 4×4. The so-called Golden Circle is a scenic loop which takes in a sample of all of Iceland’s best landscapes: cinematic cascades, a heart-stealing national park, and soaring active geysers. It’s not far from Reykjavik, accessible year-round, and – except for in particular bad weather conditions – can be driven with a normal rental car.
One of the most impressive stops in the Golden Circle is the geothermal valley of Haukadalur. A show-stopping scene of gurgling mud bubbles, fumaroles, and sky-spewing geysers, the most famous sight is Strokkur, Iceland’s most visited geyser, which ejects its scorching waters some 20 metres into the air several times per hour.
If you prefer your waters colder, follow my lead and go snorkelling or diving in Iceland
Snorkel or scuba between two tectonic plates
If you’re wondering what to do in Iceland for a truly unique experience, then it doesn’t get much better than diving into the inland frigid waters to swim between two tectonic plates. At the Silfra Fissure in Thingvellir National Park, it’s possible to snorkel or scuba dive between two continents – these are the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates – wearing a dry or wet suit, depending on the season. Although I’m a qualified scuba diver, I opted just to snorkel as the water is so clear visibility is pretty much perfect. Either way, the attraction here is the geological wonders – and once-in-a-lifetime Iceland experience – rather than any marine life.
Reykjavik is the capital city of Iceland
Eat, drink, and get cultured in the capital city, Reykjavik
Nearly every visit to Iceland starts and ends in Reykjavik, the country’s compact, quirky and colourful capital city. While it’s tempting to just beeline to the top natural attractions in Iceland, aim to spend at least a night in the city sampling local craft beers in cosy pubs, listening to some live rock music, and learning a little more about Iceland’s heritage at the National Museum, out-of-town Open Air Museum. Don’t miss the Hallgrimskirkja, a 20th-century cathedral that towers above the city due to its pointed tower.
The Blue Lagoon is one of the most popular things to do in Iceland
Soothe in hot springs and lagoons
One of the most popular things to do in Iceland – especially after tackling some of the island’s toughest hikes – is to rest and rejuvenate in geothermal waters. You’ll find natural pools fed by hot springs and lagoons across the country, with some of the finest being out in the wild. However, the most famous Icelandic spa experience is found near Reykjavik at the Blue Lagoon. A well-developed and expansive wellness site, the centrepiece is the steaming mineral-rich, milky-blue pool perfect for an afternoon session or to enjoy under a winter starlit sky.
Snow doesn’t rule out getting out into nature
Trek atop a glacier
One of my most memorable experiences in Iceland was the glacier trek in the UNESCO-listed Vatnajökull National Park. Even thinking about it now seems a little surreal. Crunching through the snow with crampons, knowing the glacier ice was just below – and as we hiked further, directly underfoot – was pretty surreal, especially as the sun started setting and the golden hues glinted off the ice. For this one, you’ll want to join a guided tour, and while it’s not the cheapest experience in Iceland, it’s well worth the investment.
Exploring glaciers and ice caves
Clamber inside an ice cave
What can top walking atop a glacier? Entering an ice cave. One of the best things to do in Iceland is to venture into a subterranean frozen cave system illuminated by translucent blue ice. My opportunity came at the end of my glacier trek at Vatnajökull’s Crystal Ice Cave. Still, you can enjoy similar experiences in Langjökull’s Ice Tunnels, the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, and a few more locations across the island.
Thingvellir National Park ChurchThingvellir National Park
Cross your fingers for the northern lights
Visit between September and April, and you’ll likely be chasing another of the top things to do in Iceland: witnessing the Northern Lights. But coming in the seasonal window isn’t any guarantee. I’ve travelled twice to Iceland in winter, and both times were aurora failures – I caught a slight slither of green in my camera, but for the most part, cloud cover ensured nothing was visible.
However, if you get lucky, you’ll see quite the show, especially if you’re far from the city’s light pollution near a glacier lagoon or a remote peninsula. There are plenty of tours that will take you to try and spot the northern lights – some include an overnight rural stay – but if you’ve rented a car, it will allow you more flexibility to change directions if clouds do appear quickly.
