Top 10 Things You Need to Do in Iceland

Iceland is a tourist paradise. This rather small country is packed with all kinds of natural wonders. No matter if your trip is 3 days or 3 weeks long – your each and every day here will be a feast for your eyes. Top 100 list wouldn’t do justice to all the places worth seeing, and making a Top 10 would be a straight crime.

So rather than a list of top 10 places to see, we give you a top 10 things to do, while you’re in Iceland. Things that are special and unique for this country out of all the places in the world; ones that will reveal the true spirit and vibe of the island; ones that are really hard or impossible to see anywhere else; and finally, those that make it absolutely worth visiting Iceland. Like really, really worth it…

See some mind-blowing geology up close

The whole of Iceland owes its existence to tectonic and volcanic activity. Also many of its attractions – including places from this list – were created by volcanoes (find out more here: Stunning Effects of Iceland’s Volcanism). In a sense, a visit to Iceland is a valuable lesson in geography, geology, seismology and vulcanism – all live and up close.

Geldingadalir

Lake Myvatn

Although this place is quite far from Reykjavik, it is easily accessible because it is on Route 1. When you get here you’ll see amazing volcanoes (including an unusual tuff/ash volcano), pseudo-volcanoes, steaming geothermal areas full of hot springs, beautiful lava fields and many other, often unique, features. To learn more about this incredible region, read this: Myvatn – an Unusual Lake Among Volcanoes.

Thingvellir

A famous, and unusual, effect of Iceland’s volcanoes is also its black beaches. There are quite a few of them all over the island, and it is impossible not to visit them during a trip. We have even dedicated a separate article to them, where you will read a broader description of the most interesting ones: Top 10 Beaches of Iceland. Spoiler alert: not all of these beaches are black, actually…

Breidamerkursandur

To make your Iceland’s geology trip complete you need to see its geothermal fields. The most interesting ones include Námafjall Hverir, Leirhnjukur, Hveradalir (in Kerlingarfjoll) and Hveravellir. All absolute must-sees!

Bathe in a volcano (and more regular hot springs)

Winter bathing in Hrunalaug

You will find both large complexes of hot pools with spa services, massage, etc., as well as ‘ordinary’ school hot pools and charming, intimate, natural and semi-wild hot springs. For a list (and map!) of all of them and an overview of the most interesting ones, see this article: ALL the Hot Pools of Iceland [Complete Guide with a Top 10 List].

From the list indicated, the hot stream Reykjadalur, above the village of Hveragerði, less than 50 km (30 mi) east of Reykjavik, certainly deserves a mention. It’s a natural but completely unusual place – a hot stream flowing through a beautiful mountain valley.

Askja – Viti lake

Askja is located in the interior, in the North-East, not far from the Myvatn region. There’s also interesting hiking trails, a canyon, a lava field, camping ground there. See all the details about this remarkable place in this article: Askja – a Volcano With a Swimming Pool.

Go where astronauts went

The interior of Iceland, or the Icelandic Highlands, is where the raw beauty of this country’s nature is best captured. This region is often referred to as “moon landscape” and it includes places like the area near road F26, where Apollo astronauts (including Neil Armstrong) trained for their lunar mission.

Lunar landscape on road F26 (a full-color photo!)

the view from Hrauneyjar

If you come to Iceland in the summer, you need to include roads F910, F26, F208 or the least “wild” and not really a mountain road anymore – F35 (officially just road 35) in your plan. The views there and the places you can visit are absolutely spectacular.

The most exciting places in the interior of Iceland are described in the following article: Top 10 Places to See in the Icelandic Interior. Additionally, an even wider selection of places can be found in this catalog: Icelandic interior and highlands.

Watch a geyser erupt

Strokkur

Strokkur is special on a global scale. It is one of very few geysers in the whole world that erupt frequently and regularly. So you just show up, have a 5-minute walk around, and you’re sure to see the geyser erupt. Simple 🙂

It is also easily accessible and you don’t have to travel through wilderness to admire it: it is quite close to Reykjavik, plus you can see a few other very interesting places while you’re in the area. It’s the famous Golden Circle Route – a 1-day tour of some of the top attractions near the capital of Iceland.

See glaciers calving

Jokulsarlon

Diamond Beach

It is hard to find another place like this: as easily accessible and spectacular at the same time. Find out more details about this unbelievable spot here: Jokulsarlon Lagoon and the Diamond Beach.

