Iceland Travel Blog: Expert Tips, Itineraries and Travel Guides

Icelandic food is built on a handful of local ingredients: fresh fish, lamb, dairy, and dark rye bread. Centuries of long winters and isolation shaped how Icelanders preserved and cooked these staples, and you can still taste that history today.

The Icelandic souvenirs worth buying are the ones made in Iceland, not imported for the tourist trade: the lopapeysa wool sweater, chocolate and licorice, flaky sea salt, Brennivín and craft gin, geothermal skincare, and fish-leather designs. Buy from local makers rather than generic gift shops.

When traveling somewhere new, many people like to set a rough budget first, and for a country like Iceland, that's a smart move. But how much are things in Iceland?

The Skógafoss Waterfall Way Hike is a 16 km (10-mile) out-and-back trail in South Iceland. It starts at the base of the waterfall and follows the Skógá river upstream past a chain of smaller falls.

Diamond Beach rewards photographers who plan around the light and the tide. Shoot at golden hour, get low to the ice, and keep a safe distance from the waves.

The 10 best Landmannalaugar hikes range from one-hour walks across the lava fields to full-day mountain ascents with over 700 m (2,300 ft) of elevation gain. Trails are generally open from June through September, and which one to pick comes down to how many hours you have and how much climb you want.

Iceland ranks among the world’s most welcoming countries for LGBTQ+ travelers, and Reykjavík Pride, Iceland's biggest gay pride celebration, is the high point on the calendar. In 2026, the festival runs from August 4 to 9, with the main parade on Saturday, August 8. This guide covers what to expect from Pride, the country’s LGBTQ+ rights and history, the gay scene in Reykjavík, and year-round queer events.

Iceland consistently ranks among the safest countries to travel solo. For women especially, it’s hard to beat: low crime, helpful locals, English spoken everywhere, and a tourism infrastructure that makes independent travel enjoyable.

The total solar eclipse in Iceland will happen on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, in the late afternoon. The path of totality will cross western Iceland: the Westfjords, the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Reykjavik, and the Reykjanes Peninsula. In these areas, the moon fully covers the sun for about 1 to 2 minutes. Everywhere else in Iceland, only a partial eclipse will be visible.

The best Icelandic books to read before visiting Iceland range from Halldór Laxness's Nobel Prize-winning Independent People to the medieval Njáls saga and Arnaldur Indriðason's crime novel Jar City. The genres include history, dark humor, and Nordic noir.

Iceland is considered one of the world's safest countries thanks to its low crime rate, strong social trust, and a stable society where people look out for one another. Safe streets, clean air, reliable emergency services, and welcoming locals all add to how at ease travelers feel here.

The best time to visit Iceland is June to August, when the Midnight Sun keeps the country in daylight up to 21 hours a day, every road is open, and the highlands and Westfjords are accessible. If you came here looking for a single sweet spot, that is it.

The best things to do in Iceland are guided ice caves, glacier hikes, Silfra snorkeling, Northern Lights chasing, and lava caving: the experiences our guides have led for over 40 years.

The best Asian restaurants in Reykjavík are Ramen Momo, Ban Thai, FINE, Asia Food, Hraðlestin, and Yocha for bubble tea, all within a 15-minute walk of Laugavegur street in central Reykjavík. Most are family-run by chefs from the cuisines they serve, with per-person prices ranging from 2,500 to 8,000 ISK ($18 to $58 / €17 to €54).

Most visitors spend 2 to 4 hours at the Blue Lagoon, the geothermal spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland. The exact length depends on which package you book, how busy the lagoon is, and whether you add masks, drinks, or spa treatments.

Landmannalaugar hot springs are natural geothermal pools in Iceland's Fjallabak Nature Reserve, where you can bathe outdoors. Cold water from melting snow on the surrounding mountains runs down and meets hot water rising through the ground at the edge of an old lava field. Where the two mix, the temperature stays between 36 and 40°C (96 and 104°F) year-round.

In Iceland, runes and staves are two distinct symbol systems: the Younger Futhark, a 16-letter Viking-age alphabet and galdrastafir, intricate magical sigils recorded in Icelandic grimoires from the late 16th to 19th centuries.

Jörmungandr is the Midgard Serpent of Norse mythology, a sea monster so enormous he encircles the entire world and bites his own tail.

Snowmobiling in Iceland is possible year-round on Langjökull and seasonally on Vatnajökull and Eyjafjallajökull glaciers.

Katla, Iceland's most powerful subglacial volcano, hasn't erupted since 1918 and isn't erupting now. Here's what scientists have measured recently, what an eruption would look like, and what it means for travel to Iceland's south coast.