Iconic Iceland and The Northern Lights

06 FEBRUARY 2027: JOHANNESBURG/ CAPE TOWN - REYKJAVIK

Evening departure from Johannesburg or Cape Town to Reykjavik in Iceland.

07 FEBRUARY 2027: ARRIVE REYKJAVIK

Welcome to Iceland! Upon arrival, we will transfer from Keflavik International Airport to our hotel in Reykjavik.

We settle into our rooms and then take a short walk to a local restaurant for a special Welcome Dinner.

O/N at the Hotel Island or similar, including dinner.

08 FEBRUARY 2027: BORGARFJORDUR SAGA VALLEY

In the morning, we will head out of the city. We start heading to the West of Iceland to the Borgarfjordur district. Borgarfjordur has a rich history and is known as the Saga valley. For those interested, we climb the Grabrok crate,r which takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Next up is Deildartunguhver, Europe's most powerful hot spring, producing 180 litres per second of nearly boiling water at 97° Celsius.

Our lunch stop today will be at Krauma, where we will also experience first-hand the usefulness of the abundance of geothermal energy Iceland has to offer in the form of geothermal pools - be sure to pack your bathing suit.

We then continue to the beautiful waterfall Hraunfossa,r which pours from a lava field in a series of waterfalls.

The next two nights we will spend near Borgarnes in West Iceland. We enjoy dinner at the hotel, followed by an evening Northern Lights hunt, walking down to the coastline (weather permitting).

O/N at the Hotel Borgarnes or similar, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

09 FEBRUARY 2027: SNAEFELLNES PENINSULA

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula sticks out from Iceland’s west coast and is in many ways a miniature of the whole island.

We will explore the national park with its incredible landscapes and views of the Snaefellsjokull glacier. We head to Grundarfjörður with its impressive coastline and surrounding mountains, lakes and waterfalls behind the village. Here you will find one of Iceland´s most photographed mountains, Kirkjufell.

Enjoy a packed lunch at a spot chosen by our guide. We continue exploring the national park. Depending on time and weather, our guide will take us to the beautiful Skardsvik beach with its golden sands and black lava rocks.

One of the highlights of the day is a visit to the Vatnshellir Lava Cave. This is a lava tube created when liquid lava flowed underground around 8,000 years ago. The cave lies at a depth of over 20 metres.

We return to Borgarnes for dinner.

O/N at the Hotel Borgarnes or similar, including breakfast, packed lunch and dinner.

10 FEBRUARY 2027: GOLDEN CIRCLE AND ICELANDIC HORSES

We start the day travelling along the Hvalfjordur fjord with our first stop at an Icelandic wool outlet store, time permitting. From here we head inland to Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We stop at Laugarvatn Fontana to taste freshly baked hot spring bread with Icelandic butter, and herring or trout, followed by a visit to Fridheimar, a geothermal greenhouse and horse farm, where we will enjoy a tour of the greenhouses, lunch and a horse show.

Next up is Gullfoss, only a few minutes away - a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá river. It is called the Golden Waterfall in English.
We continue to Haukadalur, where we see steam rising from the Geysir geothermal fields as we arrive. The original geyser is now dormant, but Strokkur "the Churn" erupts at 5 to 10-minute intervals.

We travel to our hotel, and after dinner, we step into the evening darkness to search for the elusive Northern Lights.

O/N at the Land Hotel or similar, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

11 FEBRUARY 2027: SOUTH ICELAND AND EYJAFJALLAJOKULL

Today, we explore the South Coast. Our first stop is the high, but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which plunges over the mountain.

A little further east, we visit one of Iceland's finest folk museums, Skogar. This museum contains a great collection of farm and domestic artefacts and turf-built houses. Nearby is the Skógafoss waterfall, which is 60 meters high and one of Iceland´s most impressive waterfalls.

This afternoon, we will visit the unique Icelandic Lava Show in the village of Vik, the only place in the world where you can witness a volcanic eruption up close. The eruption, just like those of Eyjafjallajökull and Katla Volcanoes, is recreated by pouring 2000°F (1100°C) molten lava over glacier ice. Visitors can witness the two colliding elements safely, which would not be possible with a real eruption.

End the day with the infamous black lava beach and cliffs at Vik, from where you have amazing views of the Reynisdrangar lava pinnacles.

We spend the next two nights here. Enjoy dinner at the hotel.

O/N at Hotel Kria or similar, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

12 FEBRUARY 2027: SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK AND VATNAJOKULL GLACIER

Today is all about glaciers, ice and icebergs. The day starts with the picturesque Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon filled with floating icebergs, the black sandy beach below called the "Diamond" beach, where you see stranded icebergs and sometimes seals. All this is part of the Vatnajökull National Park, the largest National Park in Europe at about 12,000 square kilometres.

Enjoy lunch at Fjallsárlón and afterwards take a short, guided walk to the Fjallsárlón iceberg lagoon (weather permitting).

Return to the hotel for dinner.

O/N at Hotel Kria or similar, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

13 FEBRUARY 2027: REYKJAVIK & BLUE LAGOON

After breakfast, we make our way to the famous Blue Lagoon, surrounded by lava fields.

After a relaxing bath, we head back to Reykjavik, where we will see the Harpa Concert Hall and the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church.

From here we head to the Perlán to visit the Wonders of Iceland exhibition, including an aurora show in the planetarium, museum, ice tunnel and observation deck. The ice tunnel at Perlan is the first of its kind in the world. It is 100 meters long and made from over 350 tons of snow from the Icelandic mountains.

Tonight, we enjoy a traditional Icelandic dinner at the amazing Fish Company, before returning to our hotel.

O/N at the Hotel Reykjavik Marina or similar, including breakfast and dinner.

14 FEBRUARY 2027: DEPARTURE

Sadly, today marks the end of our incredible journey. After breakfast, enjoy some time at leisure for a last stroll through downtown Reykjavik or perhaps some last-minute shopping.

Late morning, we transfer to the airport for our onward departure flight.

Meals: Breakfast.

END OF TOUR