Be in awe of active volcanoes
It doesn’t seem that a week goes by these days without news of a volcanic eruption or seismic activity striking Iceland. Set on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the island’s volcanic nature is particularly fierce, and this fiery activity can lead to some of Iceland’s most unique experiences. Of course, you’ll always want to prioritise safety and follow all local instructions. But even if your visit doesn’t time with an eruption, you’ll never be far from an active volcano like Eyjafjallajökull, and just staring at it, knowing it’s smouldering below, is enough to elicit awe.
Seljalandsfoss is one of Iceland’s best waterfalls
Witness (and walk behind) majestic waterfalls
Water defines many of the best things to do in Iceland, and that’s particularly true when it comes to cascades. All across the island are majestic waterfalls that are truly show-stopping. From the theatrical curtain of water at Skogafoss to the squat, easy-access Gullfoss Falls, you’ll spend much of an Iceland road trip pulling over to get your camera out. My favourite is Seljalandsfoss, a spectacular waterfall that you can actually walk behind by entering a cavernous space that puts the power of the crashing cascade into perspective.
Iceland looks just as epic from above
Peek at seasonal puffins and go birding in the Westfjords
What to do in Iceland in the summer? Spot some adorable puffins. Between April and August, millions of puffins call Iceland a temporary home as they breed, lay eggs, and provide a pretty picture for visitors who peer on from a respectful distance. The Westman Islands and Westfjords are two of the best areas to see puffin colonies, with the latter being one of Europe’s premier bird-watching locations due to the numerous seabirds that circle the cliffs.
Meet the Icelandic Horse
Meet Icelandic Horses and spot whales breaching in the wild
Puffins aren’t the only wild thing to see in Iceland. You’ll also want to meet one of the beautiful Iceland Horses. Chances are you’ll spot this small, strong and friendly breed of horses as you drive the island – and if you see their unique “flying” gait, even better. Afterwards, continue driving to Husavik, considered Iceland’s whale-watching capital, to join a sailing to see humpback whales breaching in the deep blue.
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon is one of the best places in Iceland to kayak in summer
Kayak frigid glacier lagoons to peek at icebergs up close
Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon was one of the highlights of my second visit to Iceland. I was so excited to kayak across the mirror-like waters dotted with icebergs and take a closer look at these floating blocks myself. However, I hadn’t really thought through the fact this is a land of Ice, and while paddling the lagoon is one of the best things to do in Iceland between May and September, winter freezes parts of the lagoon. Still, Jökulsárlón is a spectacular sight, even if I could only admire the panorama from the edge – the kayak will have to wait until next time.
The black sand beach of Reynisfjara
Stroll along spectacular black sand beaches
Iceland’s beaches are nothing short of spectacular. On this wild island, the dark volcanic sands are just as striking as the inland landscapes. Head to wave-ravaged Reynisfjara on a campervan adventure to marvel at the basalt columns, swoon over the sparkling small icebergs that dot Diamond Beach, and see the serrated peaks reflecting in sultry Stokksnes Beach, and you’ll soon be a black sand convert
Fireworks in ReykjavíkNYE in Iceland
Ring in the New Year in Reykjavik
On my first visit to Iceland, I spent New Year’s Eve in Reykjavik. It wasn’t a coincidence – I’d specifically planned the trip around the end-of-year celebration, drawn by the promise of essentially unregulated fireworks and bonfire madness. For nearly the whole year, fireworks are illegal in Iceland. However, over the holidays, all rules are lifted, and people go wild for them, setting off fireworks at all hours and not necessarily with safety being top priority. Between the fireworks, bonfires dotted around the city, and the incredible atmosphere and sparkler-sharing locals, that Icelandic New Year’s Eve has become one of my most treasured.
Toasted ham baguettes in hand, we cheered as the new-generation Nightjet drew into Vienna Hauptbahnhof. It was a little before 7pm, and as the carriages hummed past I felt a rush of joy, like celebrity trainspotter Francis Bourgeois, but without the GoPro on my forehead. For more than three years I’ve been documenting the renaissance of sleeper trains, and I’d wondered if I might one day tire of them. But the thrill seems only to intensify each time I embark on another nocturnal adventure, this time with my two daughters – aged eight and five – who were already arguing over the top berth. The first four carriages were designated for travellers to the Italian port city of La Spezia, the other seven carrying on to Roma Tiburtina, where we would alight at 10am. Once in Rome we had 24 hours to eat classic carbonara, dark chocolate gelato, and bike around the Villa Borghese before taking a train to Florence.
