Fire & Ice Tour
Fire & Ice Tour custom itinerary — 7 day luxury Iceland flagship tour by Juniper Tours. Covers Reykjavik (2 nights in the capital with Hallgrimskirkja cathedral, Harpa Concert Hall, Old Harbor, Perlan, Sun Voyager sculpture), the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa near Keflavik Airport, the Golden Circle (Thingvellir National Park where the mid-Atlantic ridge is visible above water and the Althing Parliament met from 930 AD, the Geysir geothermal area with Strokkur’s 8-minute eruptions, Gullfoss the Golden Waterfall, and Secret Lagoon in Fludir), the South Coast (Seljalandsfoss waterfall that you can walk behind, Skogafoss waterfall, Reynisfjara black sand beach at Vik with basalt columns, Dyrholaey peninsula, and the village of Vik), Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon with floating icebergs and Diamond Beach, and the Snaefellsnes peninsula (Kirkjufell mountain the most-photographed peak in Iceland, Arnarstapi cliffs, Budir black church, Snaefellsjokull glacier). Private driver-guide throughout, 4-star or higher accommodations in Reykjavik and on the South Coast, daily breakfast, pre-booked site entries, Northern Lights hunting included in winter season. Designed by Juniper Tours’ Iceland specialist Taryn Harrison (25 years experience, CMSC certified, primary Iceland specialist). IATAN accredited (22-787413). 4.9★ · hundreds of verified Google reviews. Custom Iceland itineraries from $2,500 per person. Sample itinerary — all trips custom designed by our top travel specialists.
Sample Itinerary · Iceland
Fire & Ice Tour
Reykjavik · Golden Circle · South Coast · Snaefellsnes
Duration
7 Days · 6 Nights
Accommodations
4-Star or Higher
Transport
Private Driver-Guide
Best For
First-timers · Adventure · Nature
Plan a Similar Trip
← All Iceland Itineraries
7 Days · 6 Nights
4-Star+ Accommodations
Private Driver-Guide Throughout
Daily Breakfast Included
Sample — Fully Customisable
This is a sample itinerary — for inspiration only. Every Juniper trip is designed from scratch around you. Many clients travel a very similar route — if this resonates, book a free consultation and a specialist will build something just like it (or better) specifically for your travel style, dates, and group.
1
Day One
Arrive in Iceland — Blue Lagoon on the Way
Keflavik · Reykjavik
Welcome to Iceland. Your private driver-guide meets you at Keflavik International Airport (KEF) and the route into Reykjavik runs along the Reykjanes Peninsula — black lava fields, steam vents, and the North Atlantic on one side. Your specialist has built the Blue Lagoon into the arrival day: it’s 20 minutes from the airport and the perfect antidote to a long flight. Pre-booked entry with a private changing cabana, a short soak in the milky-blue geothermal water, and a bite to eat at the Lava Restaurant or Moss Restaurant depending on your pace.
By late afternoon your driver continues the 45-minute run to Reykjavik and your hotel in the 101 postal code — typically the Reykjavik Edition, Canopy by Hilton, or the ION City Hotel depending on style preference. Check in, unwind, and have a first Icelandic dinner somewhere your specialist has flagged — Dill, Matur og Drykkur, or Grillmarkadurinn if you want the first-night splurge. Early night; tomorrow the city opens up.
Private airport transfer
Blue Lagoon pre-booked entry
Arrive Reykjavik
Overnight: Reykjavik
2
Day Two
Reykjavik City Day
Reykjavik
A full day exploring the world’s northernmost capital. Reykjavik is small — about 135,000 people — but its density of bookshops, art galleries, independent record stores, and genuinely excellent restaurants belies the size. Morning: a private walking tour with a local guide covering Hallgrimskirkja (the 243-foot concrete church that dominates the skyline, with the elevator to the tower for the city view), the Sun Voyager sculpture on the waterfront, and the Old Harbor where Whale Watching boats and the Saga Museum are both worth an hour.
Afternoon: Harpa Concert Hall (the Olafur Eliasson glass facade is remarkable in any light) and Perlan — the ‘pearl’ on the hill above the city with a 360-degree observation deck, an Ice Cave exhibit, and a planetarium show about the Northern Lights that is genuinely informative. Evening: the Reykjavik food scene. In aurora season, your specialist has the driver-guide on standby — if the kp-index and cloud cover align, the evening pivots to Northern Lights hunting outside the city light-dome.
Private Reykjavik walking tour
Hallgrimskirkja & Harpa
Perlan observation deck
Overnight: Reykjavik
3
Day Three
The Golden Circle
Thingvellir · Geysir · Gullfoss
The classic Iceland day. Your driver-guide collects you after breakfast and the Golden Circle route is a roughly 143 miles loop from Reykjavik that packs three of the most significant sites in Iceland into a single unhurried day. Thingvellir National Park is first: UNESCO-listed for both natural and cultural importance, this is where the mid-Atlantic ridge is visible above water (North American and Eurasian tectonic plates drifting apart at about 2.5 cm per year) and where the Althing Parliament met from 930 AD — making it one of the oldest parliamentary sites in the world.
