Iceland Travel Guide (No BS) - Best Things to do in Iceland
A straight forward Iceland Travel Guide for those looking for information to plan a Iceland vacation and find the best things to do in Iceland. Including the best of the Ring Road and Golden Circle.
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I teamed up with friend and fellow travel YouTuber, Steve Hänisch, of back-packer.org, to set out on a 12-day Iceland vacation adventure around the ring road! Here is his Iceland Travel Guide:
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Go subscribe to Steve's awesome travel channel:
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☆ MORE INFO FROM THIS ICELAND TRAVEL VIDEO ☆
Iceland Travel Partners:
- Iceland Car Rental -
- homeaway.com (see below)
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WHERE WE STAYED in Iceland (with HomeAway):
1. Arnarstapi Cottages -
2. Akureyi Nollur Farm -
3. East Iceland Cottage -
4. Southern Iceland Cottage -
5. Reykjavik Bachelor Pad -
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My favorite THINGS TO DO in Iceland::
► Reykjavik & Golden Circle
Iceland's capital city and home to 122,000 people. Reykjavik is the largest city in Iceland and most traveler's jumping off point for the Ring Road and Golden Circle.
The Golden Circle is a popular tourist driving route in southern Iceland, which covers about 300 kilometers looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. There are many Golden Circle tours, but I would recommend doing this with a rental car. Featured attractions include Geysir, Blue Lagoon and Gullfoss waterfall.
One of my favorite things to do in Iceland in this region is the Reykjadalur Hot Springs - A beautiful and unique geothermal river near the town of Hveragerði. It takes about one hour to hike up to the hot springs, so be prepared.
► Central Highlands
► Northern Iceland
Eyjafjörður Fjord - One of the best places in Iceland to see the Northern Lights. Northern Iceland has very little light pollution, so tracking the Northern Lights over the Fjords is a great idea.
Ásbyrgi Canyon - This massive canyon was formed way back after the ice age as melting glacier floods ripped giant divots into the earth and left this beautiful valley and rock walls in its path.
Northern Lights - In order to have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, check out this website we used to track the cloud coverage and aurora activity.
Dettifoss Waterfall - Said to be Europe’s most powerful waterfall, and we’re getting a unique perspective - by moonlight.
► Western Iceland & Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Godafoss Waterfall - An expansive horseshoe-shaped cascade that’s probably my favorite waterfall of the entire trip.
► Eastern Iceland
Hverir or Namafjall geothermal field - Located in northeastern Iceland around the geothermal region of Lake Mývatn - a vast area of hot springs, sulfur crystals, and boiling mud pots.
► Southern Iceland
Seljalandsfoss - A popular waterfall in South Iceland, and the only waterfall (that I know of) in Iceland that you can walk behind.
Skogafoss - Massive curtain waterfall with a drop of 60 meters and a width of 25 meters, also in Southern Iceland.
Reynisfjara - Incredible black sand beach near Vik with basalt sea stacks to one side and rock formations jetting out of the ocean. Get here early to really appreciate it.
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TRAVEL DEEPER.
A new geothermal hotspring came to life in Iceland, Hveragerdi
We were Mountain biking in Icealnd when we heard loud noises and felt the ground rumbling. It was a brand new hotspring coming out from the ground.
Iceland activitie is family company located in Iceland, Hveragedi. We operate Bike tours, Hike tours, Surf tours / school and group activities in Iceland
Aparolan í Hveragerdi, flying fox, zip line Iceland
This is a great activitie for families or bigger groups, enjoy sliding over the water fall, look at the salmon jump up the waterfall or take a refreshing jump into the river.
Contact us if you like to try!
icelandactivities.is
info@icelandactivities.is
+354 777-6263
Aparólan í Hveragerði - Zip-line in Iceland Hveragerdi
Prófaðu etthvað nýtt! Frábær upplyfting fyrir hópa af öllum stærðum og gerðum til að hrista hópinn saman og gera sér glaðan dag. Aparólan er svifbraut sem er strengd yfir fossinn í Hveragerði, Brautin eru tæpir 90 metrar og nær fólk góðum hraða.
Hægt er að panta í Aparóluna allt árið um kring.
Hafðu samband og við gerum tilboð í hópinn þinn.
Hægt er að panta Aparóluna sér eða sameina Aparóluna með Leikjaþrautabraut, Ratleikjum, Hólaferðum, gönguferðum og brimbrettaferðum.
We offer groups and individuals a chance to swing over the Reykjafoss waterfall in Hveragerdi and enjoy a powerful moment. The zip line is approximately 90 meters long and will provide you with good speed and a fun experience. If you are traveling with a group and want to shake things up and put smile one their faces, then the monkey swing is it!