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has played the lead role in resuscitating Europe’s night trains. Towards the end of 2016, ÖBB launched its Nightjet network on 14 routes, using old rolling stock it bought from Deutsche Bahn. Then, to the delight of train nerds like me, it launched a brand-new fleet at the end of 2023, and now operates 20 routes across Europe. We were now on board this high-spec service, which smelled of freshly unpacked furniture, the carpets soft underfoot, the lighting adjustable to disco hues of neon blue and punk pink.
We were booked into a couchette carriage, which mostly comprisesd mini cabins designed for solo travellers preferring privacy. Placing shoes and small bags in lockers, passengers can open a metal door with a keycard and crawl into their single berth, drawing the door closed around them, and not have to look at another human until morning. Last year I had trialled the mini cabins from Vienna to Hamburg alongside a tall friend who had likened the experience to sleeping inside a bread bin, though I hadn’t found it as claustrophobic as I’d feared, just a bit hard, chilly, and with a pillow as flat as a postage stamp. So I was curious to see how the carriage’s four-person private compartments, for families and groups, would differ.
New generation Nightjet train in Austria. Photograph: Christian Blumenstein
Normally happy to share with strangers, I’d booked a whole compartment for the three of us: more to protect other hapless travellers from my children, who were now swinging off the berths like members of Cirque du Soleil, their sweaty socks strewn under the seats. With raised sides, the upper berths were safe for the girls to sleep in without rolling out, and I set about tucking in their sheets while they settled down to finish their baguettes. There is no dining car on the Nightjet, so we’d bought food from the station, which was now moving backwards as the train sailed out of the Austrian capital in silence, smoothly curving south-west.
Two days earlier we’d arrived in Vienna by train from London, via Paris, and had checked into the Superbude Wien Prater, a curious hotel that appeared part art-installation, part hostel, with gen Zs slouched around worn leather sofas on MacBooks. With four-bed family cabins overlooking the Prater amusement park, it was a great location from which to explore the city, then finish the evening with a terrifying rollercoaster and a spicy Bitzinger wurst. A friend had described Vienna to me as a grand and beautiful “retirement village”, but, on the contrary, its green spaces, playgrounds and museums made it an easy stop for 48 hours with kids.
Hopping off the Nightjet from Paris, we’d gone straight to my favourite restaurant, Edelgreisslerei Opocensky – an unassuming nook serving homely dishes such as stuffed gnocchi, and goulash with dumplings – before whiling away an afternoon at the Children’s Museum at Schönbrunn Palace.
Dressing up like young Habsburgs, the girls had swanned around in wigs and musty gowns, laying tables for banquets and begging not to leave – a far cry from our usual museum experiences. Before boarding this train we’d had one last run around the interactive Technical Museum, where the human-sized hamster wheels, peg games and slides had so worn out the children that my five-year-old was asleep as the train plunged into the Semmering mountain pass.
It was still light as we swept around the Alps, my eight-year-old kneeling at the window and asking where local people shopped, so few and far between were signs of human life. Horses grazed in paddocks, cows nuzzled, and the occasional hamlet emerged from round a bend as though the chalets were shaken like dice and tossed into the slopes. In the blue-grey twilight we watched streams gleam like strips of metal, and spotted a single stag poised at the edge of a wood, before the train made a long stop at the Styrian city of Leoben, at which point we turned in.
Monisha Rajesh and her daughters disembark the night train. Photograph: Monisha Rajesh
Like the mini cabins, the compartment was still too cold, the pillow still too flat, but the berths were wider and the huge window a blessing compared with the single berths’ portholes – this one allowed for wistful gazing.
Shoving a rolled-up jumper under my head, I fell asleep, waking at 7am to rumpled clouds and a golden flare on the horizon. Most night trains terminate soon after passengers have woken up, but this one was perfect, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast of hot chocolate and jam rolls while watching the Tuscan dawn breaking into song, and Umbrian lakes and cornfields running parallel before we finally drew into Rome – on time.
