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PHOTOS: Petra’s Stone Collection
Petra’s Stone Collection is a museum of minerals and crystals collected by the late Ljósberg Petra María Sveinsdóttir, who lived in the small town of Stöðvarfjörður, population 200. Petra used to roam...
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PHOTOS: Akureyri Town Festival
For a town of around 18,000, Akureyri punches far above its weight when it comes to cultural output. Each year, on the last weekend of August, this peaceful northern Iceland town celebrates its...
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An Autumn Walk: Heiðmörk At Sunset
Autumn in Iceland is officially over, and the first flurries of snowflakes are already swirling down into the streets of Reykjavík. But even so, there are some wonderful walks to do at this time of...
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Visit Sólheimajökull: A Glacier In Retreat
As the dizzy heights of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier come into view, most people understandably feel a magnetic pull to the otherworldly ice cap. The most accessible place to satisfy the urge get your...
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The Closed Doors Of Bessastaðir, The Presidential Residence
If you look south over Skerjafjörður, the inlet that frames Reykjavík’s south coast, a striking collection of red-roofed houses might catch your eye, just across the water. I see this view every day as...
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There’s No Place Like Dome: Iceland’s 5 Billion Star Hotel
I’ve always loved dome or bubble based movies: BioDome, Bubble Boy…or any movie involving a viral outbreak and subsequent quarantine. There is something alluring about life in a bubble. To be in a...
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Ashes To Ashes: The Westman Islands Volcano Museum
On the night of January 23, 1973 the inhabitants of Heimaey in the Westman Islands were woken by a violent volcanic eruption. With little warning, lava shot up to 150 metres into the air. The islanders...
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Alone In The Dark: Spending Winter in The Highlands
The Icelandic highlands are a famously inhospitable region. In the winter, deep snow and regular storms make them unsafe to enter for anyone but the most well-prepared and experienced Arctic traveller....
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Djúpivogur: Slowing Down In The East Fjords
Sometimes we all need a reminder to slow down. As we enter the East Iceland town of Djúpivogur, after a full day of driving from Reykjavík, we see a large snail painted onto the pavement, with the word...
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Real Life Iceland: There’s More To Keflavík Than The Airport
Every tourist that comes to Iceland sets foot in Keflavík, but they rarely stay there—staring at the town instead through the windows of the Flybus. Not wishing to sugar-coat it: Keflavík has a...
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Instant Classic: Keflavík’s Museum Of Icelandic Rock ‘n’ Roll
Tommi Young is the Keflavík native and Icelandic music scene veteran who runs the Icelandic Museum of Rock ’n’ Roll. From 1930 to 2014, and from Björk to Quarashi, the museum tracks Icelandic rock ’n’...
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Egilsstaðir: Austurland’s Little Big Town
Did you know that eastern Iceland kicks ass? Sea monsters! Trees! Reindeer burgers! What’s not to love? And you don’t have to spend all day driving to get here either. Grapevine photographer, Hvalreki,...
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Seyðisfjörður: Perfect Isolation
Just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Ring Road is the tiny fishing village of Seyðisfjörður. This haven for artists is an easy drive from the Egilsstaðir airport and a gold mine of discoveries....
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Wreaking Havoc On Siglufjörður
“Slam on the brakes!” the bus full of snowboarders yell at the driver. After a few erratic swerves, he brings the bus to a grinding halt. The kid standing in the front entrance stairwell is well miffed...
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‘I Never Went South’: Ísafjörður’s 100% Free Good-Time Family Festival
“It’s such a treat for us,” Sigurlaug Gísladóttir of Mr. Silla and múm said. “All the companies in Iceland have an annual party and we don’t have that as musicians, so this kind of feels like one.”...
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Exploring A Small Volcanic Island Off The Coast Of A Slightly Larger Volcanic...
As the ferry Herjólfur enters the narrow opening into the harbour of Heimaey at night, the sight of Ystiklettur and Heimaklettur cliffs leave you awe-struck. They were formed by volcanic eruptions...
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A Trip To Höfn: On The Road With Shorts&Docs
After wrapping up in Reykjavík, the Shorts&Docs festival took to the road, journeying all the way to the hamlet Höfn í Hornafirði in southeast Iceland. In a lovely small Höfn cinema called...
