Reykjanes Peninsula

If you are looking for a day trip which offers varied sights and is in easy reach of Reykjavik, but which is also a bit ‘off-the-beaten-track’, you could do much worse than visiting the Reykjanes peninsula.

All that most visitors to Iceland see of Reykjanes is the highway from the airport to Reykjavik. But that just skirts the northern shore of the peninsula and could hardly show off less of the area’s considerable charm.

On this tour you can visit the Krýsuvík geothermal area which is full of bubbling hot pools, sulphurous steam and multicoloured hot mud. There is even a good chance you will experience one of the regular earthquakes in the area – one of the surest ways to realise you are standing on the frontier between two enormous tectonic plates literally pulling the earth apart.

On that very subject, Reykjanes is home to the bridge between two continents – a ceremonial monument located at Sandvík, complete with European and American flags allowing the visitor the novel experience of straddling the Western World.

Local towns including Keflavík, Sandgerði and Grindavík are very much worth stopping in at for refreshment breaks, or there is also the famous Blue Lagoon with its less famous, but fabulous, restaurant.

The southern coast of the peninsula is almost uninhabited; except by tens of thousands of breeding sea birds (in the summer) and the mesmerising rhythms of the crashing North Atlantic waves on black sand and cliffs.

Finally in this very short collection of highlights from the long list of activities on Reykjanes, there is Keilir. Keilir is one of Iceland’s most distinctive and perfectly formed cone volcanoes – and its height makes it an attractive short hike, even for the inexperienced. But the flat Reykjanes landscape means you can see for miles all around: out to see, over the airport, to Reykjavik and far beyond.