It was a fantastic adventure to explore the beauty of Iceland. Our local Icelandic guide, Sylvi Signhildar-Aslfsson was awesome. His energy, enthusiasm and knowledge made each day very special.
The Stelkur trip around Iceland gave hearty servings of the history, culture, geology and ethos of this remarkable island. Sure, we all knew the island had volcanoes and glaciers, but I for one was not aware of the tremendous impact of glacial flooding on the island and its people. This trip hit so many high points that it was almost dizzying, from puffins and whale spotting to black sand beaches littered with remnants of icebergs, to seemingly countless waterfalls and glacier views, to vigorous and rewarding hikes, superb cooking by our guide, solitude on the hut to hut portions (we saw one other hiker during 4 days), tales of Icelandic heroes, trolls and elves. Our guide, Solvi, was a natural teacher, gifted storyteller and even sang us to sleep one night with an Icelandic lullaby. He surprised us often with little outings or touches that were not listed on the official itinerary and made us feel like we'd been let in on special secrets. We looked for kids rescuing young puffins who had not made it to water, tobogganed down a huge black sand dune, and snatched blueberries from the bushes that lined the trails as we hiked. There was magic in the air on this trip!
Incredible first taste of Iceland After a 4 hour flight delay and miserable weather the first morning, our luck changed and we had glorious sunny weather for the rest of the trip which showed a wintry Iceland off in all its glory. Although the trip is short, a lot is packed in and we did and saw more than I'd anticipated. The scenery really was stunning and I would love to go back in summer to explore further. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trip to others, although I think the weather can have a really big impact on how enjoyable it will be.