Dare for an adventure on your plate

Admittedly food is not the main reason why people visit Iceland. However, if you are already here, make sure you do try the local, original – sometimes a bit weird – cuisine. Icelandic delicacies may prove a bit of a challenge to your palate, but they are certainly unforgettable!

If you are not a fan of culinary adventures, try some more familiar things that are especially tasty here such as:

Icelandic seafood

Iceland is also famous for its hot dogs.

If you are up to a real icelandic culinary adventure, try at least one (but preferably: all) of the truly traditional dishes:

Hakarl in Cafe Loki

The abovementioned delicacies are just some examples of dishes that Icelanders enjoy or at least consider their traditional, typical food. There’s no hiding that some of these can be a challenge to your tastes. Surely though, even the weirdest ones are an interesting experience, which makes them worth trying. Especially so when you can hardly find them anywhere else in the world.

For more about traditional Icelandic food and places where you can try it (and the prices) see here: Iceland for Foodies – What’s Worth Trying and Where.

Go behind a waterfall

Seljalandsfoss

We need to mention one place here: Seljalandsfoss. It is not the largest or most powerful waterfall in Iceland, but surely it is totally impressive. Its 60 m of tumbling water framed in lush greenery is a spectacular sight. Moreover, beyond the falling water there is a small cavern where you can enter and see Seljalandsfoss from the other side.

Another waterfall you can walk behind is Kvernufoss, near a much more famous Skogafoss. Be sure to check out those two as well.

Walk in a lava cave and an ice cave

A beautiful, though essentially subterranean, addition to Icelandic nature are the local caves. There are two types of them, and both are quite different from the ones we usually see in the mountains. They are lava caves and ice caves.

Vidgelmir Cave

An even more interesting and completely unique attraction of Iceland are the ice caves. A trip to the glacier and its interior is an experience that is possible in really very few places in the world. That’s why it’s worth taking advantage of it when you go to this beautiful island. Keep in mind, however, that such an activity is only available during the winter season and only under the guidance of a professional guide (such as in an organized tour).

Inside an ice cave

Alternatively, you can also go on a trip to the Langjökull Ice Tunnel or a visit an ‘ice room’ in the Perlan exhibition in Reykjavik. Both of these tours, however, are only substitutes for a real ice cave….

Hunt for aurora borealis

Icelandic aurora

It is not an attraction unique to Iceland. Great aurora viewing conditions are also found in all of northern Scandinavia and Canada, but this doesn’t make it any less picturesque, amazing and memorable. Seeing an active aurora in the skies above you is guaranteed to make your jaw drop…

Successfully “hunting” the aurora is not easy, and despite all the modern technology available in the 21st century, still requires a lot of luck. We cover organising such an aurora-hunting trip and helping yourself actually ‘hunting’ it in a special article Hunting Aurora in Iceland – The Complete Guide.

Watch some unusual wildlife

Iceland is mostly associated with and “defined” by its volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls and other extraordinary geology. However, apart from its unusual landscapes, this country is home to very interesting wildlife that you just can’t miss. You’re almost guaranteed to see horses and sheep. But you may also want to look out for other Icelandic animals.

local wildlife

Other wild animals of Iceland are puffins and seals. Puffins are charming, cute and colorful little birds that you can encounter nearly anywhere along the coast during summer. Their largest colonies are Látrabjarg cliffs in Westfjords, Dyrhólaey Peninsula near Vik, in the South and a small islet of Hafnarholmi, in a small town Borgarfjordur Eystri about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Egilsstadir in the East.

As for seals, you’ll definitely see them on Ytri Tunga – a Seals’ Beach, as well as near Hvitserkur in the North. They are also often spotted in the Jokulsarlon Lagoon.

Iceland is also home to arctic foxes, mink and reindeer. Mind you, these are rather hard to spot in their natural habitat and you can only hope to see them deep in the interior or far in the North, like in Hornstrandir. If you want to be sure that you’ll actually see them, visit the Zoo in Reykjavik. You’ll spend a delightful couple of hours there and even get to pet a reindeer.

If you love animals and want to know more about where and how to best observe them in Iceland in their natural habitat, read this article: Top 5 Places for Wildlife Spotting in Iceland.

Extra: 10 more Top 10’s

We hope this list is enough to convince you that Iceland is worth visiting and even a long trip will be full of all sorts of exciting things to do and places to see. Iceland is truly magical.

However, this list is obviously quite superficial or selective. If you want to learn about top places to see in Iceland, go to specific Top 10 lists we have prepared for you: