12-Days Grand Tour of Iceland Tour from Reykjavík

This tour hit the highlights of the glorious geography and culture of Iceland. Our tour guide Martina provided extensive information on the culture and development of Iceland, as well as the current society. She showed us things we certainly couldn't have seen on our own and shared things we couldn't have known short of actually living there. She let us see the magic of Iceland. Accommodations, food, and the bus were all excellent. The schedule was fast paced with new views of beauty every day. Additionally, Martina was a great driver, was personable and professional, and instructive and caring. Never had a better tour guide or a better tour.

This company has been in business for 85 years, well before the trendy travelers arrived, and their expertise shows! We visited the usual highlights, but got to see SO MUCH MORE! I loved visiting out-of-the-way sites and seeing all the parts of Iceland, not just one little corner. We were especially lucky because we had only seven travelers in our group, but even a full group would be small. The van was comfortable, especially because we had extra seats for our daytime gear. Our guide/driver was Jonas, and he was so well informed and always so cheerful--just a great guide! If you are a photographer who loves waterfalls and scenery, take extra memory for your camera! The accommodations and meals were perfect to my mind--not too fancy, but with a local feel. The same is true for the meals. We ate in various kinds of restaurants, and that was just an added experience of local culture and food. The hotel in Reykjavik is nothing special, but it's close to the main bus stop so it's easy to get around, and you aren't in the city that long. We did stay an extra day in Reykjavik at the end of the trip, and I recommend that. After traveling around Iceland, it's easier to pick out what you want to do in the city. For example, we didn't go to the main museum because we had learned so much about the country on the trip, but we did go to see the remains of the first buildings there. Also we tried licorice ice cream and ate local foods that we hadn't tried yet. We felt like that extra day gave us a chance to wander around and get one last feeling for life in Iceland.

This tour was truly magnificent, all we had expected and more. My wife and I traveled with two grandchildren (ages 14 and 16) and two long-time friends, along with five others for a total of 11 in our group. Our guide, Thor Ostensen, was outstanding -- very knowledgeable, attentive to the diverse needs of the group, and often taking us to special places off the stated itinerary, and with a great sense of humor. For the grandkids especially this was an amazing experience that they will treasure for years. My wife and I have been to many places around the world but this trip was truly special, and we have no doubt we made the right choice in selecting a tour of Iceland. We are still trying to absorb all that we saw and did on this trip. The fact that we were fortunate to have almost perfect weather was an added bonus.