Iceland attractions

Blönduós Swimming Pool

Blönduós Swimming Pool is the outdoor pool at the town sports center at Melabraut 2 in Blönduós, where the glacial river Blanda meets Húnaflói bay in Northwest Iceland. It is only a few minutes off Route 1, about three hours' drive from Reykjavík and under two hours short of Akureyri, so it makes an easy break on the long drive north. The pool is 25 by 8.5 meters, with two hot tubs, a cold plunge and a wading pool around it. Families usually make straight for the two large water slides and the play equipment, and the center has added an infrared sauna as well. If you are staying the night, a swim pairs well with an evening walk out to Hrútey, the wooded island in the Blanda. In summer the pool opens 08:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 20:00 on weekends. Winter hours are not published online, so call the sports center on 455 4780 outside summer, and keep in mind that ticket sales stop 30 minutes before closing. A single adult ticket costs 1,560 ISK, while children aged 8 to 18, seniors and disabled visitors pay 780 ISK. Towels and swimwear rent for 880 ISK each if you packed in a hurry. As at every Icelandic pool, you shower without a swimsuit before getting in, and an hour is plenty unless the kids discover the slides.

Bolungarvík Swimming Pool

Bolungarvík Swimming Pool, officially Musteri vatns og vellíðunar (the temple of water and well-being), is the municipal pool at Höfðastígur 1 in the fishing town of Bolungarvík in the Westfjords. After a cold day on the fjord roads, its 41°C hot tub with the mountains of Ísafjarðardjúp around you is hard to beat. The pool itself is indoors, 16.66 by 8 meters, so a swim works in any weather. Outside are two hot tubs at 41°C and 39°C (the cooler one has water jets), a 37°C wading pool for children and a 10°C cold tub, plus a water slide that opens when the weather allows. The sauna is usually switched on from 15:00, and on Saturdays it runs separate sessions for women (13:00–15:30) and men (16:00–18:00). Opening hours are 06:00–21:00 on weekdays and 10:00–18:00 on weekends. A single adult ticket costs 1,390 ISK, children aged 7–16 pay 360 ISK and children under 6 swim free, while seniors and disabled visitors pay 695 ISK. Towels and swimsuits rent for 930 ISK each if you forgot your kit, and children aged 9 and under need an adult with them. The drive from Ísafjörður to Bolungarvík takes about 15 minutes through the Bolungarvík tunnel, so the pool fits easily into a half-day trip. Pair it with the Ósvör Maritime Museum, a rebuilt fishing station at the edge of town, or the summer-only road up Bolafjall for the view over the fjord. Bolungarvík camping is right next door, two minutes' walk from the pool.

Borg Swimming Pool

Borg Swimming Pool is the pool at Íþróttamiðstöðin Borg, the sports center in the small village of Borg in Grímsnes, South Iceland, right on Route 35 between Selfoss and Geysir. As a Golden Circle swimming pool, it is a cheap way to break the drive back to Reykjavík, which is roughly an hour away by car. This is a local pool rather than a spa, with a swimming pool, hot tubs and a sauna, and the center also has a gym and a sports hall. Kerið crater is a five-minute drive away and Selfoss about 20 km south, so the Grímsnes pool slots in easily between sights. Under the 2026 price list, adults aged 18–67 pay 1,500 ISK, ages 10–17 pay 500 ISK and visitors over 67 pay 350 ISK. Children under 10 and disability pensioners swim free. If you didn't pack for a swim, a swimsuit or towel rents for 800 ISK each, or 1,200 ISK for both. From June 1 to August 18 the pool opens 10:00–21:30 on weekdays, and the rest of the year it opens a little earlier, at 09:30. Weekend hours are 10:00–18:00 all year, and entry stops 20 minutes before closing. An hour is plenty, and as at every Icelandic pool, you shower without a swimsuit before getting in.

