Land of fire and ice: Iceland
18 October 2025 – 8 days for £3,699 per person
2 August 2026 - 6 days for £3,999 per person
October 2026 - Register for 2026 and we will contact when confirmed details including dates and prices are available.
Join an unforgettable tour of Iceland’s incredible landscapes, with days filled with volcanic and geological adventure, and evening opportunities to see the aurora borealis (October). Discover the awe-inspiring might of our planet and marvel at the sights, sounds and smells of erupting geysers, hot springs and bubbling fumaroles. Walk on one of the glaciers flowing from Europe’s largest ice cap.
Iceland is one of the most volcanically active places in the world, sitting atop the mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. The country is renowned for its dramatic landscapes, including geysers, glaciers, waterfalls and volcanoes.
During the tour, get up close and learn about remarkable geological processes and volcanology with your accompanying expert, Tamsin Mather (October) or Dave McGarvie (August).
Tamsin is a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oxford; she will accompany you for the first three days of the tour in October 2025. She specialises in the role of volcanism in planetary-scale processes throughout geological time and has shared her expertise on radio and TV, as well as at New Scientist Live.
Dave is a volcanologist who has been to Iceland many times to study its volcanoes and has done fieldwork at several of the sites in the tour. He will join for the full tour in August 2026.
During this tour, Tamsin or Dave will offer lectures and walking seminars, giving you a far greater understanding of the landscapes around you and how they were formed. You will also be accompanied by an Icelandic tour leader chosen for their broad knowledge of Iceland, as well as their skills in ensuring all guests have a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Their expertise not only covers volcanoes, geology and glaciers, but also Icelandic history, culture and politics.
Your accompanying expert and tour leader may include extra stops beyond those listed below, depending on their judgement on the day.
In partnership with Intrepid Travel.
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN REYKJAVIK
Welcome to Iceland! Check in to the Hotel Reykjavik Saga and meet your tour leader and fellow guests, followed by a tour briefing.
Your accompanying expert and tour leader will then join you for a group dinner in the hotel.
DAY 2: GOLDEN CIRCLE TO HVOLSVÖLLUR VALLEY VIA GEYSIR AND THE GULLFOSS WATERFALL
Today, you will visit Thingvellir National Park, the site of Iceland's first parliament, founded in 930, and a geological wonder where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. Next, head to Iceland's Geysir geothermal area, where you will see the Strokkur geyser shoot water 30 metres into the air. The immense beauty and sheer power of the Gullfoss waterfall, also known as Golden Falls, can be spellbinding. After seeing that, you will continue on to the Hvolsvöllur valley.
If the skies are clear tonight, why not take a stroll out into the snow and look skywards for the dancing green shimmer? (October departure only).
Your accompanying expert will then give a talk this evening.
DAY 3: HVOLSVÖLLUR AREA, INCLUDING THE GÍGJÖKULL GLACIER*
After breakfast, your Superjeep drivers will take you to the legendary Thórsmörk valley, nestled between three glaciers, with a stop at the Gígjökull glacier. Here, you will be able to observe the rock destruction caused by extreme glacial melt during the 2010 eruption of the glacier volcano Eyjafjallajökull. It is a magnificent site made all the more engaging by your accompanying expert, who will explain the powerful forces behind the eruption.
In the Superjeeps, you will cross the deep and roaring rivers that guard the wooded surroundings of Thórsmörk and have time to hike around the area and admire some stunning views. Thórsmörk is Iceland‘s most popular hiking area and visitors are captivated by its natural beauty and charm.
On the way back, head to the elegant Seljalandsfoss waterfall. You walk behind the plummeting stream for a unique viewing angle, but make sure to have your raingear on!
Return to the your hotel where your accompanying expert will give another third talk.
