In an area just larger than Kentucky, Iceland is home to more wildly varied landscapes than countries ten times its size. Volcanic moonscapes, massive floodplains, thundering waterfalls, and Europe's largest glacier—they're all within a day's drive of the capital of Reykjavík. Activities are as bountiful as the imagination, but the Middle-earth topography and ethereal subarctic light make an adventure of just breathing the Icelandic air.
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Reykjavík: Legoland writ large, Iceland's capital is small, colorful, clean, and stylish. The scene centers around Laugavegur Street, where graffito-walled boutiques nestle against cafés that snuggle against bookstores. At night, it's here that Iceland's top clubs throw open their doors.
Hiking: On the south coast you'll find the best introduction to Iceland's fire, ice, fog, rain, and waterfalls, especially near the towns of Skógar and Vík. Mandatory stops include the Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls and the black-sand beach that fronts the three sea stacks of Reynisdrangur. Nearby is Thórsmörk, a long, glacier-rimmed valley riddled with hiking trails and trekkers huts; it's also the terminus of a four-day trek from Landmannalaugar, which has, hands down, the prettiest terrain in Iceland. For information on the hike, contact the Iceland Touring Association (www.fi.is). The Snæfellsnes Peninsula, about three hours north of Reykjavík, is remote even for Iceland. Hiking trails abound (maps are available in Reykjavík), and at the end of the peninsula sits the massive Snæfellsjökull glacier, one of the most famous in Iceland.
Mountain Biking: Icelanders have embraced mountain biking and the top area for it in the country is Keflavík, about 40 minutes west of the capital. The terrain is too lava-choked to handle singletrack, but there are a number of dirt roads to ride. The City Bicycle, in Reykjavík, rents full-suspension bikes ($28 a day; +011 354 551 5653).
Hot Springs: Iceland is one of the most volcanically active islands in the world, so there's no shortage of thermal springs. The most popular and a must-see is the Blue Lagoon, a huge, steaming pool just outside Reykjavík, but the best (and the most private) hot spring we found is at Hvalfjördur, 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Reykjavík.
Outfitters: Mountain Taxi (www.mountaintaxi.is) runs daylong driving trips to glaciers ($275), Landmannalaugar ($252), and Thórsmörk ($252). To see remote Iceland, Ultima Thule Expeditions runs nine-day sea kayaking trips among the fjords of the north coast ($2,650; www.ute.is).
Getting Around: The best way to explore Iceland is by car, and most of the usual rental companies (Budget, Hertz, etc.) are found at the airport. In the fall, rates start at around $67 a day.
Where to Stay: In Reykjavík, hipsters stay at 101 Hotel ($386; www.101hotel.is), where granite, leather, and aluminum rule. For more affordable lodging, try guest houses, which offer simple rooms with shared facilities. Sunna Guesthouse ($109; www.sunna.is) is in the heart of downtown. In the Thórsmörk and Landmannalaugar area, the Iceland Touring Association runs six trekkers huts ($28). Hotel Edda (www.hoteledda.is) has outlets in Vík
($142), Skógar ($80), and on the Snæfellsnes ($142). Also on the Snæfellsnes, Nordic Adventure Travel (www.nat.is) lists hiker-friendly cabins ($120).
Seven-Day Iceland Itinerary
Day 1: Explore the Capital
To pull into Reykjavík for the first time is to see Scandinavia in miniature. The 115,000-strong capital city is awash in street art and bold colors, espresso cafés and slick boutiques, and it's textured by a language so complex it'll make your tongue fall off. Most outdoor activities are within a day's drive. A good example: Outside the nearby town of Keflavík, mountain bikers gather to spider across dirt roads through a moonscape of lava and rock.
Day 2: Chill Out On the South Coast
Like the Amazon or Polynesia, Iceland is inseparably bound to water. Falls, rivers, creeks, rivulets—there is hardly a place in the country that's not within earshot of rain and melt moving across the skin of the land. Along the south coast, the 200-foot-high (61-meter-high) falls of Skógafoss crash barely a mile from the main highway. At nearby Seljalandsfoss, another large falls, you can walk behind a curtain of mist. And less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away is Thórsmörk, a river-braided valley protected by glaciated peaks and rich with hiking trails and backpackers huts.
Day 3: Hit the Beach at Vík
Just off the South Coast, near Vík, sea stacks tell the tale of three trolls caught offshore at dawn and turned into rock, forever frozen by the sun. Fairy tale or truth, the Reynisdrangur are dramatic backdrops to Iceland's most spectacular black-sand beach. Hike or stroll—but definitely don't swim (the North Atlantic isn't exactly warm)—any way you go, the beach is worth a visit. On the way back from Vík, blow by Reykjavík until you get to Hvalfjördur ("whale fjord"), where a promontory hides a hand-built hot tub filled with geothermally warmed waters straight from the island's heart.
Day 4: Hike the Golden Trail
Most travelers to Iceland drive the Golden Circle, a route north and east of Reykjavík that connects Gullfoss (a honkin' big waterfall), Geysir (the namesake of Old Faithful, et al), and Thingvellir (which is believed to be the site of the world's first parliament). And while that's a great trip, in Iceland it always pays to lose the car. An impromptu hike into the surrounding, relatively anonymous countryside is just as gratifying and far more inspirational.
Days 5 + 6: Overnight On the Snæfellsnes
Home to the loneliest landscapes, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula boasts a 4,745-foot (1,446-meter) glacier-capped volcano, a tangle of coastal hiking trails, and one empty beach after another. It's barely three hours northwest of Reykjavík, but a night spent in one of the backcountry huts along the north coast rewards you with the sense that you're alone on the edge of the world.
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