Borgarnes Camping ground

The Borgarnes camping ground is Granastaðir, a grassy town campsite by Borgarbraut, just off Route 1 on the north edge of Borgarnes in West Iceland. From the pitches you look across the fjord to the mountains on the far shore, and the long bridge over Borgarfjörður is only minutes away. Borgarnes camping works best as a first or last night on the road. Reykjavík is about 75 kilometers away through the Hvalfjörður tunnel, the Snæfellsnes peninsula starts about an hour to the northwest, and the Ring Road continues north right past the site. Most people stay one night and move on. The site has pitches for tents, campervans and caravans, plus toilets, free showers, electricity hookups and free Wi-Fi. There are barbecue grills, a dishwashing area and a waste disposal point, and a playground sits nearby. You pay on site, and the Camping Card isn't accepted here. Adults aged 14 to 66 pay 2,000 ISK a night and seniors 1,500 ISK, while children 13 and under stay free. On top of that comes a 400 ISK pitch fee per tent or vehicle, and electricity adds 1,500 ISK. The site runs through the summer season, but its exact opening and closing dates vary, so check with the campsite before an early or late trip. Town is close by for supplies, with supermarkets, gas stations and the geothermal pool at the sports center a short walk or drive away. With a free evening, you can reach the hot spring at Deildartunguhver or the Hraunfossar waterfalls inland in Borgarfjörður, both within an hour of the campsite.

Borgarvirki

Borgarvirki is a volcanic plug ringed by basalt cliffs on a ridge between Vesturhóp and Víðidalur in Northwest Iceland, topped with stone walls that look like the remains of a castle. Nobody knows for certain who built those walls or when, which is half the appeal of the Borgarvirki fortress. The other half is the view from the rim over the lake Hóp, the Vesturhóp district and the valley of Víðidalur. The rock itself is natural. Borgarvirki rises to 177 m above sea level, with a 10 to 15 m band of columnar basalt around its top. Inside is a horseshoe-shaped hollow about 5 to 6 m deep that opens to the east, and that gap is closed by the largest of the stone walls. Within the hollow lie the ruins of two buildings and a collapsed well. One theory links the site to Barði Guðmundsson of Heiðarvíga saga and his feud with men from Borgarfjörður, while another holds that it was a district stronghold from the Settlement Age. You reach Borgarvirki on Route 717, about 10 km off the Ring Road and 18 km from Hvítserkur, so it fits neatly into a drive around the Vatnsnes peninsula. Hvammstangi is about 30 km away, Akureyri about 2 hours 45 minutes, and Reykjavík about 3 hours 15 minutes. Outside summer, check the official road-conditions map before you turn onto the side roads. A short, steep walk leads from the parking lot up to the rim. The edges drop sharply, so keep children close and stay back from the cliffs in strong wind. Plan on 30 to 45 minutes, and if you have time, Kolugljúfur canyon is about 20 minutes south in Víðidalur.

Breiðholtslaug

Breiðholtslaug is a City of Reykjavík swimming pool at Austurberg 3 in Breiðholt, the large residential district in the southeast of the city, about 10 kilometers from downtown. Few visitors find it, so on a weekday morning you'll share the hot tubs with locals discussing the weather rather than with tour groups. The Breiðholtslaug pool has a 25-meter outdoor pool, an indoor pool, a children's pool and a wading pool. Around them are hot tubs, a cold tub, a whirlpool, a sauna and a steam room, and kids head straight for the two slides and the Wipeout Track. The pool is accessible, with a lift down into the outdoor pool and private changing rooms. By car, the Breiðholt swimming pool is roughly 15 to 20 minutes from the center of Reykjavík, which makes it handy if you're staying in Breiðholt or nearby Kópavogur. Árbæjarlaug and the Árbær Open Air Museum are just across the Elliðaárdalur valley, and an hour or two in the water is plenty. Breiðholtslaug is open all year, Monday to Friday 06:30–22:00 and weekends 09:00–22:00. From late August to June, parts of the pool can be set aside for school swimming and training, so evenings and weekends give you the most room to swim. Adults pay 1,500 ISK and children aged 10 to 17 pay 400 ISK, while kids under 10 swim free with an adult. A 10-visit adult card costs 7,000 ISK, which pays off quickly if you swim most days. Towels rent for 860 ISK and swimwear for 1,270 ISK.

