Categories Iceland Winter Tours Adventure & Eco Travel Winter Tours

Celebrate the magic of an Icelandic Christmas while experiencing some of Iceland’s most beloved natural wonders. You’ll discover Iceland’s amazing natural forces first-hand, along with experiencing authentic Christmas traditions and foods.

Celebrate Christmas in the Land of Fire, Ice and Northern Lights. Discover beautiful holiday lights, enchanting local traditions, and delicious Christmas food. You’ll also enjoy all the sights and experiences of our best-selling Hidden Powers tour, including Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall, the Glacial Lagoon/Diamond Beach, Eyjafjallajokull volcano and the Blue Lagoon. Gather your family and friends and celebrate Christmas together on this great tour!

We Support Iceland’s Nature and Local Communities! During the trip you’ll receive a special souvenir: an Iceland Search and Rescue Association (ICE SAR) key ring. Your guide will tell you about this trained team of volunteers dedicated to rescue work and accident prevention in Iceland. Additionally, all our escorted tours include carbon offsetting through Kolvidur, the Iceland Carbon Fund (ICF).

Itinerary

Arrival at the Keflavik airport. Transfers to Reykjavik are not included in the tour. We would be happy to arrange shared or private transfers for you, so let us know at booking time.

If you arrive earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. We’d be happy to make suggestions based on your interests.

Early this evening you will enjoy a walking tour in downtown Reykjavik. One of our local guides who is an expert in Icelandic traditions and folklore will meet you at your hotel. Enjoy Reykjavik’s twinkling lights and festive decorations as your guide tells you about holiday traditions. Today is St.Thorlak’s Day, a day when stores are open late into the evening and Icelanders enjoy last minute shopping and greeting friends throughout the day and evening. You’ll surely enjoy this cheerful backdrop for your walking tour.

Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavik offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses.

Please note that hotels in Iceland start check-in around 14:00 (2:00pm), and early check-in is not guaranteed. Most hotels will be happy to store your luggage if you are not able to check in early.

Approximate Distance:

185 km / 115 miles

National Park with Geological Wonders – Lively Geysers – The Golden Falls

Breakfast at your hotel. Your guide will meet you in the lobby of the hotel. Start your adventure by visiting the fascinating Aurora Reykjavik Northern Lights Centre. You’ll get a great introduction to northern lights, how they are formed and the folklore surrounding them. You’ll also get tips about how to capture northern lights on film.

Depart Reykjavik and head onwards to Thingvellir National Park (UNESCO World Heritage site) where the world’s oldest parliament met for centuries on the shores of Iceland’s largest lake. This place makes us Icelanders enormously proud of our heritage. You might even have a rare chance to walk between two continents!

Continue to the geothermal fields of Geysir with bubbling mud pools and the high-spouting Strokkur hot spring. Finally, you’ll visit the dramatic two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade.

During the day, you will also visit the town of Laugarvatn. The town is built around three hot springs, and the residents have cleverly harnessed the hot springs for power and hot water. You’ll visit a unique outdoor geothermal bakery where sweet Icelandic rye bread is baked in hot sands. You can taste some of the freshly baked bread, hot from the ground. It’s especially delicious eaten with Icelandic butter and smoked trout.

Dinner and overnight in the Hella area.

Tonight, enjoy a Christmas Eve buffet dinner at your hotel. If weather conditions are right, your guide will take you on northern lights hunt on foot in the area outside your hotel tonight, or on the evening of Day 3 or 4.

Approximate Distance:

200 km / 124 miles

Waterfalls – Lava Centre – Glacial Views – Black Sand Beaches

Gleðileg jól! Merry Christmas! After breakfast at your hotel, drive along the South Shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter.

This part of Iceland is home to the wonderful LAVA Centre, an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity, earthquakes, and the creation of Iceland. Enjoy the exhibit and an interesting film about Icelandic volcanoes. Continue onwards. If the skies are clear, you might see the area’s two most famous volcanoes in the distance: Mount Hekla (last eruption 2000) and Eyjafjallajokull (last eruption 2010).

Stop at the spectacular waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. If trail conditions are right, you might be able to walk behind the ribbon-like Seljalandsfoss falls. Skogafoss is a beautifully shaped waterfall that makes a perfect backdrop for a selfie.

Head onwards to visit Reynisfjara beach. Take a walk on the black sand, admiring the extraordinary rock formations and thundering waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Cross Eldhraun, a vast lava field created from a very destructive 18th-century eruption as you head to your overnight.

Celebrate Christmas with a festive Christmas dinner at your hotel. You’ll also receive a gift to commemorate your Christmas visit to Iceland.

Dinner and overnight in the Kirkjubaejarklaustur area.

Approximate Distance:

260 km / 162 miles

Glacial Lagoon with Icebergs – Europe’s Largest Glacier

Breakfast at your hotel. Today you’ll be visiting the southern area of Vatnajokull National Park, named after Europe’s largest glacier. The total park area covers almost 14% of Iceland, making it the largest national park in Western Europe! Visit Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon where you can enjoy the breath-taking sight of icebergs floating in the fantastic 180m (591 ft.) deep glacial lagoon. Nearby is the dramatic beauty of the Diamond Beach, where shrinking icebergs settle on the black sands before they drift out to sea.

Visit the national park’s famous Skaftafell area, a site of outstanding natural beauty dominated by several magnificent glaciers.

Dinner and overnight in the Kirkjubaejarklaustur area.

Approximate Distance:

365 km / 227 miles

Greenhouse Village – Icelandic Horses – Geothermal Lagoon

Breakfast at your hotel. Head back along the beautiful South Coast, enjoying a different view of the winter landscapes. Visit the village of Hveragerdi, which is one of the few sites in the world located directly in the middle of a geothermal area. Hveragerdi is often called “The Flower Village” because of its geothermal greenhouses.

Next, you’ll visit a horse farm to meet some locals: Icelandic horses. This Viking horse breed played a pivotal role in Icelandic history. Enjoy petting these friendly horses and snapping a few selfies with them. You’ll also taste some sweet refreshments that are traditionally served on Icelandic farms.

Turn onto a southern coastal road and follow alongside the shoreline with its breathtaking sea waves. The road takes you through the surreal landscapes of the Reykjanes peninsula, where you can enjoy a dip in the famous Blue Lagoon, a unique wonder of nature with pleasantly warm, mineral-rich water in the middle of a black lava field. Return to Reykjavik, where your guide bids you farewell at the hotel. The evening is open for you to enjoy your own activities. Dinner is on your own.

Overnight in Reykjavik.

Breakfast at your hotel. Please note that this might be a light breakfast if you are taking an early morning departure flight. Transfer on your own to the international airport for your departure flight. The airport transfer is not included, but we are happy to help you arrange shared or private transfers.

We recommend you depart your hotel no later than three hours before departure.

Notes