Northern Lights and Glacier Lagoon New Year

Day 1: December 28, 2017

WELCOME

The Flybus shuttle brings you from Keflavík International Airport to the accommodation in Reykjavík where you spend the night. We provide you with ideas how to explore Iceland's exciting capital on your own, dinner suggestions too! Food lovers will be pleased and perhaps even impressed by the number of diverse restaurants in Reykjavík. Many award winning chefs create delicious Icelandic cuisine that is characterized by an imaginative use of local ingredients such as fresh seafood, organic lamb and wild game; but be sure to try the fabulous Icelandic hotdog and pizza too! There are optional tours such as whale watching, visit into the glacier, hiking, and sailing to Viðey where the John Lennon Imagine peace tower is located.

Driving distance: (50 km/31 mls)

Day 2: December 29, 2017

THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

At 8:30am meet your tour guide and start the escorted tour program with short introduction to Icelandic geology while watching a striking film at the Reykjavik Volcano House documenting the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull and Fimmvörðulháls in 2010, which caused millions of people to be stranded worldwide as thousands of flights were cancelled. These films give a good insight into the general geology and volcanology of Iceland. At the Volcano House you can experience a hands-on geological exhibition where you can examine various pieces of pumice, ash and lava from Icelandic volcanoes. Later we depart from Reykjavik for Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, where the Althingi, the oldest legislative assembly in the world, was founded. This is one of Iceland's most fascinating places both geologically and for the role it plays in the country's history and sense of national identity. Thingvellir is also remarkable for reasons of natural science, 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.

Exploring the hot springs at Geysir is like watching a geography lesson in real life: natural springs bubbling away in the ground until the pressure becomes too much – and they explode in spectacular style. Geysir and Strokkur are the two biggest of the geysers there. While Geysir no longer is active, Strokkur still spouts every 5 to 15 minutes to the delight of visitors. Next we travel to Gullfoss, "the golden falls", which is a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá river. Gullfoss is one of Iceland's most beautiful waterfalls. The explosion crater called Kerið is filled with water and resembles an ancient amphitheater. In the evening, you hear about the Northern Lights from your tour guide. Naturally, once darkness falls, you are out in the garden waiting for the Northern Lights. We stay for one night in simple cottages in South Iceland.

Driving distance: (220 km/136 mls)

Day 3: December 30, 2017

VATNAJÖKULL NATIONAL PARK & GLACIER LAGOON

A long drive brings us to a world of glaciers, ice and icebergs. We travel to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon filled with floating icebergs. We explore this extraordinary site and perhaps see seals swimming in the arctic waters. You can walk on the black sandy beach where large icebergs get stranded. The Vatnajökull National Park is about 12,000 square kilometers and it is the largest National Park in Europe. In this area we find Iceland's highest mountains, an alpine environment and Europe's largest glacier. Tonight you can enjoy a movie presentation about Northern Lights as a part of the Northern Lights educational program. Be careful not to go to bed too soon in this remote and quiet location, or you may just miss out one more chance of seeing the Northern Lights shimmering and dancing across the night sky. We stay for one night at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon in the Vatnajökull region.

Driving distance: (385 km/239 mls)

Day 4: December 31, 2017

SOUTH COAST & NEW YEAR'S DINNER

Today, we head across the Eldhraun lava field to the village of Vík where we make a photo stop. We take a stroll on the black lava beach and see the bird cliffs at Reynisfjara beach in South Iceland. We pass the glacier Mýrdalsjökull and the infamous volcano Eyjafjallajökull and continue to Skógafoss waterfall which is 62 meters high and belongs to the most impressive waterfalls in the country. Further west we reach the high but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall which plunges over the mountain. There is a trail that goes behind the fall which is interesting – if you are prepared to get wet! In the evening we return to Reykjavik for one last night. A transfer bus will bring you at 6:00pm to the New Year's Eve 4-course festive dinner at the Harpa Concert Hall. The restaurant is located on the ground floor and offers amazing views over the downtown harbor and bay of Reykjavík. Between 8:30-10:30pm we take you to one of the bonfires in Iceland's capital. An evening tour around Reykjavik on New Year's eve is an Icelandic tradition. Back at Harpa we celebrate with music and sparkling wine and at midnight we experience the "crazy" and the one of a kind fireworks in Iceland's capital. Return transfers to the hotel are offered at 12:30, 1:00, 1:30 and 2:00am.

Driving distance: (305 km/189 mls)

Day 5: January 1, 2018

DEPARTURE HOME

Individual transfer by Flybus airport shuttle from your hotel in Reykjavík to Keflavík Airport. It is also possible to extend the program in Reykjavík.

Daily driving:
Total mileage without airport transfer is 910 km (564 miles) which is an average of 303 km (188 miles) per day. You spend about 4 hours per day on the bus, depending on road conditions, traffic and daily distances. On some days the driving might be longer than on some other days.

Driving distance: (50 km/31 mls)