Operated every day and all year around, depending on orders.
Klambragil, near Hveragerdi, Iceland
Klambragil is a very active geothermal fild located north of Hveragerdi (correctly Hveragerði), about 45km southeast of Reykjavik, Iceland. I went hiking with some of my friends and enjoyed soaking in hot spring river there.
Golden Circle - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, Kerið, Iceland)
We decided to rent a car and drive the whole thing. In the list below, you only need money for Kerið (Kerid Crater), everything else is free. Fill up your tank in Reykjavik (Where the loop both: starts and ends), it's enough petrol to get around. We had a good time! We slept in the car at Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park so we could get an early start. We did it all in one day. This video was taken in September 2018! So prepare, it's FREEZING!!! LOL!
Places of interest:
Þingvellir (Thingvellir)
Öxarárfoss (Waterfall in Thingvellir national park)
Geysir Hot Springs (Contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur)
Horsepetting at Margeiri, Bru's Farm
Gullfoss (Golden Falls - Waterfall)
Faxi / Faxafoss (Waterfall)
Kerið (Kerid Crater)
The Golden Circle (Icelandic: Gullni hringurinn) is a tourist route in southern Iceland, covering about 300 kilometres (190 mi) looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. It is the area that contains most tours and travel-related activities in Iceland.The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes. Other stops include the Kerið volcanic crater, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.
The name Golden Circle is a marketing term for the route, derived from the name of Gullfoss, which means golden waterfall in Icelandic.
Þingvellir (Icelandic: [ˈθiŋkˌvɛtlɪr̥] (About this soundlisten)), anglicised as Thingvellir,is a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. The park lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.
Video Title: Golden Circle - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, Kerið, Iceland)
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golden, circle, video, tour, thingvellir, gullfoss, geysir, iceland, þingvellir, öxarárfoss, geysir, strokkur, geysir hot springs, margeiri, bru's farm, golden falls, faxi, faxafoss, kerið, kerid crater, golden circle, golden circle iceland, kerið review, kerið video, kerið crater, golden circle review, golden circle video, golden circle video tour, video tour, reykjavik, things to do, iceland hot springs, blue lagoon, geysir national park, geysir hot spring
Taking a dip in the hotpool with Sophie at Frost and Fire guesthouse , Hveragerdi, Iceland.
Driving the Icelandic Countryside - VIDEO PREVIEW (Golden Circle, Iceland)
Here is a little video when driving around the Icelandic countryside! This is the first part of the Golden Circle from Reykjavik to Thingvellir National Park (Þingvellir). Amazing views and amazing landscapes!
The Golden Circle (Icelandic: Gullni hringurinn) is a tourist route in southern Iceland, covering about 300 kilometres (190 mi) looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. It is the area that contains most tours and travel-related activities in Iceland.The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes. Other stops include the Kerið volcanic crater, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.
The name Golden Circle is a marketing term for the route, derived from the name of Gullfoss, which means golden waterfall in Icelandic.
Video Title: Driving the Icelandic Countryside - VIDEO PREVIEW (Golden Circle, Iceland)
Video File Created Date: Friday, April 12, 2019 (Video may or may not have been captured on this date, it shows the date the video was last converted.)
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-- Manage and Auto-Tag your YouTube videos offline... Then upload!
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Video Tags:
driving, icelandic, countryside, video, preview, golden, circle, iceland, driving iceland, driving iceland winter, driving iceland ring road, driving iceland april, driving iceland march, driving iceland september, driving iceland golden circle, driving iceland november, driving iceland may, golden circle, golden circle video tour, video tour, review, driving in iceland, driving the golden circle, golden circle by car, iceland by car, iceland landscape, iceland roads
Hveragerdi, Iceland ('Round The World Episode 3)
Hveragerdi, Iceland ('Round The World Episode 3)
After meeting some guys through Couchsurfing.com we started our journey around Iceland by climbing Mount Esja, which is just outside of Reykjavik, Iceland then headed up to Hveragerdi, a natural geo thermal hot spring for a nice evening soak.
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IMMORTAL - EVE TO ADAM
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Hveragerdi, Iceland (hiking second day)
Hiking second day with Jake, Ben, Jessie, Lauren about 30 minutes outside of Reykjavik. Lots of mud pots, steam vents, warm pools, warm river, sheep, and pretty little flowers.
Bridge over hell in Reykjadalur, Hveragerdi, Iceland
Thank You for watching, likes and comments. Encourage You to ask about Your biggest dream points in Iceland. Subscribe a channel Explore Iceland and let we meet in all most iconic points of Iceland ;-)
Iceland!! The Golden Circle Tour: Geysers, Waterfalls and Northern Lights!
