Iceland, the Land of Fire and Ice, is a beautiful country. You’ve likely seen pictures of beautiful waterfalls, clear glaciers, towering rocks, and rolling green hills. So with all of this beauty it is no surprise that there truly is something for every traveller in Iceland. Whether you want to have a luxury vacation, a city holiday or a rugged adventure, Iceland has something for you. We’ve never been to a country that offered so much variety. And now that we’re back, we’ve put together this Iceland bucket list for you. This list is loaded with all of the top things to do in Iceland.
How To Use Our Iceland Bucket List
While this list doesn’t include all of the possible things to do in Iceland, this includes a wide variety of things to add to your Iceland bucket list. The goal is to give you all of the must-sees along with a wide variety of other options to hopefully fit your vacation style so that you can create your own Iceland bucket list. Our must-dos are really general. We think they are the things that should absolutely be on your Icelandic itinerary, but where you actually do them can really depend on the places you are planning on visiting and the amount of time you are going to spend in the country.
Top Things To Do
For Every Iceland Bucket List
Here we’ve included some of the must-dos in Iceland. They are on every Iceland bucket list. And while they may seem cliche, we really think they are must-dos, either because they’re easy to do or because you can do them in multiple places, making them easy to fit in to your Iceland itinerary.
Visit An Icelandic Nature Bath
Time: 2-4 hours
This is on every Iceland bucket list. And it is either a love it or hate it experience. We visited several sites, including the Blue Lagoon. While the Blue Lagoon is a neat experience, it wasn’t our favorite thing to do in Iceland. However, we still think visiting one of these baths is a totally unique experience that everyone should try.
Drive the Golden Circle
Time: 1-2 Days
The Golden Circle is possibly one of the most famous road trips in Iceland. It’s a loop, close to Reykjavík, that takes you to several waterfalls, geysers, and more. The route is about 180 miles long and can be done in a day. You can drive yourself along the road or take a tour out of Reykjavík.
Visit A Glacial Lagoon
Time: 1-2 hours
This is one of the most popular things to do in Iceland. There are two amazing glacial lagoons to choose from in southeast Iceland: Fjallsárlón Lagoon and Jökulsárlón Lagoon. We amazingly found ourselves completely alone when we visited both. So we really enjoyed these lagoons, though I’m not sure it would have been as enjoyable if the ample parking lots had been full.
The lagoon has tons of huge ice chunks that you can view up close. If it’s quiet, you can hear the ice breaking from the glacier. It is also a place that seals are frequently spotted (we saw several). The blue coloring of the ice chunks (bergs??) is what makes this area really stand out. It is unreal how blue they look to the naked eye. Boat tours are also available at both lagoons.
At Jökulsárlón Lagoon, you can follow a path along the river that leads to the sea and you will come to the Diamond Beach. This black sand beach is littered with ice chunks that float out to sea and then wash up on shore. Here, they loose their blue coloring and instead look crystal clear.
Do Go Chasing Waterfalls
Time: Varies
If you visit Iceland without seeing a waterfall, you are doing it wrong. There are waterfalls everywhere in Iceland. Seriously, some of them are in fields, some are along the side of the road, some are in people’s back yards. However, there are several popular ones that should make your Iceland bucket list:
- Skógafoss
- Seljalandsfoss
- Gulfoss
- Detifoss and Selfoss
- Kirkjufellfoss
Visit a Black Sand Beach
Time: 30 minutes
A majority of beaches in Iceland are black sand beaches. They are beautiful! Our favorite beach was Reynifjara. This beach had the picturesque black sand along with some very cool column basalt that you can climb on.
Visit a Turf House
Time: 1-2 hours
And we think the best place to do this is at the Glaumbær Farm and Museum. At Glaumbær you’ll find a beautifully preserved Icelandic farm complex. There are several turf buildings connected by central passageways. Each building has equipment and furniture that would have been common on historical farms. These turf buildings were common throughout Iceland until the early 1900s. You’ll find several examples in Iceland, however we thought Glaumbær was the most educational opportunity.
