From the world’s only live lava show to a lagoon featuring an infinity-style geothermal pool, Reykjavik has attractions that are red-hot.
Like Macau, Monaco and the Maldives, Iceland is a country with more tourists than inhabitants, with a population of just over 375,000 and nearly 1.7 million visitors to the Land of Fire and Ice in 2022. Thanks to downtown rents dropping during the pandemic, there’s a real sense of revitalisation in the country’s capital, Reykjavik, with new cafes and galleries springing up.
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However, there’s now more of a price to pay for experiencing its famous geysers, waterfalls and national parks, with tourist taxes set to be implemented in 2024 to ensure local communities benefit from the tourist traffic and that the country can meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2040.
I’m a little nervous about travelling to a Nordic country in mid-September – when I went to Norway in 2019, it was snowing by early October – but such worries are quickly put to bed when I board the comfortable FlyBus coach from Keflavik, the capital’s airport (a taxi could have set me back up to ISK20,000/US$143 for the 45-minute drive and Iceland doesn’t have a railway system).
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I unzip my coat and stick on some sunnies as I take in the trademark Swiss chalet-style houses with pitched roofs painted red, yellow, green and blue that more resemble a cityscape my seven year old might build from Lego rather than the modern-day metropolis that Reykjavik has become.
My first stop is the Reykjavik EDITION, Marriott’s top-end, design-conscious offering that opened here last spring, its ebony façade of shou sugi ban timber competing for attention with the nearby Harpa Concert Hall, which features a distinctive multicoloured glass facade designed by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. With a faux fur rug on the floor and a fluffy pelt thrown casually on the back of the chair, the Harbour King room is the epitome of upscale cosy chic, and from the sun-dappled window I spy everything from cruise liners and whale watching vessels to the zippy little coastguard boats.
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Heading Harbourside
In such a tightly-packed city as Reykjavik, you’ll end up by the harbour at some point, and a mooch around Grandi, the hip, happening area around the harbourside that’s home to cafes, restaurants and boutique stores as well as kiosks where you can book whale watching and aurora experiences, is mandatory. I get a window seat at cosy cafe Röst for a toasted cheese sandwich and hot chocolate and gaze out at the colourful boats around Faxaflói Bay and flat-topped mountain Esja, one of Iceland’s most popular destinations for hiking.
In a country where lava runs deep, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Iceland is home to the only live lava shows in the world – there’s one in Reykjavik and another in Vik – which recreate a volcanic eruption by superheating real lava up to 1,100°C, where it emerges, down a small slide, into a dark auditorium filled with awestruck spectators. The attraction features a premium experience including a drink, lounge access and a backstage tour to the furnace room where they make the lava, has already proved an explosive hit with visitors, with premium guests also receiving a gift-wrapped piece of lava from previous shows.
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When I ask her why people should visit, cofounder Ragnhildur Ágústsdóttir says simply, “You can get up close to real molten lava without the dangers associated with visiting an active volcano.”
Pre-show, I meet one of the lava show presenters, Scot Ian Nye, a former geography teacher who moved to Reykjavik after falling in love with a local. He pours me a Viking, the most ubiquitous Icelandic lager, then ushers me upstairs to the premium lounge’s balcony to watch the flow from on high; like everyone else, I’m wearing goggles and can hear the crackle and feel the intense heat of the lava. Nye takes the floor, poking at the glowing mass with a long metal rod, and picking up strands of it, explaining that thin glass fibres produced from cooled lava are known as Pele’s hair. As he adds ice to the mix, the lava bubbles blacken and harden into bauble-like shapes after much sizzle and steam.
Flying in 5D
Another new-ish attraction – it opened late 2019 just before the pandemic and is now regarded as one of Reykjavik’s must-dos – FlyOver Iceland takes visitors on a 5D tour of the country. I strap into my suspended chairlift-style seat in front of a 20-metre spherical screen before soaring over waterfalls, glaciers, and canyons (no volcanoes or aurora, alas), as wind, mist and scents are blasted at me to create the illusion that I’m actually flying over the landscape. It’s not only a great rainy-day activity but also a grand way for older travellers, or those with mobility issues, to get acquainted with the country, armchair-style. FlyOver’s a big hit with kids, too.
