Iceland is a destinations that I have been dreaming of visiting for years. As I start to make plans for my future trips, I have come across some wonderful outdoor adventures to go on in Iceland.
So to help you plan your next trip to Iceland, I asked some of my travel blogger friends what their favourite outdoor activities in Iceland were, and put this blog post together for you.
4 Outdoor Adventures To Go On In Iceland
1. Boating between icebergs in Jökulsárlón, Iceland
“Have you ever floated in between huge blue thousand-year-old icebergs? Well, you can in Iceland!
Jökulsárlón is a spectacular glacial lagoon with huge icebergs floating serenely in it. There are two kinds of boat rides you can take: one in an amphibious boat and the other in small inflatable motor boats. The latter are able to get closer to the icebergs and to speed across the lagoon faster.
Regardless of which boat you must wear a bright yellow floatation suit. You would not want to go without this, as the water is very, very cold!
It is really amazing to be so close to the beautiful and ancient ice, and racing around the lagoon is exhilarating. Boating in Jökulsárlón is one of the highlights of South Iceland – if not all of Iceland!” Written by Martha from May Cause Wanderlust.
2. Hiking Iceland’s Interior
“Known as the Highlands, the majority of Iceland’s interior are mountainous trails and enormous glaciers. The two combine to form countless waterfalls.
There are two main ways to explore this rugged backcountry. You can backpack along some of the hiking routes. Like the Fimmvörðuháls trail. This one starts at Skogafoss and follows the waterfalls up the mountain.
It finally ends at Thorsmark, about 26 km away. Along the way, you can camp in the pristine wilderness that is the perfect setting for whatever the night sky decides to display.
The second way to explore is by hiring a 4×4 pickup at Seljalandsfoss Campground to take you into Thorsmark (spelled Þórsmörk). You have to take an off-road vehicle since it requires a river crossing to get to the campground. Once you get there, you can camp among the dormant (at least for now) volcanoes.
Volcano Huts has some of the best campsites in Iceland. Nestled among the interior’s volcanoes and near the intersection of Landmannalaugar and the Fimmvörðuháls trails makes it a perfect basecamp for exploring.
Spend a couple of nights camping, glamping, hosteling, or hut-ing. And spend your days hiking the trails for magnificent views of the surrounding volcanoes.” By Steve from Maps Over Coffee.
3. The Golden Circle
“One of the more adventurous things to do in Iceland is driving and camping the Golden Circle. It is probably Iceland’s most visited attraction, as it’s close to the capital of Reykjavik and shows you three unique natural phenomena in one day. Most visitors just book a tour from Reykjavik, but the more adventurous travelers should definitely get a campervan or tent to go camping.
The Golden Circle is a scenic drive close to Reykjavik, leading you to three of Iceland’s most famous attractions: Thingvellir National Park where the European and American tectonic plates are parting, the enormous Gullfos waterfall and the geysers at Geysir.
You could combine all three in a day trip, but you’ll make the most out of this area by camping along the route. We choose to camp at a small campsite close to Geysir, so we were the last ones to visit the geysers without the crowd. And the next morning we arrived at the Gullfos waterfall before the Reykjavik tour buses arrived.” By Maartje from The Orange Backpack.
4. Best Camping In Iceland’s East Fjords
“Camping in Iceland is the best way to get up close to everything that makes it such a natural wonder.
The island is dotted with both public and private campsites. Due to the amount of rubbish being left behind by careless campers, the government has put restrictions on open camping.
Fortunately, many hostels saw this as an opportunity to fill the needs of campers while keeping the natural beauty of the landscape.
The results are plenty of uncrowded campgrounds that allow some solitude, without being too far from running water.
You can drive around Iceland camping along the famous Ring Road and find vacancies everywhere.
A hidden favorite campsite was at Fossardalur – Fjoll og Fossar campground.
It is located on the grounds of the guesthouse and has a parking area for campervans and a separate area for tent camping.
You get full access to the guesthouse facilities. They include a shared kitchen and dining space where you can rub shoulders with campers from all over the world.
The warm showers are always a welcome luxury on any camping trip, but especially after a long day hiking or waking up to a cool fall morning.
But the kicker is the camping under the Icelandic sky, across from a river that flows into nearby Múlafoss Waterfall.
Just around the corner you can drive up to the parking lot or take a short walk from the campsite to get a glimpse of this beauty.
It’s not be the tallest or biggest waterfall in Iceland. But it may be the most relaxing waterfall to enjoy before checking in to a peaceful night of camping in Iceland.” By Steve from Maps Over Coffee.
Are you going to be heading to Iceland anytime soon? Make sure you add these four adventures to go on in Iceland to your bucket list.
Wishing you happy adventures,