Brúarhlöð Canyon

Brúarhlöð Canyon is a narrow gorge on the glacial Hvítá river in South Iceland, where the Route 30 bridge crosses between Flúðir and Gullfoss. Its milky turquoise water runs between pillars and ledges of breccia (hyaloclastite) that the current has carved over centuries. Most Golden Circle traffic drives straight past, which is a mistake if you have ten spare minutes. The gorge runs downstream from the bridge, and short paths lead out along the rocks to viewpoints over the water. Stay well back from the edge, because the walls drop straight into fast, cold water. A wooden bridge first crossed the river here in 1906. Floods in 1929 and 1930 destroyed the earlier crossings, and the bridge you drive over today dates from 1959. There's room to park beside Route 30 next to the bridge, and 10 to 20 minutes covers the viewpoints for most people. Brúarhlöð is about 15 minutes' drive south of Gullfoss and a similar distance north of Flúðir, so it slots into a Golden Circle loop that returns via Route 30 and the Secret Lagoon. From Reykjavík, allow just under two hours each way. In summer, kayak and rafting trips on the Hvítá run down through Brúarhlöð Canyon. From the water you see far more of its walls than you can from the road, and one guided inflatable kayak run finishes right at the bridge.

Búðardalur

Búðardalur campsite is the village campsite in Búðardalur, the main settlement of the Dalir district on Hvammsfjörður in West Iceland. It sits on Vesturbraut in the middle of the village, in a grove of trees that takes the edge off the wind, and the village shop is a short walk away. Búðardalur is about 154 kilometers from Reykjavík, roughly two hours by car. That puts it between Snæfellsnes, Borgarfjörður and the road north into the Westfjords, which is why camping in Búðardalur works so well as a one-night stop at the end of a long driving day. The service building has hot and cold water, showers and a washing area. Campervans and caravans can plug into electricity hook-ups, and there is a disposal point for chemical toilets. Dalahestar, the local horse rental, runs the site, so a ride in the valley can start right where you pitched your tent. The Búðardalur campsite is open from May 1 to September 30 and accepts the Camping Card. Nightly rates for 2026 are not posted, so call the campsite on 767 2100 to check current prices before you arrive. In the evening, walk over to Vínlandssetur, which has a café and an exhibition on the Viking voyages to North America, or soak in the hot tubs at the village sports center pool. Bring warm layers even in July, since the weather on Hvammsfjörður turns quickly.

Dalslaug

Dalslaug is a public swimming pool in Úlfarsárdalur, a young residential district on the northeastern edge of Reykjavík, run by the City of Reykjavík as part of a school, library and sports complex. It is one of the city's newest pools and sees far fewer tourists than the pools closer to downtown. The main draw is a six-lane, 25-meter outdoor pool, with an indoor pool used mostly for lessons and training. Outside there are also hot tubs, a cold tub, a whirlpool, a slide, a children's pool and a shallow wading pool, and there is a steam room as well. You won't find a dry sauna. Dalslaug pool is open all year, from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends, with shorter hours on some public holidays. Under the city fee schedule in force since May 5, 2026, adult entry is 1,500 ISK, ages 10 to 17 pay 400 ISK, and children under 10 swim free with an adult. Towel rental is 860 ISK and swimsuit rental 1,270 ISK. The pool is at Úlfarsbraut 128, about a 20-minute drive from downtown, so it makes most sense if you are staying in the eastern suburbs or Mosfellsbær. Families fill it after school and on weekend afternoons. Lap swimmers usually find the most room in the evening, once school swimming and club training have finished. With step-free routes and an accessible pool, Dalslaug swimming pool works well for wheelchair users. As at every Icelandic pool, shower without a swimsuit before you get in, and give yourself about an hour to swim a few laps and work through the hot tubs.