The next day, I head to another relatively new Reykjavik attraction (it opened in 2021), Sky Lagoon, to immerse myself in Iceland’s celebrated geothermal waters. It’s great weather for soaking in warm water al fresco, with bright sunshine and a temperature of around 15 degrees. I step out into the geothermal infinity pool somewhat conspicuous as a solo traveller – loved-up couples and large groups abound – and glide over to the swim-up bar for a glass of sparkling wine, which sets me back around US$13.
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Bathed in the balmy, buttery light, it’s easy to snap some great shots, and even though everyone’s primping for the ultimate selfie, I’m able to find a lava rock to sit on and enjoy my glass of fizz. While you can come just for the lagoon, I’m here to do the Seven-Step Ritual – first the infinity pool, then a freezing dip in the plunge pool that makes my head go numb before heading into a traditional turfhouse for a sauna with the most enormous window looking out onto the Atlantic, the sunlight streaming in as tiny jets of water are released and hiss over the stones.
All saunas should be like this, I reflect, before stepping into the mist shower, then the steam room before a sesame scrub and a standard shower, from which I emerge invigorated, skin soft. As I exclaim over the weather before exiting this blissed-out place, a young staff member confides, “We only get about 10 days like this a year in Iceland, so you’re in luck.”
Going Golden Circle
Iceland’s much-vaunted Golden Circle tour is undeniably touristy, but if you missed it out, it would be like skipping the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or the Taj Mahal in Agra. It takes in three of Iceland’s most popular attractions: the Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park and is an easy day trip from Reykjavik.
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Icelandic geysers might not be as impressive as those you’ll find in the US – Yellowstone’s Old Faithful and Steamboat reach heights of up to 55m and 90m respectively while Iceland’s most active, Strokkur, usually blasts a much more modest 15- 20m. When the stream of hot water erupts from the sulphuric ground every three to four minutes, the circle of spectators either sigh with disappointment or let out heady whoops and wows depending on how impressive it’s deemed.
Like Geysir, Gulfoss, which is located in a canyon in the Hvítá River, is heaving with tourists, but I’m impressed by its sheer power and the noise of the falls; drops splatter my sunglasses as I get closer as the water plummets down 32 metres in two stages. As we pull up to Thingvellir National Park, which lies in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid- Atlantic ridge, our tour guide Nina informs us that this is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet (and are gradually moving away from one another).
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After the hordes of camera phones around Strokkur and Gulfoss, it’s with some relief that I can have some space to myself again to take in the lava fields of Thingvellir, which is torn apart by tectonic forces to leave dramatic gorges and fissures, concrete evidence of continental drift
Solo Saunas
After the 250km Golden Circle round trip, I can’t wait to check back into my City Suite at Ion City Hotel in Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s main commercial artery and a vivid hub of restaurants, cafes, outdoor equipment stores and Viking-themed gift shops. I appreciate that the lift opens straight out onto my hotel room door, which feels reassuringly private, and the stellar views out to the city’s iconic landmark, Hallgrímmskyrja church, from the French balcony.
Completed in 1937, the church is a cool example of Gothic Revivalist architecture, with the sloping sides of the concrete structure echoing the basalt lava flows of Iceland’s natural landscape. The suite comes with its own private sauna, and I savour a solo steam after a day fighting my way through tourist throngs.
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Hungry for some family-friendly Reykjavik tips (I’m keen to bring my kids here next year), I strike up a conversation with Bartosz Kaminski on the hotel reception, a laid-back Pole who’s been living in Reykjavik for more than 10 years. He suggests Perlan, a nature museum with its own ice cave made from more than 350 tons of Icelandic snow – it’s the only indoor ice cave in the world – and FlyOver Iceland.
“My kids have been on it three times now,” he grins. Working in tourism, Kaminiski is used to travellers, but what about when he’s off duty? How does he cope with living in a place where he’s outnumbered by tourists? “You get used to it,” he shrugs, with a smile. “And anyway, we are a small nation of less than 400,000, so we have space for some visitors.”
