The Best Backpacking in Iceland

Since WWII, four US planes have perished above Iceland's black sands. Here is one of them, sunken into the beach in the middle of nowhere since 1973. After running out of fuel above the town of Vik, the crew mis-executed an emergency landing and felt their wheels snap upon contact with the too-so...

It is said that half of the population of Iceland believes in elves. If you spend time exploring the wilderness of Iceland, you'll begin to understand why. If elves do exist, this is where they would live.The Þórsmörk – Skógar hike, along the trail known as Fimmvörðuháls, cuts right through the k...

When I planned my road trip through Iceland, I found plenty of information and advice online for the southwestern part of the island, as well as up north in the area around Akureyri and Lake Myvatn, but there isn't a whole lot to be found about the northwestern region. Snæfellsjökull National Par...

First things first - catch one of the buses to the trailhead at Landmannalaugar. We chose to leave from a small hostel in Hella and ended up riding for just over two hours to reach our destination. If anything is going to give you a taste of what's to come, it'll be driving through the volcanic l...

Skaftafell National Park is a portion of Vatnajökull National Park and easily accessible by car by Route 1 (the Ring Road). Sjónarnípa is a viewpoint overlooking the Skaftafell glacier and surrounding mountains. To hike to Sjónarnípa, begin at the Skaftafellsstofa (visitor center) and follow the ...

Iceland is undoubtedly a land bubbling with adventure, and attracts a growing number of visitors each year seeking to explore its diverse terrain. While road-trips and “bikepacking” expeditions around the Ring Road are becoming more commonplace, many transatlantic travelers often find themselves ...

If you are on your way to Iceland to trek the incredible Laugavegur trail, and you've read about the first part of the trek in this article, then don't miss out on the last 15 miles you should be adding to the trek. This trail actually continues on to Skógar, but some backpackers choose to end at...

The route for the Laugavegur Trail technically leaves the trailhead Landmannalaugar through the Laugahraun lava field—but if you choose not to detour over Bláhnúkur, you’ll miss one of the most visually stunning parts of the entire trail. If you’re camped out at Landmannalaugar instead of trekkin...