Iceland is rich with more cinematic landscapes and incredible experiences per square inch than anywhere. Game of Thrones doesn’t even do it justice! Think waterfalls, glaciers, black sand beaches and lava fields covered with insanely green spongy moss. For every ice cave, there’s a geothermal pool. The Northern Lights curtain the night sky. Unleash your inner adventurer on activities that range from tectonic snorkeling to horseback riding, spectacular coastal and countryside walks to off-the-beaten-track driving in iconic Defenders. And true to Classic Journeys style of travel, your guides are dyed-in-the-wool native Icelanders, descended from shark fishermen and 9th century Vikings! So, you get true connections to local culture…not to mention the expertise that assures you’ll get away from the crowds to experience Iceland at its very best. On several days we offer you a choice of activities — think of it as “choose your adventure” — all at no extra cost. And at the end of every day in this amazing land, you’ll nestle into some of the country’s finest luxury hotels, and refuel with world-class Atlantic- and farm-to-table cuisine. If you love adventure travel, welcome to paradise!

DAYS 1-3 — REYKJAVIK / SOUTH COAST
As you meet in Reykjavik, your Iceland tour gets off to a fantastic start, as you choose your own adventure — hiking boots or flippers. Choose flippers and get ready for a snorkeling experience like no other. Slip into an insulated wet suit (also called a ‘dry suit’) and flippers, then slide into the waters between the Eurasian and American tectonic plates. Choose boots and a technicolor hike is waiting for you in Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and site of a Viking meeting place dating to the year 930.

Settle into your luxury manor house hotel on a farm that’s been owned by the same family for seven generations. You may want to start a nightly ritual of enjoying the midnight sun in the summer months and checking the pitch-black skies for signs of the Iceland Northern Lights the rest of the year. Be sure to join your hosts for a morning walk around the family farm on scenic trails to the sheep barn where you’ll often find lambs. 

Over the next couple of days, you’ll turn the typical golden circle tour of Iceland on its head, as you choose from a variety of terrific multisport activities. Try riding the short, sturdy, shaggy Icelandic horses or enjoy an incredible coastal walk along a cape that climbs the slopes of Horleifshofdi to the top of the headland where you’ll find Viking ruins and incredible views of the black sand beaches. Next day, enjoy a guided Iceland glacier tour where a hike on a glacier offers the chance to explore the caves and crevices carved into the ancient aquamarine ice. You’ll even stop for a glacier picnic!

DAYS 4-6 — GLACIAL LAGOON 
Strike out for a walk on Diamond Beach along Glacier Lagoon, punctuated occasionally by marooned icebergs. The ones on the beach look like diamonds. And the icebergs floating just offshore are blue, not white! Melting and wind erosion carve them into fantastical shapes. On summertime departures, board a Zodiac to get more up-close and personal with the bergs. November to March, follow your guides for an ice cave tour of Iceland’s glaciers that is jaw dropping in its beauty. Later in the day, return to your hip, contemporary hotel, situated between two massive glaciers, and with big windows that keep you close to the stark beauty. The esthetic is very modern as is the menu in the fine dining restaurant. 

All week, you’ve seen and heard what a big part that mythology and legend play in Iceland culture. It’s why Games of Thrones tours Iceland so thoroughly looking for filming locations. There’s no better example than the Reynisdrangar, three sharp black pillars that burst from the waves offshore. Legend has it that they’re really three trolls who stayed out too late and got turned to stone by the morning sun. It’s one of those places where the geology is at least as interesting as the mythology. A coastal walk puts you in a perfect position to enjoy the anecdotes from your guide and the Instagram-worthy photos.

As you return to Reykjavik, you’ll end an immersive Icelandic week in the famed Blue Lagoon, a steaming lake filled with almost 2.5 million gallons of neon blue geothermal water. In summer, you'll have the alternate option to choose a hike with your guide up the tongue of a magnificent lava flow for the best Iceland volcano tour you could ever imagine. Arriving at the summit, you’ll not only see into the crater, you’ll see more than 20 other volcanos in the landscape around you!