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Helgafell: The Holy ___ Hike
You have one more day in Reykjavík. Later in the night you plan on going out and getting drinks. You’ve seen the Golden Circle, and you’re all foss’d out. However, you still want to get one more nature...
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I Left My Heart In Ittoqqortoormiit
Located at the mouth of Scoresby Sund—the largest fjord system in the world—Ittoqqortoormiit is so remote that supply ships can only reach it two months of the year, in July and August, when...
View ArticleBiking In Reykjavík Is Underrated
Reykjavík may not be the most bike- friendly city, but it certainly has some beautiful routes where cars are not welcome. For a particularly nice scenic ride that’s fewer than 10 kilometres round trip,...
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The Faroe Islands: Neither Iceland, Nor Scotland, Nor Even Denmark
“It’s not Scotland, it’s not Iceland. The Faroe Islands have embraced me. It’s kind of in the middle. Like Sc-iceland. The scenery is incredibly striking, but less Scots and less ice.” This is how...
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Playing Dirty In Ísafjörður
Mýrarbolti (Mee-rar-bowl-ti) is the European championship in Swamp Football (or soccer). It has taken place in the small town of Ísafjörður in the Westfjords of Iceland since 2005. During the bash,...
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Destination Desolation: Iceland’s Highlands
At just about 17,000 kilometres and 30 hours of flying time from Melbourne, Iceland isn’t the most obvious destination for a road trip. But Iceland sponsors sights and experiences that are truly unique...
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High Hopes For Húsavík
The northeast of Iceland has been steadily growing in popularity as a tourism destination, and small wonder, as it has a lot to offer. Just off the Ring Road, there are the haunting Dimmuborgir (“Dark...
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An Icy Embrace
Through the window a black tide stoically holds its line against the frenzied melee of the North Atlantic Ocean. The tide is frozen in time; the vanguard of ancient lava flows from the molten heart of...
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Réttir Went Smooth As Beer
Fall means it’s time for the annual gathering of sheep, the “réttir”—an important event for rural Icelanders that has been growing in popularity with tourists as of late. That’s no wonder—it is a...
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Westfjordian Beauty
When I find myself in a place of incomprehensible loveliness, the kind that makes my eyes sting, I’m reminded of a line from the film American Beauty: “Sometimes there’s so much beauty, I feel like I...
View ArticleThe Ocean Breathes Salty At Snæfellsnes Peninsula
I’m clinging to the lighthouse rail at the top of Sugandisey, looking across the harbour onto Stykkishólmur. The wind is blowing powerfully and hawks soar above in the dusky clouds. Every time the...
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Three Days In Ilulissat - Not for your average latté-drinker
Not for your average latté-drinker“What are all these people doing here?” a guy asked his mate in the fourth row. “Beats me,” he replied, looking up at us as we walked past to find our seats on Air...
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Where Are The Glowing Rocks?
As you would expect, many visitors to Iceland are more than eager to view the country’s famous volcanoes. They may, however, be surprised to discover little more than rugged, cold lava flows and...
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Furiously Chasing Tranquility In Ísafjörður
Through my travels, I’ve been lucky enough to meet a ton of Icelanders who have become some of my closest friends—I might call them family. At this point, I’m proud to say I’m fully enmeshed in the...
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Hiking In Kerlingarfjöll
The fine group of peaks known as Kerlingarfjöll were named after a high rock pillar that is said to be a female troll who was turned to stone as she was hit by daylight back when her kin roamed the...
View ArticleDelicious Feet: A Day At A Fish Spa
Some people find it disgusting to be licked by animals. I am not one of them. I am a disgusting person who loves it when cute animals give me big wet kisses. Like most folks around town, I had never...
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Home To The Loneliest Hotel In The World
Djúpavík, like many places in the Westfjords of Iceland, feels close to the edge of the world. Formerly a busy fishing town, the herring processing plant that dominates the area lies silent, long since...