Geysir (the word from which all other ‘geysers’ take their name) comes next — the original Geysir itself is mostly dormant these days but Strokkur, the neighboring geyser, erupts reliably every 6 to 10 minutes with a 66-98 foot jet. Gullfoss — the ‘Golden Waterfall’ — is the third stop and one of the most dramatic two-stage waterfalls in the world, plunging 105 feet into a canyon with rainbow spray on any sunny day. Late afternoon: Secret Lagoon at Fludir, a 1891 geothermal bathing pool that’s more intimate than the Blue Lagoon and the perfect reset before the drive back. Return to Reykjavik for dinner.
Private driver-guide day
Thingvellir · Geysir · Gullfoss
Secret Lagoon soak
Overnight: Reykjavik
4
Day Four
South Coast Waterfalls & Black Sand
Seljalandsfoss · Skogafoss · Vik
Today the pace shifts from day-trip to journey. Your driver-guide leaves Reykjavik mid-morning heading southeast along Route 1 — the Ring Road — with the coast on one side and the foothills of the Eyjafjallajokull ice cap on the other (the 2010 eruption that grounded European air travel happened on this glacier). First stop is Seljalandsfoss, a 197-foot waterfall you can walk behind via the cave path — a full loop takes about 30 minutes and waterproofs are essential.
Skogafoss is next — a second major waterfall, wider and more powerful, with a staircase to a viewing platform at the top. Afternoon: Reynisfjara, the black sand beach at Vik, with its hexagonal basalt columns, the Reynisdrangar sea stacks (mythologically trolls caught by the sunrise), and puffin colonies in summer. Warnings about sneaker waves are real and your driver-guide will walk you through the safe-zone markers. You check in to the Hotel Ranga or a similar South Coast property for the first night outside Reykjavik. Dinner at the hotel — and in aurora season, the Hotel Ranga has a rooftop observation deck with wake-up calls for strong displays.
Private driver-guide
Seljalandsfoss & Skogafoss
Reynisfjara black sand beach
Overnight: Vik area
5
Day Five
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon & Diamond Beach
Jokulsarlon · Diamond Beach
The signature day of the trip. Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon sits 118 miles east of Vik — roughly 2 hours 15 minutes of driving along the most dramatic stretch of Iceland’s south coast, with Vatnajokull (the largest glacier in Europe by volume) filling the view to the north. The lagoon itself is a body of water where icebergs calve from the Breidamerkurjokull glacier and drift toward the sea; a pre-booked 40-minute Zodiac or amphibious boat tour gets you among the icebergs themselves.
Directly across Route 1 from the lagoon is Diamond Beach — black sand with translucent iceberg fragments washed up on the shore from the lagoon outflow, melting and re-polishing in the surf. The photography here is genuinely one-of-a-kind. Lunch at the lagoon cafe, then the drive back west with a stop at Fjadrargljufur (a dramatically-serpentine canyon made briefly famous by a Justin Bieber music video that briefly closed the site to prevent erosion damage; it’s since reopened with a boardwalk path). Return to your hotel by early evening.
Jokulsarlon boat tour
Diamond Beach
Scenic return drive
Overnight: Vik area
6
Day Six
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Kirkjufell · Arnarstapi · Budir
A long but scenic day — the Snaefellsnes peninsula is often called ‘Iceland in miniature’ because it concentrates every major landscape type (glacier, lava field, cliff, black and white beaches, fishing villages, a volcano) into one 55.9-miles peninsula. The drive from Vik area to Snaefellsnes crosses Reykjavik again and then heads up Iceland’s west coast — roughly 4 hours one-way but the driver-guide handles the time and the light changes dramatically across the day.
The Snaefellsnes highlights: Kirkjufell (the 1,519-foot mountain that’s the most-photographed peak in Iceland, with the small Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall in the foreground for the classic composition), Arnarstapi’s dramatic cliff walk with basalt arches carved by the sea, and the Budir black-wood church — a small 1703 church on the lava plain that photographs beautifully from any angle. Snaefellsjokull — the glacier-capped stratovolcano that Jules Verne used as the entrance to the center of the earth — is visible across the peninsula. Return to Reykjavik for the final night; your specialist has the closing dinner reservation ready.
Long driver-guide day
Kirkjufell mountain
Arnarstapi & Budir
Overnight: Reykjavik
7
Day Seven
Depart Iceland
Keflavik Airport
A final Icelandic breakfast, then your private driver collects you for the transfer to Keflavik International Airport. Most travelers leave Iceland already planning the return trip — usually to the regions they deliberately skipped (Westfjords, Eastfjords, the Highlands in summer) or to see Iceland in the opposite season (summer travelers want to return for the Northern Lights, winter travelers want the midnight sun).
Your Juniper specialist remains reachable throughout departure day, and your in-app itinerary stays accessible for any last-minute questions. Safe travels home.
Private airport transfer
App support throughout
Love this itinerary? Make it yours.
This is a sample luxury custom route — a starting point, not a fixed package. Many clients travel something very close to this, customized for their travel style, group, and dates. Book a free consultation and a specialist will build from here.