Dalvík Swimming Pool

Dalvík Swimming Pool (Sundlaug Dalvíkur) is the public pool in Dalvík, a fishing town on the western shore of Eyjafjörður in North Iceland. Its hot tubs and slide tower look straight out over the fjord, which is why travelers keep stopping here, for summer sun or for the northern lights on a winter evening. The pool opened in 1994 and is part of Dalvík's sports center on Svarfaðarbraut, with a gym and sports hall in the same building. Outside there is a 12.5 by 25-meter pool, hot tubs, a children's pool, a relaxation pool, a water slide and a water mushroom for small kids, plus a steam bath. Dalvík is about 45 km north of Akureyri, roughly 40 minutes by car on Route 82 along the Tröllaskagi coast. That makes the Dalvík pool an easy stop on the drive to Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður. It also works as a warm-up after a whale-watching trip from Dalvík harbor or the ferry to Hrísey from Árskógssandur, a few minutes south. Under Dalvíkurbyggð's 2026 fee schedule, adult entry is 1,400 ISK, while children aged 6 to 18, pensioners and disabled visitors pay 500 ISK. A 10-visit adult card is 11,200 ISK, and a swimsuit or towel rents for 1,000 ISK each. The pool is open all year, but hours shift with the seasons and holidays, so check the sports center's current schedule before you go. Allow an hour or so for a swim and a soak. As at every Icelandic pool, shower without a swimsuit before you get in.

Dimmuborgir

Dimmuborgir is a lava field of pillars, arches and caves on the east side of Lake Mývatn in North Iceland. Its name means the Dark Castles, which suits the towers of black rock along the paths on a gray afternoon, and helps explain why the place has collected so many stories. The Dimmuborgir lava formations date from an eruption about 2,300 years ago in the Þrengslaborgir and Lúdentsborgir crater row. Lava pooled over wet ground, and steam rising from the marsh hardened into hollow pillars around it. When the molten lava later drained away toward lower ground, its crust collapsed and left the pillars standing, a feature that is fairly common on the seabed but rare on land. In Icelandic folklore, Dimmuborgir is a gateway to the underworld, and in December it's known as the home of the Yule Lads, the mischievous figures of Icelandic Christmas. HBO also filmed Game of Thrones scenes in the lava field. To protect the formations, the area was declared a natural monument in 2011. Several marked loops start at the parking lot, from a short walk past the first formations to the Church Circle (Kirkjuhringur), which reaches Kirkjan, a hollow lava vault shaped like a church. Allow about an hour for that loop, and stay on the paths, since the rock and the plants regrowing between it are fragile. In summer, rangers lead daily educational walks. Dimmuborgir is about 10 minutes by car from Reykjahlíð and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Akureyri, on a paved road off Route 848. A service building at the paved parking lot has toilets, food service and a souvenir shop. You can visit in winter too, though the trails can be icy and harder to follow under snow, so check road conditions and weather warnings before driving over from Akureyri.

Dritvík Cove

Dritvík is a horseshoe-shaped cove of black pebbles on the western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, inside Snæfellsjökull National Park in West Iceland, and the only way in is on foot. In the 18th century up to 600 people crowded the cove each fishing season, while today you might share it with a handful of walkers. That history is the reason to come. Dritvík was one of the busiest fishing stations in the country, where crews rowed out from the beach and lived in rough shelters through the season, and low stone walls from those camps still sit above the shore. Tall lava stacks frame both sides of the bay, and on a calm day the water inside them turns a clear blue. The cove is close to three hours' drive from Reykjavík and about 20 minutes from Arnarstapi. Park at the Djúpalónssandur lot at the end of Route 572, walk down to that beach, then follow the marked path west over the lava. The trail to Dritvík cove is about 1 km and easy, and it takes most people 15 to 20 minutes each way. Give yourself about an hour and a half for Djúpalónssandur and Dritvík together. Walkers with more time can stay on the old fishermen's track past Beruvíkuhraun to Sandhólar, about 4 km in total from Djúpalónssandur. Summer is the easy season, with long light and dry footing on the lava. In winter the path can ice over and daylight is short, so bring traction and turn back if the trail looks slick. As on the neighboring beach, waves can surge high without warning, so keep well back from the water.

