The South
As you head up the Þjórsá valley, this hotel complex sits just off Rte 30, 17km before Árnes. Forty-two rooms include large, modern doubles with crisp white linen and dark-blue hues, plus flat-screen TVs. Family rooms are bigger still.
The restaurant (6.30pm to 9.30pm; mains around 4500kr) serves up good Icelandic staples like fish of the day or local lamb. A hot-pot and sauna add to the fun.
21.97 MILES
One of Iceland’s most famous tourist attractions, Geysir (gay-zeer; literally ‘gusher’) is the original hot-water spout after which all other geysers are…
24.49 MILES
The world’s oldest parliament, Althingi (pronounced ál-thingk-ee; also called Alþing) was uniquely situated at this monumental site where two tectonic…
24.34 MILES
Near the dramatic Almannagjá fault and fronted by a boardwalk is the Lögberg (Law Rock), where the Alþingi (Parliament) convened annually. This was where…
24.64 MILES
The Þingvellir plain is situated on a tectonic-plate boundary where North America and Europe are tearing away from each other at a rate of 1mm to 18mm per…
25.06 MILES
Iceland’s most famous waterfall, Gullfoss is a spectacular double cascade dropping a dramatic 32m. As it descends, it kicks up magnificent walls of spray…
25.81 MILES
Buried by white volcanic ash in 1104 during one of Hekla’s eruptions, this ancient farm once belonged to Gaukur Trandilsson, a 10th-century Viking who…
21.09 MILES
Birdwatchers should head 3km northwest of Eyrarbakki to Flói Nature Reserve, an important estuary and marshland on the eastern bank of the Ölfusá. It’s…
29.55 MILES
Iceland’s second-highest waterfall, Háifoss is a magnificent 128m-high cascade that plunges off the edge of a majestic plateau into an undulating lava…
7.11 MILES
For more than 20 years, this petting zoo in small-town Iceland has been a popular hang-out for families passing through the village of Laugarás. Orphaned…
7.78 MILES
For centuries (between 1056 to 1785) Skálholt was a political and cultural hub in Iceland, and one of only two areas overseen by bishops. In the wealthy…
7.78 MILES
This modern church was built to replace the Skálholt cathedral, which was demolished by an earthquake in the 1700s. The museum in the basement tells the…
9.25 MILES
The informative Þjórsárstofa, in a large white building, has an excellent display about the nearby attractions (crashing waterfalls and an atmospheric…
10.45 MILES
Around 15.5km north of Selfoss on Rte 35, Kerið is a 6500-year-old explosion crater with vivid red and sienna earth and containing an ethereal green lake…
11.97 MILES
On the farm of Hellar in Landsveit, this 50m long human-made cave was built up to 11m below the soil at its deepest point. Inside a barn, visitors walk…
14.24 MILES
This farmstead is a constant work in progress: every summer, an international group of students practices the building of Icelandic turf houses from local…
14.61 MILES
This little museum houses the memorabilia of chess champion Bobby Fischer, who is buried 2km northeast in Laugardælirkirkja's cemetery. It is also a hang…