Accommodations
Boutique hotels, charming B&Bs, or historic castle stays — chosen based on your preferences and travel style.
Transportation
Private driver-guide, self-drive rental, or a mix of both — all transfers confirmed before you travel.
Experiences
Pre-arranged tours and activities built around your interests — entrance tickets sorted, no queuing.
Book a Free Consultation
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Activities on this itinerary
Your specialist pre-arranges the right luxury experiences based on your interests and travel style. These are the custom experience types available on this route — specific choices are made with you, not for you.
Blue Lagoon Pre-Booked EntryReykjanes Peninsula · private cabana
Reykjavik Private Walking TourHallgrimskirkja · Harpa · Old Harbor
Perlan Observation DeckReykjavik · Northern Lights planetarium
Thingvellir National ParkUNESCO · mid-Atlantic ridge · Althing site
Geysir Geothermal AreaStrokkur erupts every 6-10 minutes
Gullfoss WaterfallGolden Circle · 32m two-stage
Secret Lagoon SoakFludir · 1891 geothermal pool
Seljalandsfoss & SkogafossSouth Coast · walk-behind falls
Reynisfjara Black Sand BeachVik · basalt columns · puffins in season
Jokulsarlon Boat TourZodiac or amphibious · 40 minutes
Kirkjufell MountainSnaefellsnes · most-photographed peak
Northern Lights Hunt (Winter)Driver-guide on standby · aurora forecast
Activities are selected and pre-booked with your specialist based on your interests — not all activities are included in every trip version. Availability varies by season.
The people who will design your Iceland trip
You work directly with a specialist who knows Iceland deeply — not a call center or booking agent. Every consultation is with someone who has been there, has driven the South Coast in both summer and aurora-season winter, knows which waterfall has the quietest morning light and which Reykjavik restaurant actually delivers on the reputation.
Iceland · Ireland · Scotland · UK
Taryn Harrison
Juniper Tours’ most tenured specialist with 25 years of experience designing Iceland itineraries across every season. CMSC certified and a former Peace Corps volunteer. Taryn knows which South Coast hotel has the best geothermal hot pot for aurora-watching, which Golden Circle day-order avoids the coach-tour peaks at Gullfoss, and which booking needs to be made six months out or it won’t happen.
25 Yrs
CMSC
Iceland Specialist
Book a Consultation
About this itinerary
Iceland is a year-round destination and each season is genuinely different. Summer (June through August) has the midnight sun, the highland F-roads are open, puffins are nesting, and all the waterfalls are at peak flow from snowmelt — most people visit in this window. Winter (late September through mid-April) is the Northern Lights season, when the aurora is visible on clear dark nights; waterfalls partially freeze, glaciers are at their most accessible for ice-cave tours, and the landscape is dramatically monochromatic. Shoulder seasons (May and September) are less crowded and combine the best of both. Your specialist shapes the itinerary around your travel window — if the Northern Lights are your priority, late October through early March gives you the darkest skies and longest aurora-hunting windows.
If you travel between late September and mid-April, yes — the aurora is visible from all stops on this itinerary on clear dark nights. The driver-guide on each day monitors the aurora forecast (kp-index and cloud cover via the Icelandic Met Office) and either takes you out from Reykjavik or from your South Coast hotel when the numbers align. Remote locations away from town lights give the strongest views — Vik and the South Coast often have the best displays. Summer travelers (late May through early August) don’t see the Northern Lights because the sun doesn’t fully set — but midnight-sun summer has its own character and is the peak season for most travelers.
Moderate. Day 3 (Golden Circle) is approximately 143 miles round-trip from Reykjavik, Day 4 (South Coast to Vik) is around 112 miles one-way with several waterfall stops along the way, Day 5 (Vik to Jokulsarlon and back) is around 236 miles round-trip which is the longest driving day, and Day 6 (Snaefellsnes) is around 230 miles round-trip. Your private driver-guide handles all of it; the car is comfortable and the scenery between stops is itself part of the experience. Most driving is on paved Route 1 (the Ring Road) with good road conditions year-round. Your specialist can adjust the pacing — some travelers prefer Vik overnight instead of the long glacier-lagoon day-trip format.
Icelanders have a saying: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Regardless of season, the essentials are waterproof outer shell and pants, warm mid-layer (fleece or wool), thermal base layers, warm hat and gloves, and proper waterproof hiking boots with grip (the lava trails and waterfall mist areas are slippery). Summer travelers can skip the heaviest winter layers; winter travelers add insulated ski-jacket-weight outer gear, thicker gloves, and crampons (often provided at ice sites). A swimsuit is essential year-round — the Blue Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, and hotel geothermal pools are all part of the trip. Your specialist sends a specific packing list with the final itinerary, tailored to your travel dates.
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“From beginning to end, Taryn planned our literal dream vacation to Iceland EXCELLENTLY. I literally sent her pictures of what I would like to see and she went above and beyond accommodating 7 of us in my group. The app was seamless and even the buses we were transported in were top notch.”
Sydney T. · Iceland Custom Tour · Verified Google Review
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