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A School For The Beer-Curious
In a small lecture hall doubling as a private bar, twenty men raise their glasses and have a big gulp of Egils Gull as Stefán “Stebbi” Pálsson begins the bjórskólinn (“beer school”) curriculum. The...
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Trading Reykjavík For Hornafjörður Reindeer
The novelty of a reindeer tour in the Icelandic countryside is the novelty of almost all ‘tours’ that take place in the Icelandic countryside: being in those pockets of remote beauty and getting the...
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Don’t Forget to Breathe: Swimming The Winter Sea
“You don’t have to be crazy to go swimming in the sea, but it helps.” So says the man sitting next to me in the hot tub at Nauthólsvík, Reykjavík’s Geothermal beach. We’re facing out toward the...
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Powder Galore At Hlíðarfjall Ski Resort
My travel companion Frosti and I are flying into Akureyri to spend the weekend snowboarding at Hlíðarfjall. Thankfully, we touch down safely. We park our asses in a warm, red Yaris rental car and make...
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Just Out Of Plain Sight: Laugarvatn - Exploring The Well Kept Secrets Of...
Exploring The Well Kept Secrets Of LaugarvatnI’m huddled over the steering wheel peering out from behind rapidly jerking windshield wipers as sprays of rain lash out across the glass. The car bounces...
View ArticleThe Bright Side Of The Storm: Sheltered in Arnastapi - From Low Point to...
From Low Point to Highlight in ArnarstapiIn spite of the weather, we’d managed to make something out of the morning. We’d had that hot spring all to ourselves, and successfully followed our little...
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From Heavenly Lakes to Hell’s Gates: Seeing Northern Iceland - A daytrip to...
A daytrip to Mývatn in Iceland’s snowy NorthSeeing Iceland from the air can be an astounding experience. From the soft blue-grey washes of coastal estuaries and floodwater plains, to black flatlands...
View ArticleAkureyri: Home Comforts And Cosmopolitan Culture - A Weekend of Art, Food,...
A Weekend of Art, Food, Music, and Culture in AkureyriAkureyri, located on Iceland’s longest fjord, Eyjafjörður, is often referred to as Iceland’s second city, or “the capital of the North.” With a...
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Iceland In Miniature: Snæfellsnes - Best Day Trip From Reykjavík: The...
Best Day Trip From Reykjavík: The Snæfellsness PeninsulaHaving planned to spend much of this summer—my first summer in Iceland, in fact—gallivanting around the country, I’ve instead spent most of my...
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A Sunny World: Ecovillage Sólheimar
If you happen to be cruising down a valley-snaking road about an hour’s drive east of Reykjavík, there’s a chance you’ll curl around a grassy embankment and notice, nestled among rolling hills,...
View ArticleIn The Giant Redwood Forests Of Iceland - Can the Icelandic Forest Service...
Can the Icelandic Forest Service restore the nation's long-lost tree cover?Visitors to Iceland seem to have no interest in the island’s forests. Instead, they delight in the volcanoes, glaciers, hot...
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Over The Glacier: Ice Hiking On Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull is the second largest glacier in all of Europe, covering 8% of Iceland’s land mass and dominating the southeast corner of the country. Visible only on clear days, the glacier’s peak sits...
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Winter Westfjords And The Art Of Zen: Isafjörður In November - Learning to...
Learning to lose control on the outskirts of Iceland...When I set off on a Westfjords adventure in early November, I never expected it to be such an educational experience. But, it was. What I learned...
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Yule Year-Round: Visting Jólagarðurinn - A visit to the Jólagarður
A visit to the JólagarðurThis fall, while planning my first trip up North, I messaged a friend of mine who had gone to secondary school in Akureyri and asked him for a few choice recommendations. “The...
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Aurora Over Ísafjörður - Wow. A tranquil night, that was
Wow. A tranquil night, that wasLook. Early evening, December 27, Second Day Of Christmas, the good people of Ísafjörður were momentarily torn from the comfort of their couches and boardgames and...
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Redesigning Tourism: The Skálanes Nature Reserve - At the Skálanes nature...
At the Skálanes nature reserve, a quiet revolution is happeningGetting to the Skálanes nature reserve, which sits at one of the easternmost points of Iceland, is an adventure in itself. After taking an...
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