Visit the Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Time: 1 day
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula, otherwise known as ‘Iceland in miniature’ has everything Iceland has to offer, all in one location. A drive around the peninsula takes about 1 day and can include so many fun stops. This also seemed to be one of the most accessible places in Iceland. From paved hiking trails and roads to large parking lots, it is easy to get around here. This is the perfect addition to your Iceland bucket list if you only have a few days to explore Iceland.
Visit Reykjavík
Time: 1-2 days
The capital city is the only truly walkable place in Iceland. Which is why it makes this list of places to visit. While a majority of Iceland is filled with natural wonders, Reykjavík is filled with plenty of man-made things to do, including parks, cool architecture, ancient history, a penis museum and more!
Iceland Bucket List For the Adventurous
Hike in Landmannalaugar
Time: full day
Take a tour or a 4×4 to the Landmannalaugar region. This area is full of hot springs, colorful mountains, lava fields and great hiking trails. If you like being outdoors and being along in nature, this should be on your Iceland bucket list.
Glacier Tour
Time: 3 hours – full day
We highly suggest taking a glacier tour and we think it should be on everyone’s Iceland bucket list. We did a tour on Vatnajökull glacier and it was one of our top five things we did in Iceland. In fact it was my favorite thing we did. Tours are half day or full day tours. Most of the half day tours are walking only, while some of the full day tours allow you to do glacier climbing, which is similar to rock climbing.
I had so much fun and learned so much about glaciers on our tour with Arctic Adventures. I wish we would have done a full day tour instead (ahhh… next time). However, these tours can be strenuous. Several people in our tour were out of breath and less than impressed. Because they were either sticks in the mud who just aren’t impressed with anything or (more likely) because you have to hike up a very steep hill to get to the top of the glacier which can be challenging and they were too busy sitting down to catch their breath to enjoy the tour.
Advanced booking are recommended as tours often fill up.
Volcano Tour
Time: 2-4 hours
There are at least two places in Iceland where you can tour the inside of a dormant volcano. You can only do this with a tour guide. However, this is a super adventurous activity. I mean who doesn’t want to walk where lava flowed. You can also find places in Iceland where a volcano is active (rarely) or where a volcano recently erupted. These are fun to visit so you can see the lava flow.
Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure
Time: 4 hours
Take a swim in some of the coldest waters in the world – like literally a degree away from being ice. At temperatures just barely above freezing, you can snorkel in crystal clear water in the area between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. This is a truly unique experience for you Iceland bucket list.
Iceland Bucket List For the Summer
Drive the Ring Road
Time: 1 week+
This is the most famous of the Icelandic road trips. Route 1 circles the island and takes you to every area except the Westfjords. If you have the time to spend on this road trip, the Ring Road should be on your Iceland bucket list. The variety of things you’ll see and people you’ll meet is just amazing. Plus driving the Ring Road (aka Route 1, aka the Circle Tour) will bring you close to so many of these things to do in Iceland.
Þingvellir National Park
Time: 2 hours
Þingvellir National Park is one of the most popular Golden Circle stops. And there’s a reason: it has so many things to see. However, even if you can’t drive the entire Golden Circle, we still think a stop at Þingvellir National Park should be on your list of things to do in Iceland. Why?
First and most popular is the convergence of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. There are spots in the park where you can literally be in two continents at once.
Second, is the history of the place. This is the site of the first ever parliament, back in 930. There is an area where you can walk which which give you a walking tour of the history of this site which was fascinating.
Third, Öxaráfoss waterfall is simply stunning. This is a quick walk from the parking lot and is tucked between cliffs so it is a quiet and tranquil, and not very busy Icelandic waterfall.
Lastly, you can also explore some of the other sites in the park, including an ancient church, some historical homes and the largest lake in Iceland. You could probably spend an entire day here exploring everything the park has to offer.
Puffin Watching
Time: 1 hour
During the summer months, you can spot puffins all over the island. They nest in Iceland from April-August. They nest in areas near the coast and tend to stick to regions with uninhabited cliffs. These birds are beautiful in the summer when their beaks come in full color for breeding season.
