Iceland is geology in the present tense. The island keeps splitting between two tectonic plates, and that rift produces volcanoes, geysers, fresh lava fields and thermal water rising boiling from the ground.
Fire
The Reykjanes eruptions reminded the world the island is alive. Walking on lava only a few years old, steam still leaking from the cracks, has no equivalent in Europe.
Ice
Vatnajökull, the continent's largest glacier, feeds tongues of ice and lagoons like Jökulsárlón, where icebergs drift to sea and strand on the diamond beach.
Auroras
From September to March, with clear skies and solar activity, the north ignites. Nobody honest guarantees it, but long nights and dark inland skies work in your favour.
When to go
Winter for auroras and ice caves; summer for the highlands, midnight sun and puffins. March is our travelers' favourite balance: nights still dark, days already long.
How we travel it
Groups of maximum 16, a nimble vehicle, a local guide and room to change plans when the weather decides — which in Iceland is most days.
