Things to do in Iceland

33 things to do in Iceland

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Soak in a geothermal pool after a cold drive

  Let the weather do its thing while you sit in mineral water and steam.

  Reykjanes

• Chase waterfalls along the south coast

  Stop for spray, black sand, moss, cliffs, and sudden changes in sky.

  South Coast

• Look for northern lights outside Reykjavik

  Wait somewhere dark, patient, and cold enough for the sky to surprise you.

  Capital Region

• Walk behind Seljalandsfoss

  Take the wet path behind the curtain and see the south coast through falling water.

  South Coast

• Drive the Golden Circle slowly

  Give geysers, waterfalls, rift valleys, horses, and weather room to unfold.

  Southwest Iceland

• See icebergs at Jokulsarlon

  Watch blue ice drift from glacier lagoon toward black sand and open sea.

  Southeast Iceland

• Eat hot dogs in Reykjavik

  Join the line, order one with everything, and keep walking through the compact capital.

  Reykjavik

• Hike to a warm river in Reykjadalur

  Walk through steam and hills before easing into naturally warm water.

  Hveragerdi

• Circle Snaefellsnes for a day

  See lava fields, black churches, sea cliffs, fishing towns, and a glacier-capped volcano.

  Snaefellsnes

• Hear live music in Reykjavik

  Find a small venue and let the city's creative night stretch past the weather.

  Reykjavik

• Explore the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon

  Watch enormous icebergs calved from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier drift silently across the deep blue lagoon before washing up on the nearby Diamond Beach as polished ice sculptures.

  Southeast Iceland

• Snorkel between tectonic plates at Silfra

  Slip into the absurdly clear glacial water of Silfra fissure in Þingvellir, where visibility exceeds 100 metres and you float directly between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

  Þingvellir National Park

• Bathe in the Blue Lagoon

  Soak in milky-blue geothermal seawater rich in silica and sulphur, surrounded by dark lava fields, in one of Iceland's most iconic and surreal bathing experiences.

  Grindavík

• Hike to the Glymur waterfall viewpoint

  Traverse a river cave, cross a log over a canyon, and climb steep trails to reach the 198-metre Glymur, Iceland's second-tallest waterfall, plunging into a dramatic mossy gorge.

  Hvalfjörður

• Visit Hallgrímskirkja church

  Ascend the tower of Reykjavík's landmark church, its basalt-column-inspired façade designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, for sweeping views over the colourful corrugated-iron rooftops of the capital.

  Reykjavík

• Watch Strokkur geyser erupt

  Stand on the boardwalk at Geysir geothermal area and wait every 6–10 minutes as Strokkur launches a column of boiling water up to 30 metres into the cold Icelandic air.

  Haukadalur, South Iceland

• Hike the Laugavegur trail

  Trek 55 km from Landmannalaugar's rainbow rhyolite mountains to Þórsmörk's birch-filled valley, crossing obsidian deserts, steaming vents, glacial rivers, and vast highland plateaus.

  Highlands, South Iceland

• Explore the Skaftafell ice cave

  Step beneath Vatnajökull's outlet glacier into crystal-blue ice chambers where ancient compressed ice forms luminous, cathedral-like interiors that shift with each season.

  Skaftafell, Southeast Iceland

• See the Westfjords' Látrabjarg cliffs

  Stand atop Europe's largest seabird cliff—a sheer 440-metre wall stretching 14 km—where puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and fulmars nest just metres from your feet.

  Westfjords

• Visit Mývatn Nature Baths

  Lounge in the pale-blue geothermal lagoon of Jarðböðin, far less crowded than its southern counterpart, with views of the pseudo-craters and steam-wreathed Dimmuborgir lava formations.

  Mývatn, North Iceland

• Walk through Dimmuborgir lava formations

  Wander the maze of towering lava pillars, arches, and cave-like formations that Dimmuborgir—'dark castles'—created when a lava lake drained and left behind fantastical structures.

  Mývatn, North Iceland

• Explore Reykjavík's Harpa Concert Hall

  Admire the kaleidoscopic glass-and-steel honeycomb façade of Harpa, designed by Ólafur Elíasson, which reflects the harbour light and hosts concerts, art exhibitions, and festivals year-round.

  Reykjavík

• Taste fermented shark at Bjarnarhöfn

  Visit the family-run shark museum on Snæfellsnes to sample hákarl—fermented Greenland shark—cut from batches that have cured underground and hung for months, producing an unforgettable ammonia-rich bite.

  Snæfellsnes Peninsula

• Visit the Westman Islands' Eldheimar Museum

  Step inside a preserved house half-buried by the 1973 Heimaey eruption and trace the volcanic disaster that evacuated the island's entire population overnight, then walk to the still-warm crater.

  Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar

• Hike to the DC-3 plane wreck on Sólheimasandur

  Walk 4 km across a flat black sand desert to the haunting skeletal remains of a US Navy DC-3 that crash-landed in 1973, now a photogenic wreck set against grey volcanic gravel and open sky.

  South Iceland

• Drive the Snæfellsnes Peninsula

  Circle the peninsula nicknamed 'Iceland in miniature,' passing the iconic Kirkjufell mountain, black-pebble Djúpalónssandur beach, Arnarstapi's sea arches, and the glacier-capped Snæfellsjökull volcano.

  Snæfellsnes Peninsula

• Photograph Kirkjufell mountain

  Capture the iconic symmetrical cone of Kirkjufell rising beside Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall on Snæfellsnes, arguably Iceland's most photographed mountain, especially at sunset or under the northern lights.

  Grundarfjörður

• Trek in Landmannalaugar's rhyolite highlands

  Hike among mountains streaked in pink, green, gold, and lavender rhyolite, then end the day soaking in the natural hot river that emerges where geothermal water meets a cold mountain stream.

  Fjallabak Nature Reserve

• Explore Dettifoss and Jökulsárgljúfur canyon

  Stand at the edge of Europe's most powerful waterfall, where the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river plunges 44 metres into a basalt canyon, sending spray hundreds of metres into the air.

  Northeast Iceland

• Attend a concert at a Reykjavík bar

  Catch live music at venues like Kex Hostel, Húrra, or Gaukurinn, where Reykjavík's famously dense music scene produces intimate sets spanning post-rock, folk, electronica, and experimental acts.

  Reykjavík

• Visit Þingvellir National Park

  Walk through the rift valley where the Alþingi, one of the world's oldest parliaments, was founded in 930 AD, standing between visibly diverging tectonic plates on the rocky plain of the Law Rock.

  Þingvellir

• Explore Goðafoss waterfall

  Admire the wide, horseshoe-shaped cascade where, according to saga, the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw Norse idols in 1000 AD to mark Iceland's conversion to Christianity.

  Akureyri area, North Iceland

• Eat lamb soup at a countryside farm

  Sit down to kjötsúpa, a hearty Icelandic lamb soup simmered with root vegetables, herbs, and turnip, served in farm kitchens across the countryside where the sheep have grazed free on open hillsides.

  Rural Iceland