A whistle stop tour through the extremes of Iceland's landscape and weather! The itinerary is essentially waterfalls on day one, glaciers on day two and the 'golden circle' on day three. We had atrocious weather (lashing rain and 100mph winds) on day one so perhaps visiting three waterfalls wasn't the best idea. They were very crowded and the weather made it impossible to really appreciate them. The glacier walk on the second day had to be abandoned due to high winds but not until after about an hour in the weather putting all the kit on and probably another hour attempting to get up the path. The northern lights are elusive and I found them disappointing - you can't really see them with the naked eye, only through a camera lens set to the right exposure. We saw them on a separate bus tour on our last night in Reykjavik, not on the tour itself. Thankfully we had sunshine and calm for the last day. The landscape is beautiful and the food was delicious, if not all that varied. The long drives were broken up well with rest stops and road side sights.
Iceland was our 6th trip with the tour operator. We have seen so many wonderful places. Iceland is so special because it is truly a land of fire and ice. Where can you go to see magnificent waterfalls and on the same hike arrive at a view of a glacier? Where can you visit a volcano, geyser and just a few miles away witness icecaps with glaciers flowing from them? How about a black beach with icebergs floating and resting on the beach? ICELAND is the answer! The hut to hut hiking experience with the fjords and every changing mountain terrain and view was a thrill to experience. All of these make for a great tour but what makes it a memory of a lifetime are the people and experiencing the culture. I cannot say enough about our guide Thora. She sang Icelandic songs, taught us a dance, told us some of the sagas. Most of all she shared her love of Iceland. It was an unforgettable experience.
In March 2019 we did this marvelous trip. For early spring the weather was nice and the landscape beautiful: surrealistic geothermal pools on Reykjanes and snowcapped mountains above the glaciers. Right in time the driver picked us (family of 2 parents and 3 young-adults from the Netherlands) up at the airport. On the way to Hvolsvllur we visited the geothermal pools of Krsuvik. A warm welcome at Base Camp Midgard. We absolutely prefer a small family-owned and local-based company instead of a big travel agency/company. Another advantage is the location: much closer to the highlights in the south than a hotel in Reykjavik. Breakfast and dinner (and the drinks at the bar) were fine. A cozy atmosphere with a lot of adventurous people (young or somewhat older).The trip to Prsmrk with the Ford SuperJeep was great. Due to the driving skills of Christian we crossed various rivers to get as far as possible into the Valley of the Thunder God Thor. We explored by foot the surroundings of the Eyjafjallajkull volcano. On the way back to Midgard BaseCamp we visited the Seljlans Falls. The third day we headed to the Slheimajkull Glacier. A long time ago I climbed various mountains in the Alps, the Andes and the Himalaya but walking on crampons on the glacier and -safely- descending in a crevasse is impressive too. Really worrying is the decline of the glacier in the last decades. A dramatic effect of the global warning. Please show the picture of the sign to D. Trump.The last day on our way to Reykjavik- we visited the impressive Gullfoss waterfall (thanks to Sigridur Tmasdttir who saved the area), Geysir and the xarfoss waterfall.Summarizing a great trip in just 4 days.