- Duration
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Base
- Hotel Cabin, Reykjavík
- Rooms
- Students shared, staff single
- Meals
- Breakfast and dinner daily, lunch days 2 to 4
- Travel
- Private coach with guide
Five days among the plate boundaries, geysers, glaciers and black sand beaches of a country still being made.
Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where two tectonic plates pull apart. Students walk through the rift itself, watch a geyser erupt every few minutes, stand at the edge of a glacier and see the basalt columns of the south coast.
Your group stays in Reykjavík for all four nights, with a private coach and an English-speaking guide on every touring day. In the winter months the light is short and low, so each day is timed to make the most of it, with indoor visits in the dark hours. On one evening the group heads out of the city to look for the northern lights.
In midwinter the sun is up for only about four hours, from roughly 11:15 to 15:30. The coach travels in the dark, the sights are timed for daylight and the dark hours are used for indoor visits.
The Golden Circle and South Coast days can swap, so the guide chooses the order from the weather forecast.
Optional extras
• Efstidalur family farm visit on the Golden Circle day, with homemade ice cream
• Lava Centre exhibition in Hvolsvöllur on the South Coast day
• Guided glacier walk on Sólheimajökull, equipment included
• Whale watching from Reykjavík old harbour, about 3 hours, weather permitting
• Hvammsvík Nature Baths, evening visit with transport
• Reykjavík food walk
Good to know
• The Reykjanes route on day 1 depends on flight times and on the safety advice for the peninsula at the time.
• The Blue Lagoon is close to the Sundhnúkur eruption area near Grindavík and has closed at short notice during past eruptions. We confirm it is open before travel and have an alternative ready if it is not.
• At Reynisfjara the group is kept well back from the waterline because of sneaker waves.
• Expect cold, wind and rain or snow. Warm waterproof layers, hats, gloves and walking boots with good grip are essential. Pack swimwear for the Blue Lagoon.
Day 1
A foot in two continents
Arrival and the Reykjanes Peninsula
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Your guide and coach meet the group at Keflavík Airport. Depending on flight times, the first afternoon is spent on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a volcanic landscape of lava fields, steam vents and sea cliffs. The day ends with a swim in the Blue Lagoon before check-in and dinner at the hotel.
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Bridge Between Continents
A footbridge across a fissure between the North American and Eurasian plates.
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Gunnuhver hot springs
Mud pools and steam vents heated from below.
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Reykjanesviti lighthouse
Sea cliffs and Atlantic swell at the tip of the peninsula.
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Seltún, Krýsuvík
A coloured geothermal field beside Lake Kleifarvatn.
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Blue Lagoon
A swim in warm, milky-blue geothermal seawater surrounded by lava fields.
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In the classroom
Divergent plate boundaries, geothermal activity and how Iceland heats its homes. The Blue Lagoon is fed by water from a neighbouring geothermal power station.
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Meals · Dinner at the hotel
Day 2
Where geysers got their name
The Golden Circle
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Iceland's classic circuit, and the clearest place in the world to see a plate boundary on land. The day ends at a volcanic crater on the way back to Reykjavík.
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Þingvellir National Park
Walk through the rift between the North American and Eurasian plates.
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Geysir geothermal area
Strokkur erupts every few minutes.
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Gullfoss
A two-tier waterfall, often part-frozen in winter.
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Kerið
A red volcanic crater holding a blue lake.
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In the classroom
Rift valleys, geysers and the water cycle in a cold climate.
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Meals · Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner at the hotel
Day 3
Black sand and blue ice
The South Coast
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Waterfalls that drop off old sea cliffs, a glacier tongue and a black sand beach with basalt columns near the village of Vík.
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Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss
Two of Iceland's best-known waterfalls.
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Sólheimajökull
A short walk to the edge of the glacier.
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Reynisfjara
Black sand, basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks.
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In the classroom
Glacial retreat, coastal erosion and landforms, and how basalt columns form.
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Meals · Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner at the hotel
Day 4
Small city, high latitude
Reykjavík
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A guided walk through the capital in the morning, then an afternoon indoors at Perlan.
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City walking tour
Hallgrímskirkja, Harpa concert hall, the Sun Voyager sculpture, the old harbour and the Christmas market.
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Perlan, Wonders of Iceland
An indoor ice cave, a planetarium show and views over the city. Admission included.
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In the classroom
Settlement, renewable energy and life in the world's most northerly capital.
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Meals · Breakfast, packed lunch, dinner at the hotel
One evening
Lights out, lights on
Northern Lights
The guide picks the evening from the cloud and aurora forecasts, so it can fall on any night of the tour. Sightings depend on clear skies and solar activity and cannot be guaranteed.
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On the evening with the best forecast, the group leaves Reykjavík's lights behind with its own coach and guide to look for the aurora. The guide picks the night and the location from the cloud and aurora forecasts, so the evening can fall on any of days 1 to 4.
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In the classroom
The solar wind, Earth's magnetic field and why the aurora appears near the poles.
Day 5
Back to milder weather
Departure
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Breakfast at the hotel, then the coach transfer to Keflavík Airport for the flight home.
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Meals · Breakfast
Where you will stay
The group stays in Reykjavík for all four nights, so there is no packing and repacking between touring days.
What is included
Inclusions
- Private coach throughout, including airport transfers
- English-speaking guide on days 1 to 4
- 4 nights at Hotel Cabin, Reykjavík
- Breakfast daily, packed lunches on days 2 to 4 and 4 dinners at the hotel
- Admission to Perlan, Wonders of Iceland
- Blue Lagoon entry on day 1
- Northern Lights tour on one evening, with your own coach and guide
Exclusions
- Flights
- Lunches on days 1 and 5
- Personal travel insurance
- Optional activities
Want this trip built around your school?
Every itinerary here is a starting point. Tell us your dates, your year group and your budget, and we will rework it.