Dverghamrar

Dverghamrar, the Dwarf Cliffs, are a row of basalt columns beside the Ring Road about 12 km east of Kirkjubæjarklaustur in South Iceland. They stand at the edge of a hayfield right off the highway, which makes them one of the easiest geology stops on the whole south coast drive. The Dverghamrar basalt columns formed when a lava flow cooled and contracted, cracking into regular pillars, some of them up to 1 m across. Above them sits a band of irregular, cube-jointed rock where the lava cooled faster. At the end of the last ice age the sea stood higher than it does now, and waves are thought to have carved the cliffs into the shape you see today. The name comes from folk belief. People in the area long said that dwarves and hidden people lived in these rocks, and one of the two information boards at the parking lot tells those stories while the other explains the geology. Farmers also used the cliffs as a sheep fold until the middle of the 20th century, and the site has been a protected natural monument since 1987. From Kirkjubæjarklaustur the drive takes 10 to 15 minutes on Route 1, and from Vík about 1 hour 15 minutes. The parking lot sits just off the highway, and a short loop path runs through the monument from there. The waterfall Foss á Síðu is just to the west, so you can see both from the same stop. Plan on 15 to 30 minutes, and visit any time of year. Walking is only allowed on the marked paths inside the protected area, so stay off the slopes and the moss. The path is not suitable for wheelchairs.

East Iceland Heritage Museum

The East Iceland Heritage Museum (Minjasafn Austurlands) is a regional history museum in Egilsstaðir, housed in the Safnahúsið building at Laufskógar 1, a short walk from the town center and the swimming pool. It is the best place in town to learn how people in this corner of the country lived, and how the region's wild reindeer fit into that story. The museum has two permanent exhibitions. Reindeer in East Iceland, which opened in 2015, covers the animals' survival, the history of reindeer hunting, and how reindeer meat, hides and antlers have been used in food, crafts and design. East Iceland is the only part of the country where wild reindeer roam, so this exhibit puts the herds you may see along the road into context. The second exhibition, A Self-Sufficient Unit, shows how rural households in the region fed, clothed and housed themselves until the mid-20th century. Among the exhibits is a wooden baðstofa, the shared living and sleeping room of an old farmhouse, from the farm Brekka in Hróarstunga. Special exhibitions rotate through the year, and in 2026 the museum was showing Landnámskonan, built around the remains of two well-equipped Viking Age women found near Seyðisfjörður. In summer (June 1 to August 31), the museum is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. From September through May, hours drop to Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adult admission was 1,800 ISK in 2026, visitors 17 and under get in free, and an audio guide costs 400 ISK. An hour is enough for most visitors. It makes a good stop on a gray day in Egilsstaðir, or on the way to Lagarfljót lake, which starts at the edge of town.

Egilsstaðir Swimming Pool

Egilsstaðir Swimming Pool is the outdoor town pool of Egilsstaðir, East Iceland's largest town, at the sports center on Tjarnarbraut 26. It is a few minutes' walk from the shops and the campsite, and since plenty of Ring Road travelers stop in Egilsstaðir for the night anyway, it is the simplest place to thaw out after a long day on Route 1. The outdoor pool is 25 meters long, with two hot tubs, a cold tub, a children's pool and a wading pool. A steam bath and a water slide complete the setup, and the slide keeps kids busy while the adults sit in the hot tubs. The pool is open all year. From June 1 to August 31 it runs from 06:30 to 21:30 on weekdays, and from September 1 to May 31 weekday hours end at 20:30. On weekends it opens from 09:00 to 17:00 in every season, so plan an evening swim for a weekday. One visit usually takes an hour or so. Entry follows the Múlaþing municipal price list and tickets are sold at the desk, so check the current rate when you arrive. If you want a geothermal pool near Egilsstaðir with more of a spa feel, Vök Baths on Lake Urriðavatn is about 5 kilometers north of town, though it costs a good deal more.