Hi guys! Thanks for viewing my vlogs! I'm a professional videographer living and working out of Atlanta, Georgia. In this video, this is my 2nd day in Iceland.
We (AdventuresofDwoods) and I explore the Golden Circle. Iceland was an amazing trip and maybe, juuuuust maybe, I'll be back one day.
The Golden Circle (Icelandic: Gullni hringurinn) is a popular tourist route in southern Iceland, covering about 300 kilometres (190 mi) looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. It is the area that contains most tours and travel-related activities in Iceland.[1]
The name Golden Circle is a marketing term that has no roots in Icelandic history.
The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes.[2] Other stops include the Kerið volcanic crater, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.
Geothermal activity, Hveragerdi, Iceland
World Travel Blog Episode 10: Iceland's Golden Circle
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The Golden Circle (Icelandic: Gullni hringurinn) is a popular tourist route in southern Iceland, covering about 300 kilometres (190 mi) looping from Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. It is the area that contains most tours and travel-related activities in Iceland.[1]
The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur, on the other hand, continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes.[2]
Other stops include the Kerið volcanic crater, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.
Iceland Geology #4 - 1700 Earthquakes in 4 Day's near Reykjavík
Click on CC for full description but for those who are interested in earthquake unrest in Iceland I recommend those links below.
The Icelandic MET office real time earthquake monitor
Map.is has the same data but you can see them trough better map and back in time as layer on top of areal photo's. You can chose to see the earthquake layer for the last 24 hrs and up to 6 months but that's very exciting view I must say.
Jón Frímann is very active earthquake blogger:
And finally it's a mountain that some believe that changed the path of history due to a US Airforce plane crash after aborted landing due to weather.
Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews, and the crew of the B-24 Liberator “Hot Stuff,” the first heavy bomber in the 8th Air Force to complete 25 missions died there and Eisenhower took his place.
At least 2 other planes crashed into Fagradalsfjall and there is some still wrekage to be found there. I might cover this event in my aviation section of my channel.
Best Things to do in Reykjavik & Golden Circle - 48h Challenge (Circling Iceland Ep.04)
With this video I show you some great things to do in Reykjavik & along the Golden Circle route in 48 hours - a great resource for your own trip!
➸ My Iceland guides: back-packer.org
➸ Checkout my travel buddy Gareth:
MY CAMERA EQUIPMENT
▸ Cam1:Sony RX 100 V
▸ Cam2:Sony A7 II
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In the 4th episode of Circling Iceland we use Reykjavik as our home base and took on the challenge to do as much as possible in 48h - so we start very early each day to make the most our of it. Our goal is to show you the best things to do in Reykjavik one day and the best sights along the golden circle the other day.
By using the daylight to the max (only doable from late spring - early autumn!) and part of the night we were able to squeeze in even some extra activities in the Highlands, a festival and some Hot Springs. Please be aware that we planned this itinerary way ahead with the help of locals: we had a tough, very strict schedule in order to make it happen in 48h- if you want to do the same we recommend to take 2 more days to be able to enjoy it!!
Come with us as we explore the center of Reykjavik with its many sights, the nightlife, the blue lagoon and the best sights along the golden circle!
Even though we finished our trip this won’t be the last episode - in the upcoming episode we talk about everything you need to know about traveling Iceland yourself!
Traveling Icelands Ring Road is the perfect way to get to know the country on and off the tourist paths. Therefore we took about 2 weeks to get to know Iceland properly by exploring waterfalls, canyons, hot springs, glacier caves, black beaches and of course the stunning coastlines all around the island finishing off in Reykjavik with the countries biggest music festival called „Iceland Airwaves“
We’ll show you which places to visit & our favorite things to do in Iceland in the upcoming videos and how to plan & organize your very own road trip in Iceland. Make sure to subscribe & activate notification to not miss any episode!
— Places I stayed at —
As mentioned in the video I exclusively stayed at the Oddsson Ho(s)tel for this part of the trip:
Things to do in Reykjavik & Things to do along the Golden Circle as shown in this episode:
- Hallkrimskirkja
- Reykjavik Old Harbour & Harpa
- Blue Lagoon
- Hlemmur Food Hall
- Iceland Airwaves Festival
- Golden Circle
- Geysir
- Gullfoss
- Oddsson Hostel
- Hrauneyjar Highland Center
- Kerid Crater
- Reykjadalur
— About our Cooperation with SadCars & Oddsson —
We partnered up with a local car rental company called who offer some of the best deals for travelers looking into renting a camper or road trip vehicle. For this the folks at SadCars provided us with a Dacia Duster for the period we did the Ring Road and the Golden Circle route.
