Foxie Campers is a small camper van rental in Keflavík, a few minutes from the airport. It is my newest partner, and Stuck in Iceland readers get 5% off the whole booking: the rental, the cover and the extras. The man at the desk is…

Most camper vans in Iceland are vans. Black Sheep Campers rent something smaller: SUVs with a flat bed in the back. You give up the kitchen counter and the standing room. In return, you get a car that parks anywhere, uses less fuel than a…

The ring road around Iceland is about 1,322 kilometres long and goes through volcanic landscapes, glacier tongues, black sand beaches and stretches where the next petrol station is more than 100 kilometres away. Most visitors depend heavily on their phones for directions, weather reports and…

The Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn in Icelandic, is a giant cat in Icelandic folklore that eats anyone without a new piece of clothing by Christmas Eve. It’s a story, not a real animal, but most Icelanders still make sure they get something new to wear, just…

Here is my Top 5 list of restaurants that offer international cuisine in Reykjavík. 5. Thai cuisine Restaurant: Ban Thai Ban Thai in Laugavegur 130 is an establishment in Iceland. Founded over 30 years ago, it has been a beacon of Thai food in Reykjavík…

For decades, Hlemmur was where Reykjavík waited for the bus. People stood in the cold and watched the buses come and go. It was also a sanctuary for the down-and-out. Homeless men would hang around, trying to get some warmth while they nursed their moonshine….

One of my many valued partners is Midgard Adventure and Midgard Base Camp. They operate in the village of Hvolsvöllur on the south coast of Iceland. Hildur Kristjánsdottir leads this family-run tour company. Her passion for the wonders of the Icelandic highlands and sustainable living…

Here in Iceland, we are lucky to have an abundance of warm water. It has given Icelanders and travelers alike a favorite pastime: soaking in geothermal lagoons all around the country, not to mention our wonderful public swimming pools. Laugarás Lagoon is one of the…

I am afraid of heights. However, I have challenged my fear quite a bit over the years. I have completed the military-grade death march of the Glerárdalur 24 peaks in 24 hours and trekked up to Hrútfjallstindar, Iceland’s highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur. I have crossed a…

Icelanders celebrate on Christmas Eve: church bells ring at 6 pm on 24 December, followed by dinner and presents that evening. Around it sit 13 troll Yule Lads, a cat that eats people, fermented skate on the 23rd and a new book for everyone. Decorate…

The Yule Lads (jólasveinar) are 13 troll brothers from Icelandic folklore. They aren’t real, but every Icelandic child puts a shoe on the windowsill from 12 December, and each night one lad leaves a small gift or a potato in it. Coming to Iceland in…

My wife, Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir, and I drove out to Raufarhólshellir on an ordinary afternoon, the way you do when something good sits 30 minutes from your front door, and you have finally run out of excuses. It is a lava tube — a cave left…

There’s no official fireworks show in Reykjavík on New Year’s Eve: everyone sets off their own, and at midnight the whole sky lights up for about half an hour. Bonfires are lit around 8:30 pm, the streets are empty for the comedy show on TV…

Reykjavík at Christmas is dark, quiet, and full of small lights. The city fills up with candles in windows, markets with mulled wine, and families out on the shopping streets. It’s a lovely time to visit, as long as you know how the holidays work…

Vök Baths sit on the shore of Urriðavatn lake, about five kilometers from Egilsstaðir on Route 1. Two of the hot pools float on the lake itself. That is not a gimmick; geothermal springs run under the lake, and locals have known for generations that…

If you want to see the parts of Iceland that most visitors drive past, Gravel Travel is worth knowing about. They are a family-run operator, authorized by the Icelandic Tourist Board, and they are well rated on TripAdvisor. Their 4×4 trucks reach tracks ordinary tour…

Icelanders used to milk their sheep. For centuries, sheep milk was a common food in this country; then the tradition died out almost completely as farming shifted to meat and wool. A German cultural anthropologist living on the innermost farm in Fljótsdalur, East Iceland, brought…

Short answer: the discount code for the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir is Stuck25. It gives you 15% off admission when you book on secretlagoon.is. An adult ticket drops from 4,500 ISK to 3,825 ISK — you save 675 ISK per person. No signup, no catch….

I have partnered with Elding since the early days of this magazine, and I continue to work with them. Not out of loyalty — out of habit, because the tours are good and because the company behaves the way I want an Icelandic tour operator…

If you saw The Odyssey this summer and thought the underworld looked oddly familiar, you were not imagining things. Odysseus walks into Hades on a black sand beach about two hours east of Reykjavík, and you can drive to it. 2026 has turned into one…

I am not a farmer. I should get that out of the way first. My most vivid memory from a farm is from when I was four or five. I had been sent off with my cousins to a remote farm belonging to two brothers,…

In early July, my wife and I traveled around the Westfjords. One of our favorite stops was Laugaból, also known as The Guesthouse at Dynjandi Falls, in Arnarfjörður. This is where we got to know Leslie Schwartz and Greg Littlewood. They bought the farm in…

Seyðisfjörður in the East of Iceland has always attracted people who do things their own way. It is a town of just under 700 people at the end of a long fjord in the East, famous for its rainbow street, its artist community, and the…

I meet a lot of travelers at the day job, but every now and then someone walks in who’s clearly done their homework. Auriane Rezé-Duclos was on her sixth trip to Iceland when I met her at Lava Show, and it turns out she runs…

Looking for a top-rated relaxation experience in Iceland? Krauma Nature Baths offer soothing geothermal waters, stylish facilities, and a perfect location on the Silver Circle—West Iceland’s newest scenic road trip. Just an hour’s drive from Reykjavík, Krauma is fed by Deildartunguhver, Europe’s most powerful hot…

Iceland Cover rents out outdoor clothes and camping gear to travellers, and it’s a service I happily send my readers to. Many people look forward to their Iceland trip but worry, rightly, about dressing for weather that can change several times in one afternoon. Nobody…

Planning a trip to Iceland means finding the right place to stay while you chase the Northern Lights or soak in geothermal pools. The wrong booking choice can mean hidden fees, misleading photos, or properties that don’t match what you expected. Iceland’s unique landscape —…

The brilliant photographer Eyrún Lydía is a friend of the magazine. I interviewed her after I discovered her wonderful photos of Icelandic nature some three years ago. Eyrún was gracious enough to take the time to share some very helpful photography tips with my readers….

The Eastfjords are the part of Iceland that most travelers admit they ran out of time for. The Ring Road slings you down the south coast, past Vatnajökull and Höfn, and by the time you reach the east, you’ve usually got a ferry to catch…

One of the best ways to save money while exploring Reykjavik is to use the Reykjavik City Card. This handy card is a traveler’s key to unlocking Reykjavik’s culture, history, and activities. Dive into Iceland’s museums, enjoy the city’s geothermal pools, or take in the…