Eldborg Crater

Eldborg crater is a 60-meter volcanic cone in the Eldborgarhraun lava field at the eastern end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, West Iceland. Its full name is Eldborg í Hnappadal, which keeps it apart from another crater in Bláfjöll near Reykjavík and from the concert hall in Harpa. The crater is so neat and steep-sided that it looks shaped by hand. It is an oval about 200 meters long and 50 meters deep, built by two eruptions, the later one most likely during the Settlement Age. Eldborg has been a protected natural monument since 1974, and the view down into the bowl is worth the final scramble. The Eldborg crater hike starts at Snorrastaðir, a farm off Route 54 about 38 km north of Borgarnes, where the trailhead has a parking lot, toilets and cabins. From there a marked 3.4 km path crosses scrub-covered lava to the foot of the crater. The last stretch is steep and loose, with chains to hold on the way up and down. Plan on 1 to 2 hours for the round trip, plus time on the rim. On a clear day the view runs from Snæfellsjökull all the way to Reykjanes, and the short walk makes Eldborg an easy addition to a day on Snæfellsnes. Reykjavík is about 110 km away, or about 1 hour and 45 minutes by car. The area is open all year, though heavy snow can make the trail hard to follow in winter. Vehicles are banned inside the reserve, so stay on the marked path and leave the moss alone. Wind gusts are a known hazard on this route, so pick a calm day and check the weather warnings before you set out.

Eldgjá

Eldgjá is a volcanic fissure in the southern Highlands of Iceland that split open around 939 CE and poured out one of the largest lava floods in recorded history. The Eldgjá canyon you walk into today is about 8 km long, 600 m wide and 150 m deep, and the Nyrðri-Ófæra river drops into it at Ófærufoss, a two-tier waterfall in the middle of the gorge. The whole fissure system runs for about 40 km toward Mýrdalsjökull. A natural stone arch once spanned the lower falls of Ófærufoss until it collapsed in the early 1990s. The northern part of Eldgjá, including the falls, belongs to Vatnajökull National Park, and park rangers are based at the site during the day in summer. Getting to Eldgjá takes a 4x4 and good timing. From the Ring Road west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Road 208 leads north to F208, a mountain road open only in summer, and the gorge is roughly 60 to 70 km from Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Coming from Landmannalaugar on F208 is shorter but crosses several unbridged rivers, so check the official road-conditions map before you set out. From the parking lot, the park's E1 trail follows the gorge floor for about 2.5 km to Ófærufoss. Fitter hikers can take the E2 route, a 7 km loop of three to four hours that climbs the eastern rim to Gjátindur (943 m) for a view down the length of the fissure. Allow at least half a day once you arrive, and bring food, since there are no shops on this stretch of F208.

Eldhraun Lava Field

The Eldhraun lava field is a moss-covered sweep of lava in South Iceland, laid down by the Laki eruption of 1783–84 and crossed by the Ring Road west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. For miles the highway runs through lumpy rock buried under thick, gray-green moss, and a roadside stop makes it easy to see up close. The Laki fissure erupted from June 8, 1783, to February 7, 1784, and poured out roughly 14 cubic kilometers of lava. Its gases poisoned grazing land across the country, and in the famine that followed, known as Móðuharðindin, about a fifth of Iceland's people died. In Kirkjubæjarklaustur, the pastor Jón Steingrímsson preached his "fire sermon" on July 20, 1783, and the lava turned aside before it reached the church. Route 1 crosses Eldhraun between Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur, about three and a half hours from Reykjavík. The easiest place to see it is a gravel parking lot on the highway about 7 kilometers west of Kirkjubæjarklaustur, with information boards on the eruption and a short rope-lined path into the lava. Vík is about 50 minutes west. The moss is far more fragile than it looks, and damage to it is slow to heal. Stay on the marked path, don't sit or lie on the moss, and never pull over on the road shoulder for photos. Fifteen to twenty minutes at the stop is plenty. Because it sits right on Route 1, Eldhraun is easy to see in any season, though snow can hide the moss in winter. The green is brightest on a damp summer day. Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon is a few minutes' drive away, so it's easy to see both on the same drive.