In order to show you several accommodation options you can find in Iceland I teamed up with this time who let me stay in their ubercool suite in Reykjavik.
Nevertheless all opinions, recommendations and views are my own.
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MY TRAVEL EQUIPMENT
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▸ Online Language Course
MY HOTEL & HOSTEL RECOMMENDATIONS
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Things to do in Selfoss, Iceland for Free!
Our last week in Iceland was spent camping in Selfoss, a lovely town that is one of the largest Iceland has (aside from the hub, Reykjavik). Being on a shoestring budget while backpacking, we found many activities in the area that cost us nothing, or close to nothing — which can be difficult in Iceland, a place notorious for it's expensive price tag.
We hope you enjoy the video and gather a few ideas for your own trip to Selfoss, Iceland. For more of our knowledge on Iceland's prices, listen to our most recent podcast How Expensive is Iceland? The Cost of Iceland from Budget Travelers at
Don't forget to show your support by liking, commenting, and subscribing as well as keeping up with us at we appreciate the love!!!
ICELAND - DAY 3 ???????????? GOÐAFOSS, SULFUR SPRINGS, GRJÓTAGYÁ CAVES, GEOSEA THERMAL POOLS
⚠️???????????? VERY USEFUL LINKS ????????????⚠️
ICELAND ROAD CONDITIONS road.is
NORTHERN LIGHTS ACTIVITY
???????????? SAVE THESE FOR YOUR TRIP ????????????
OUR CAMERA
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Started our third day in Iceland at HAMRAR Campsite, a short drive from downtown Akureyri where we first made it into the city and spent an hour at multiple fuel stations looking for a windshield wiper replacement for our van since one of them flew off in a snowstorm on our way into Akureyri the night before which we couldn’t locate on the road afterwards, but ended up getting directed to the “BIG HOUSE” (Dealership I guess ????) by the local service shops after gas stations didn’t have the right type. Campeasy offered to reimburse us although I’m sure these sort of charges are up to their discretion... then went into the city and stopped by a camera shop to possibly pick up a ND filter for our camera, and went into 66 degrees north to scope that out, as it was the first of many we’d seen throughout the vacation.
Grabbed a coffee and took some video of the city and the church atop the hill, before grabbing a quick sub and hitting the ring road on the way to Goðafoss, the drive to many places is crazy with how quick the landscape changes from green grass and lava rock to snow in the snap of a finger. Then a short drive over the mountain pass to Lake Mývatn, Hverarönd sulfur springs (geothermal spot notes for its bubbling pools of mud & steaming fumaroles emitting sulfuric gas), Grjótagjá Cave where some game of thrones was shot, finally making our way into Húsavík through nothing but snow covered mountains on the way up, once we got there, made a quick stop at Vínbúðin liquor store for some Viking beer and headed to GeoSea Geothermal Sea Baths, arriving around 4, 4:30ish at least an hour and a half before sunset. Although I didn’t have the camera out, we got to see the northern lights dancing above the pools and mountains after dark!
Awesome experience. ✅ geosea.is ✅
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE VIDEO!!
WE ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND CampEasy
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for your trip, this video is not sponsored/paid in any way, we just had an amazing experience with their van, service and ultimately our entire trip with it! They provide you with a tablet for your navigation, useful info such as points of interest, weather, messaging to CampEasy for any troubleshooting as well as being your personal hotspot which allowed us to be active through text and social media our entire stay not worrying about extra cost with our carrier or need for a local SIM card during our rental with the van. We often carried the tablet with us into cafe’s etc so we would have WiFi even away from the vehicle. ????????
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SEE YOU ON THE NEXT VIDEO!!!
The Golden Circle, Iceland
A tour of the Golden Circle, Iceland courtesy of Reykjavik Excursions.
For More:
Featuring:
Gullfoss
Geyser and the Haukadalur valley
Þingvellir National Park
Faxafoss (Faxi) Waterfall
and Hveragerði – the greenhouse town
ICELAND / road trip 2016 / ring road
7 days on Iceland's Ring Road in our mobile home.
South Icleand:
Hveragerdi
Solheimasandur Plane Wreck
Skogafoss
Strokkur Geyser
Gulfoss
seljalandsfoss
Dyrholaey
Black beach
East Iceland:
Jökulsarlon
Diamond beach
Hengifoss
North Iceland:
Namafjall
Dettifoss
Myvatn
Hverfjall
Godafoss
East Iceland:
Hofsos
Hraunfossar
Camera used: Olympus pen e-PL7
Music: Do it again - ZES