Where North America meets Europe

  From Reykjavik, we head towards the Reykjanes peninsula, along the N°1 road, crossing the Hellisheidi pass, driving via the small towns of Hveragerdi and Selfoss, to reach Stokkseyri a typical 19th century Icelandic fishermen’s village. There, we stop for a visit the very popular Draugasetrid, a ghost centre that features all of Iceland’s most famous ghosts. There, visitors are provided with a CD player to guide them through the 24 ghost stories (all told, the tour takes approximately 40 minutes). Guests walk through the ghost-maze, where they will experience the stories in the environment where the spooky tales actually happened.

  After that, we continue along the southern coast towards the peninsula of Reykjanes, driving through the volcanic zone of Krisuvik. Reykjanes is the starting point of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, that is a boundary between tow tectonic plates, North American and Eurasian. The impact of this ridge is very important in this part of the country. On the way, we stop to see some of the most interesting places on the peninsula, including an important geothermic area, with fumeroles, sources hot and boiling mud pots. We continue towards Grindavik, another typical fishermen’s village, attacked by pirates known as “Turkish” from North Africa in the 17th century. There, we visit Salfisksetur Íslands, a museum devoted to the history of salted cod in Iceland. There, you will have a good introduction to the exploitation and the treatment of this product of great value to the Icelanders during the last two centuries.

  After the lunch break in Grindavik, we move towards the very well known Blue Lagoon for a relaxing bath in its thermal and sea water, rich in minerals, white silica mud and algae, known for its positive effects on the skin.

After that, we continue to Reykjavik.