Engimýri Campsite

Engimýri Campsite is a campervan and motorhome site at Engimýri Lodge in Öxnadalur valley, North Iceland, beside Route 1 about 35 kilometers west of Akureyri. Steep mountain walls close in on both sides of the valley floor, and Akureyri is roughly 30 minutes away. For drivers coming over Öxnadalsheiði from Skagafjörður, it makes an easy last stop before town, or a quiet first night out of it heading west. The pitches are for campervans, motorhomes and caravans only, since the lodge does not take tents. Expect electric hook-ups, fresh water and a free waste-emptying point, with showers and the lodge hot tub available for an extra fee. Dogs are welcome on a leash. In summer the restaurant at the country guesthouse serves breakfast and dinner, from June 1 to September 10. The campsite opens in early June, but the lodge has listed September 30 as its closing date while its online booking page has shown October 10, so confirm before a late-season trip. In 2026 the booking page listed 5,200 ISK per motorhome or caravan per night, plus 400 ISK lodging tax. Above the valley stands Hraundrangi, the rock spire over Hraun farm, where the poet Jónas Hallgrímsson was born in 1807. Hiking trails start near the lodge, so an evening walk is an easy add-on to a one-night stay.

Eskifjörður Swimming Pool

Eskifjörður Swimming Pool, known locally as Sundlaug Eskifjarðar, is the municipal outdoor pool of Eskifjörður, a fishing town on the north shore of Reyðarfjörður in the Eastfjords. Fjarðabyggð runs it at Dalbraut 3a, and from the hot tubs you look straight across the fjord at Hólmatindur. This is a family pool rather than a spa, and the prices show it. Alongside the heated lane pool you get hot tubs, a steam bath, a children's wading pool and three waterslides. Lane swimmers have the water mostly to themselves early on weekday mornings, while afternoons belong to kids on the slides. From June 1 to August 31 the pool opens 07:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends. Winter hours, from September 1 to May 31, are 07:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday, 07:00 to 18:00 on Friday and 11:00 to 16:00 on weekends. Since May 1, 2026, an adult ticket costs 1,145 ISK, ages 16 to 17 pay 325 ISK, and children under 16 swim free. Eskifjörður is about 15 minutes from Reyðarfjörður and roughly 45 minutes from Egilsstaðir, so a swim fits easily into an Eastfjords drive. Plan on an hour, more if the kids find the slides. As at every Icelandic pool, shower without a swimsuit before you get in.

Falljökull

Falljökull is an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull that drops off the slopes of Öræfajökull in a steep, broken icefall just east of Skaftafell in South Iceland. Its name means falling glacier, and below the icefall it spreads into a wide tongue of crevassed ice where many guided glacier hikes from the Skaftafell area take place. Falljökull and its twin Virkisjökull flow down side by side, split by a rock ridge called Rauðikambur, and glaciologists have measured Falljökull's front on its own since 1957. Like most Icelandic glaciers, it has been retreating since about 1990, and the moraine ridges you cross on the walk in mark where the ice stood decades ago. The glacier sits inside Vatnajökull National Park, about 15 minutes' drive east of the Skaftafell visitor center along the Ring Road. A side road leads to a small parking area near the glacier front, and a path continues to a viewpoint over the ice. Stay off the glacier itself unless you are with a certified guide, since hidden crevasses and unstable ice make it dangerous without crampons and training. Guided Falljökull glacier hikes run all year and include crampons, helmets and a guide who picks the route for current conditions. Options range from an easy three-hour hike to longer five- and six-hour routes and ice climbing, and from October to April some tours add a natural ice cave when conditions are safe.

