Things to do in Iceland: from geysers to glacier lagoons

Iceland's parliament, the Althing, met in this rift valley from 930 until 1798. Before the law was written down, the Lawspeaker recited it from memory at the Law Rock. Faults split the valley floor, the largest of them the canyon of Almannagjá, and a river drops over its wall as a waterfall. On the lake shore is the Silfra fissure, where you can dive or snorkel with a tour operator. Give it a couple of hours: the sites are spread out, and the car parks sit along the road rather than at one entrance. Tip: the paths turn icy in winter, so bring ice grips from about November to March.

Geysir gave English the word geyser, but it rarely erupts now. The one in most photographs is Strokkur, about 50 m away, which throws boiling water up to 35 m every few minutes. Around them lie some thirty smaller geysers and hot pools, and the whole field smells of sulphur. The water is at boiling point, so keep to the walkways and hold children back from the edges. Come on a summer evening after about 20:00, when it's still broad daylight, and you'll have the field almost to yourself.

The Hvítá turns sharply and drops in two stages, 11 m and then 21 m, into a crevice 32 m deep. From the upper platform the falls look like a wide staircase of water; take the steps down and both tiers rise in front of you, close enough for the spray to reach you. A grey sky doesn't spoil the view. In summer the river carries far more water than in winter: 141 cubic metres a second against about 80. Parking at the visitor centre is free.

A 60 m column of water falls off the cliff, and the path goes round the back of it, between rock and spray, into a small cave and out the other side. You will get soaked, so keep your camera or phone covered. The water comes off Eyjafjallajökull, the ice-capped volcano. Come early in the day: later on, a steady stream of people fills the narrow loop. The car park by the falls charges; a free gravel one is about 750 m away.

Here you can walk right up to the base of a 60 m drop, and the spray soaks you within minutes; on a sunny day it throws a rainbow, sometimes a double one. Then climb the 527 steps on the eastern side to a platform at the top, where a trail carries on upstream past more waterfalls. Tip: if you're on a tour with a short stop, choose one: the base or the stairs.

Blocks of ice up to about 30 m high calve from Breiðamerkurjökull at the head of the lagoon, some milky white, some deep blue, some striped grey with ash from old eruptions. They drift with the tide and the wind, so the view rearranges itself through the day. The cracking of the ice carries across the water. In the cold months seals gather at the outlet to fish. Boat and amphibious-vehicle tours run in the warmer months, and in winter ice cave tours leave from the car park. Tip: the amount of ice varies, so check the live webcam before the long drive.

At the eastern end, basalt columns so regular they look man-made frame a cave. The Reynisdrangar sea stacks rise offshore, and the Dyrhólaey headland closes the view to the west. Storms in February 2026 brought down some of the columns and stripped much of the sand, and by July the shore was more black pebble than sand. Entry is free; the car parks charge. Important: sneaker waves surge far up the beach without warning, and six people have died here since 2007. Never turn your back on the sea, stay well away from the water's edge and follow the warning lights: under a red warning the cave and the columns are closed.

Sky Lagoon sits on the shore at Kársnes Harbour in Kópavogur, and its open side faces the Atlantic. The water is kept at 38–40 °C and doesn't smell strongly of sulphur. The centrepiece is a seven-step ritual of hot water, a cold plunge, sauna, steam and a scrub; the standard ticket doesn't cover it. Coming straight from a morning flight, you can book an early visit and soak before hotel check-in. It isn't set up for young children.

Raufarhólshellir is a lava tube 1,360 m long and up to 30 m wide, its walls banded red and ochre by lava that flowed 5,600 years ago. Daylight falls through holes in the roof, and at one point the guide switches the lights off. You go in only on a guided tour, first along decking and then over broken lava, with a helmet, a head torch and a walking stick handed out at the start. Tours run at set times with limited places, so book before you drive out.

East of Lake Mývatn, beside the Ring Road, Hverir packs most kinds of geothermal activity into one field: mud boiling at your feet, fumaroles hissing steam, ground stained ochre and rust, and a smell of sulphur that stays on your clothes. Boardwalks lead through the field; the ground either side is hot, so don't step off them. Tip: for the view from the slope above, walk the loop from left to right, since coming down the other way is steep and dangerous when wet.

On Stórhöfði, on the island of Heimaey, a wooden hide faces a slope full of puffin burrows. You watch through openings cut in the walls, sheltered from the wind, and if you keep your voice down the birds stay put. Mid-morning the slope can hold thousands of them, and around sunset hundreds more fly in from the sea. Rain helps rather than hurts: in fine weather most of the puffins are out at sea all day.