Arrival at Keflavik airport. Transfer to the hotel on your own. Ingolfur Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland, built his farm on the peninsula where Reykjavik stands today. The town got its name “Smoky Bay” after the columns of steam that rose from the hot springs in the area and made such a deep impression on the first settlers. If you are arriving earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavik offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses, making dinner a great way to get better acquainted with Iceland’s capital. Overnight stay in Reykjavik.

: Breakfast at your hotel. Start the day 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. If you have a camera, the staff at the center will also show you how to capture northern lights on film and help you with adjusting the settings for this. Then 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. Continue through farmland areas to the geothermal fields of Geysir with bubbling mud pools and the highspouting Strokkur hot spring. Last but not least, visit the dramatic two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade. Stop at Skalholt, Iceland’s capital during the Middle Ages and now a culture center with a beautiful church. 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 heating, greenhouses and even cooking. You’ll visit a unique outdoor From EURO 1184 pp 1/3 geothermal bakery at the Laugarvatn Fontana spa where Icelandic rye bread is baked in the hot sands. Try some of the freshly baked bread, hot from the ground. It’s especially delicious slathered in Icelandic butter. 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. Dinner and overnight in the south coast area. (B, D) 

Breakfast at your hotel. Drive along the South Shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter. This is one of the main farm regions of the country, and the road will pass by typical Icelandic farms, often with Icelandic horses in the fields. 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 over millions of years. Enjoy both the exhibit and viewing an interesting film about Icelandic volcanoes at the Centre‘s cinema. 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). You might also possibly catch a glimpse of Westman Islands archipelago off the coast of Iceland. Stop at the spectacular waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. Both of them are a “must-see” for photographs. If trail conditions are right, you might be able to walk behind Seljalandsfoss falls. Head onwards, passing Myrdalsjokull Glacier, to visit Reynisfjara beach. Take a walk on the black sands, admiring the extraordinary rock formations and thundering waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Cross a vast lava field created from a very destructive 18th-century eruption as you head into Southeast Iceland. Dinner and overnight stay in Southeast Iceland. (B, D)

Breakfast at your hotel. Today enter the southern area of Vatnajokull National Park, named after Europe’s largest glacier. This national park is also the largest one in Western Europe, and the total park area covers almost 14% of Iceland. Drive through vast sand plains created by glacial outwashes as you head east en route to the Vatnajokull area. Visit Jokulsarlon Glacial 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. Then view Svinafellsjokull, one of the most beautiful of the glacial outlets emerging from Vatnajokull. Visit the national park’s famous Skaftafell area, a site of outstanding natural beauty dominated by several magnificent glaciers. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay. (B, D)

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 many greenhouses heated by hot water from nearby springs. Turn onto a southern coastal road and follow alongside the shoreline with its breath-taking sea waves, passing through a deserted community that once was a flourishing center for the region. The trip then 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 the evening is at your own leisure. Dinner is on your own. Overnight in Reykjavik. (B)

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the international airport for your departure flight on your own. (B)