When travelling alone I relish arriving with the entire day at my disposal, but with children it’s hard work waiting until 3pm to check in to accommodation, so I default to staying at a Hoxton hotel if one is available. Its Flexy Time policy allows guests to choose what time they check in and out for free, and by 11am we had checked in, showered and set off to toss coins in the Trevi fountain, finding thick whorls of eggy carbonara at nearby trattoria Maccheroni, and gelato at Don Nino. To avoid the crowds and heat, we waited until 6pm to hire an electric pedal car from Bici Pincio at the Villa Borghese and drove around the landscaped, leafy grounds, relishing the quietness of the evening ride. Excited about the next adventure in Florence, the girls had only one complaint: that they couldn’t ride there on the night train.
Monisha Rajesh is the author of Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train (Bloomsbury, £22), published on 28 August and available on pre-order at guardianbookshop.com
Omio provided travel in a four-person private compartment in a couchette carriage from Vienna to Rome (from £357). Accommodation was provided by Superbude Wien Prater in Vienna (doubles from €89 room-only); and The Hoxton in Rome (doubles from €189 room-only)
A former expatriate, he worked in Kolkata for two years before heading to the Gulf in 1977. After 33 years abroad, he returned home in 2010 and has since been indulging his lifelong love for travel.
Sreenivasan
Who says age comes with limits? Sreenivasan, a 79-year-old from Irinave in Kannur, certainly doesn’t think so. Far from slowing down, he’s still hitting the road solo — and his most recent adventure took him all the way to Howrah, clocking a whopping 4,357 kilometres over nine days, all by himself.
Living on the sixth floor of a flat in Thalap, Kannur, Sreenivasan is not one to lock himself in with the passing years. Age may change the numbers, but not his passion for travel. Whenever the mood strikes, he hops into his car and sets off — this time, turning the wheel eastwards to Howrah.
Despite the long journey, there’s not a trace of fatigue in his voice. Sreenivasan doesn’t let age define his pace. “When the desire to travel wins, age doesn’t matter,” he says with conviction.
A former expatriate, he worked in Kolkata for two years before heading to the Gulf in 1977. After 33 years abroad, he returned home in 2010 and has since been indulging his lifelong love for travel. Over the years, he has made countless trips, each one fuelling the next. His eyesight isn’t perfect, and he has a few health issues — but giving up solo travel is out of the question.
His journeys aren’t planned with maps or strict timetables. He simply follows his instinct — just as he did this time, choosing the route via Kottupuzha and Mysuru before heading straight to West Bengal. He drives from 8 am to 6 pm, avoiding night travel entirely. Pit stops are only for petrol and tolls.
For the Kannur–Howrah trip, he used 305 litres of petrol and paid ₹6,500 in tolls. He sticks to national highways and avoids detours. On some three-lane highways, rows of trucks can be a challenge, but Sreenivasan notes, “They’ll clear the way if you honk — it’s part of the driving culture.”
A vegetarian, he stops only at places that cater to his diet. His travels have taken him to Mangaluru, Mysuru, Srirangapatna, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and of course, Kolkata — which he has visited thrice already. Shorter getaways to places like Thrissur and Palakkad are also part of his routine.
Sreenivasan believes that for elderly travellers, good roads make all the difference. He lives with his wife Reetha and has two daughters — Sreeja and Sijitha.
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Bed & bath: 1 bedroom, 2 baths Top amenities: Mountain views, sustainable and thoughtful design, in-unit laundry, free parking on premises
For a tasteful, stylish, and refined stay out in Wanship, Utah, this property is a western take on a traditional lighthouse. The Towerhouse is a four-story estate at 8,000 feet of elevation, and the only property on this list that has no body of water in sight. That said, guests can expect sprawling views of both the mountains and Park City, Utah. While the space can fit up to four guests, its one queen bed is more suitable for two—perhaps for a remote, romantic getaway. With novel, eclectic touches, it’s architecturally unique, and only a 15-minute drive from the small towns nearby. Note: If booking during the winter, all guests must have four-wheel drive with snow tires as the roads are steep and often covered with snow.