DAY 4: SOUTH COAST – SKÓGAFOSS AND KVERNUFOSS WATERFALLS, THEN JÖKULSÁRLÓN GLACIER LAGOON
Start the day with a trip to the eerily beautiful Skógafoss waterfall – one of the biggest in Iceland at 25 metres wide and 60 metres in height. You can get up close to feel its power and also climb a windy set of stairs up to a stunning viewpoint. On a sunny day, you should be able to spot rainbows in the spray. If you are feeling lively, you can take the 30-minute walk to Kvernufoss waterfall, the less visited but equally beautiful neighbour of Skógafoss.
Continue along Iceland's south shore to take in more of the country’s renowned natural wonders. From the stepping-stone rock formations of Reynisdrangar, the promontory of Dyrhólaey and the black-sand beach of Reynisfjara, this is one of the country's most scenic regions. You may get a chance to see nesting puffins at Dyrhólaey (June). En route, you will pass the lava of the Laki eruption of 1782 to 1783.
Stops may include the black-sand seaside town of Vik for lunch and Svínafellsjökull glacier, where a short walk takes you to right to the edge of the ice flow.
Then visit the famous Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, a stunning sea of floating icebergs with blues that contrast vividly with the charcoal-coloured sand of the beach.
You will rest for the night at the stylish Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. Weather permitting, there will be another opportunity to witness the natural wonders of the northern lights, and this rural location away from town lights will make the phenomena much brighter.
DAY 5: VATNAJÖKULL GLACIER
Today, you will visit Europe's biggest ice cap, Vatnajökull, which has around 30 glaciers flowing out from it. These glaciers are retreating fast because of global warming, and in a century or two may be lost altogether. You will arrive by Superjeep, take a short 30-minute walk and, depending on weather conditions, you will either don crampons to walk across some of the glacier or visit a stunning ice cave underneath it (October only – the caves are closed to visitors in summer). The more adventurous can rope up and go right to the edge of a deep crevasse.
No experience is necessary to do the hike, but note that to fit the ice crampons, you will need to wear high ankle boots. If you would like to opt out, just embark on a hike to the glacier's tongue or remain at the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón, near to Diamond Beach.
In the evening, you will check into your hotel located near the town of Vik.
This day’s driving distance is the longest of the tour, taking 3 to 4 hours, but there will be several stops, possibly including the Hofskirkja turf church. The glacier walk is dependent on weather conditions.
DAY 6: LAVA CENTRE, THE SECRET LAGOON AND REYKJAVIK
This morning, you will make your way to the Lava Centre, which is an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity, earthquakes and the creation of Iceland over millions of years. The centre introduces the Katla Geopark, plus Iceland’s elaborate monitoring system for surveying volcanos and earthquake zones.
After the visit, you will continue to the Secret Lagoon natural hot springs. Located in a small village called Flúðir, this will give you the opportunity to relax in the warm thermal waters before travelling to Reykjavik and checking back into the hotel, where the remainder of the day will be at your leisure.
DAY 7: REYKJANES PENINSULA
Head out to the Reykjanes peninsula, an extraordinary volcanic landscape formed by lava flows. This is where there have been several recent fissure eruptions, with authorities building defensive barriers to protect the town of Grindavik.
The final itinerary will be decided on the day, but may include the mud pools and steam vents at Gunnuhver, the spectacular coast at the Reykjanesviti lighthouse, the blowhole at Brimketill, the volcanic fissures at Stampar, the bridge between continents (where two continental plates are diverging), the high-temperature geothermal area Seltún and a hike to the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which last erupted in 2023.
On the final evening, there is a farewell dinner with your tour leader in the hotel, to celebrate your exploration of Iceland.
DAY 8: DEPART REYKJAVIK
Today is the departure day and time to say "sjáumst". Your group departure transfer will take you to the airport for your flight home.
*Please note for August 2026, the tour will be a shorter 6 day itinerary. You will be collected from Reykjavik airport and transferred to Seljalandsfoss waterfall where the remainder of the itinerary will be as above from day 3.