Whale Watching
Time: half day
Whale Watching tours are available in Reykjavík and Húsavík. Iceland has some of the best opportunities for seeing whales as they are located in an area where several different whale species live and migrate. The most common whales you’ll see are minke and humpback whales. Some whale watching tours are also combined with puffin spotting tours.
Skaftafell – Vatnajökull National Park
Time: 2 hours
The Skaftafell – Vatnajökull National Park is home to Svartifoss, one of the best waterfalls in Iceland. In the summertime, this park is beautiful, green and even warm! Hiking trails in this park are well-maintained and well-marked. Waterfalls and wildflowers are what make this park worthy of your Iceland bucket list.
Iceland Bucket List For the Winter
See the Northern Lights
Time: it depends
Iceland is one of the most consistent places to see the Northern Lights. From September to April, they make a regular appearance in the sky. However, if you want to see the lights at their best, you’ll want to do it outside of the city. There are also many tours that leave from Reykjavík, so even if you are staying in the city, you’ll be able to see the lights. However, keep in mind that the lights are a natural wonder, so you’re never guaranteed to see them.
Climb Through an Ice Cave
Time: half-day tour
In the winter, when the glaciers are melting, you can hike through the caves formed from melting glacial waters. Because these caves can be dangerous, you can only access them with a tour. But you’ll get to see the beautiful clear-blue ice on the underside of a glacier.
The Hidden-ish Gems That Should Be on Every Iceland Bucket List
Okay, so we stuck to the very generic advice up there. And all of that is still really great advice (though we say so ourselves). However, there are a few surprising things that we just really loved that we think should be included on your Iceland bucket list. And since you may not have clicked on all of our links, with additional details, we’re going to include them here because we love telling people not just about what was fun but telling people about what was surprising.
Hike To Reykjadalur Thermal Hot Springs
Time: 3 hours
This was one of our top five Icelandic experiences. After a one hour hike, you’ll find yourself in a geothermal field surrounded by rolling green hills. What do you do here? Bathe in the hot river of course. The hike, coupled with the hot spring, made this a truly amazing experience that really lived up to our Iceland expectations.
While this stop is along the Golden Circle route, people visiting for a day typically don’t stop because of the amount of time you need to spend here. So even if you can’t fit it into your Golden Circle drive, you may want to make a special trip to this destination.
Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge
Time: 1 hour
This was our second favorite thing we did in all of Iceland! And it wasn’t even planned. We saw the road sign for a tourist attraction as we were driving around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and we stopped. And boy was it neat!
This gorge is said to be the home of a half-man, half-troll who was banished to the gorge. And we visited during seagull nesting season which meant that the dead seagulls who fell out of the nest littered the cave floor. Combine that with the cloudy morning that made it impossible to see the top of the gorge and we had one eerie experience.
Once in the gorge, you can hike your way up the river – yes, river. The river that cuts its way through the gorge is relatively small, about 3 feet in most areas, and shallow. So you can walk your way up the river as long as you are wearing some waterproof shoes. This also includes climbing your way up several small waterfalls, including one that requires you to use a rope to get up it. Just walk up the river until you’re half tired, and then walk back out.
You will get soaked but you will likely see no one and be in such a unique environment. Make sure to wear rain gear and pack a change of dry clothes if you plan on hiking. It was truly amazing.
Skókafoss and Waterfall Way
Time: 3 hours
Skógafoss is one of Iceland’s most beautiful waterfalls. This is a must stop for any tour along Iceland’s southern coast. This waterfall is easy to visit, being just a short walk from the parking lot and right off of Route 1. If you would like to see the top of the falls, you can climb hundreds of stairs to get to the top of the waterfall where you can look at the falls below.
What is really impressive here is the fact that you can walk the hiking trails above the falls and see several MORE waterfalls. After you leave Skógafoss behind, this trail really thins out and you have a lot of peace and quiet while you explore the Skóga River.
We hope this Iceland bucket list has helped you to plan your own Icelandic vacation. To read more about our Icelandic vacation, including dozens of posts, visit our Iceland page here. If you have any questions or suggestions of your own, please leave them in the comments section below.
