Top choice in The South
Relax and watch the river glide by through giant plate-glass windows in the lounge areas of this immaculate hotel on the banks of the Ytri-Rangá river. Contemporary rooms and a separate cottage are super-comfortable and there's an on-site restaurant for dinner. It's ideal for Northern Lights watching as well, and the owners are avid anglers. It gets booked up quickly.
Private fishing tours can be arrange for a pretty penny (around 250,000kr).
28.07 MILES
The 221m-high volcanic cone Eldfell appeared from nowhere in the early hours of 23 January 1973. Once the fireworks finished, heat from the volcano…
20.55 MILES
Not far from Seljalandsfoss, on the road to Þórsmörk (4WD required), hides one of the most thrilling and adventurous scrambles to a waterfall along a…
29.96 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…
27.86 MILES
More than 400 buildings lie buried under lava from the 1973 eruption, and on the edge of the flow ‘Pompeii of the North’ is a museum revolving around one…
19.87 MILES
From the Ring Road you'll see the beautiful high falls at Seljalandsfoss, which tumble over a rocky scarp into a deep, green pool. A (slippery) path runs…
23.99 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…
27.28 MILES
This lovely green area by the sea has several unique historical sights. The oldest structure on the island, Skansinn was a 15th-century fort built to…
27.66 MILES
Known as Eldfellshraun, the Mars-like land created by the 1973 lava flow is now criss-crossed with a maze of otherworldly hiking tracks that run down to…
7.8 MILES
Essentially displaying Iceland’s birth story, the LAVA Centre is a full-blown multimedia experience on volcanic and seismic life. Divided into multiple…
10.53 MILES
About 5km west of Hvolsvöllur, unsurfaced Rte 264 winds about 8km north along the Rangárvellir valley to the medieval turf-roofed farm at Keldur. This…
14.7 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…
15.23 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…
15.55 MILES
The informative Þjórsárstofa, in a large white building, has an excellent display about the nearby attractions (crashing waterfalls and an atmospheric…
16.65 MILES
About 6km east of Stokkseyri, this old 1905 creamery dairy still has its original machinery. Interestingly, most of its products were sold to England…
16.77 MILES
The Hekla Center is part of the Leirubakki compound (camping, hotel and restaurant). It details the explosive history of Hekla in a deliberately dark…
16.92 MILES
Built between 1938 and 1939, this 26m-tall art nouveau lighthouse designed by Axel Sveinsson was Iceland's first built of reinforced concrete. It also…