Flatey Island

Flatey Island is a low, grassy island in the middle of Breiðafjörður, the wide bay between Snæfellsnes and the Westfjords, reached by the Baldur ferry. There are no cars, a single road and an old village of brightly painted wooden houses, most of them lived in only during summer, so a few hours here feel a long way from the Ring Road. At about two kilometers long and one wide, Flatey lives up to its name, which means flat island. It was once one of Iceland's cultural centers, with a monastery founded in 1172 and, later, a busy trading post. The island gave its name to Flateyjarbók, the largest of the medieval Icelandic manuscripts, which was kept here for centuries and returned to Iceland from Denmark in 1971. A loop around the island takes an hour or two at an easy pace. Stop at the church from 1926, whose interior was painted by the Catalan artist Baltasar Samper, and at the tiny library next to it, founded in 1864 and said to be the oldest in Iceland. In summer, part of the island is a protected nesting area for puffins, Arctic terns and other seabirds, so stay on the paths. The Flatey Island ferry sails between Stykkishólmur and Brjánslækur with a stop in Flatey, and the whole crossing takes about two and a half hours. In summer, you can get off for a few hours and continue on a later sailing; if you're traveling with a car, staff will take it across while you explore. Schedules change by season and the service is sometimes suspended, so check the ferry operator's current timetable before you plan around it.

Flúðir

Flúðir is a geothermal village in the Hrunamannahreppur district of South Iceland, on hot ground beside the spring-fed Litla-Laxá river, about an hour and a half by car from Reykjavík. Steam rising from the fields and the glow of greenhouses are the first signs you have arrived, and the Secret Lagoon on the edge of the village is the main reason most visitors turn off the main road. The heat runs the local economy. Greenhouses warmed by geothermal water grow tomatoes, salad greens and mushrooms all year, and Flúðasveppir here is the country's largest mushroom grower. Around 500 people live in the village itself, which still has a grocery store, restaurants, guesthouses and a hotel. For the Flúðir hot springs, head to the Hverahólmi geothermal area just outside the center. Gamla laugin (the Secret Lagoon) was built there in 1891 and is kept at 38–40 °C by springs that include Litli Geysir, a small geyser that spouts every few minutes. If you just want a cheap swim, the village pool is a short walk away. Flúðir sits just east of the classic Golden Circle loop, with Gullfoss and Geysir both roughly 30 minutes north. That makes it a good overnight base for reaching them early or late, outside the tour-bus hours. In winter the hot pools are the main draw. Summer adds camping, the 18-hole Selsvöllur golf course and the walk up Miðfell, the low mountain above the village, for a view across the farmland.

Flúðir Swimming Pool

Flúðir Swimming Pool (Sundlaugin á Flúðum) is the municipal geothermal pool in Flúðir, a greenhouse village in South Iceland about 30 minutes from Gullfoss and Geysir. The Secret Lagoon gets the crowds, but this is where the village actually swims, and it costs a fraction of the price. The outdoor pool is 25 meters long, with two hot tubs, a cold tub, a natural steam bath fed by local geothermal steam and an infrared sauna. It suits lap swimmers, families and anyone staying at the campground nearby, and the Secret Lagoon is about a kilometer away if you want both. The pool lists adults aged 18–66 at 1,250 ISK and ages 10–17 at 600 ISK, while children under 10, seniors and disabled visitors swim free. From June 1 to August 15, it opens 10:00–20:00 on weekdays and 10:00–18:00 on weekends. Winter hours (August 16 to May 31) are shorter: weekdays 16:00–20:30, with an extra Thursday session from 06:00 to 09:00, and weekends 13:00–18:00. That rules out a weekday daytime swim at the Flúðir pool in winter, so plan for late afternoon. An hour is plenty, and as at every Icelandic pool, you shower without a swimsuit before getting in.