One of Iceland’s strong points as a destination is the incredible diversity of the landscape. The Diamond Circle is an excellent example of this diversity. The tour covers a large area in North Iceland and it takes you from the arctic coastline up to the highlands. It runs through green valleys, beautiful lava fields, black sands, luscious lake area, fishing villages and astonishing waterfalls. The tour is about 11 hours long so it is nice to bring extra clothes (the weather is always changing here in Iceland) and some snacks but there are of course some stops on the way where you can buy drinks and food.
Atlantic Coastline and Icelandic Highlands in a day. The tour starts from Akureyri and our first stop is at the beautiful Goðafoss, Waterfall of the Gods. Next is the scenic drive through the Lake Myvatn area with some photo stops and a short stop at a supermarket to buy some snacks to take with us up to the highlands. During lunchtime we are far from civilization so it is nice to bring a lunch pack in the morning or buy food at the grocery store at Lake Myvatn.
From the lake we drive up to the highlands and visit the most powerful waterfall in Europe, Dettifoss. This tour could be called “The Beauty and the Beast”. The beautiful Goðafoss and then the beast we call Dettifoss. The power and the noise leaves no one untouched, the grey barren surroundings and the thundering glacier river is breathtaking.
From Dettifoss we drive to the Echo Cliffs, Hljóðaklettar. There we go for a walk admiring the lava rock formations and basalt columns sculptured by fire and ice through the ages. The contrast between Dettifoss and the Echo rocks after just driving a short distance is amazing, from the barren highlands landscape to the luscious surroundings of the rock formations. In Hljóðaklettar it is ideal to have a nice picnic.
Now we drive down to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and visit Ásbyrgi Canyon a famous landmark and a very popular destination for travellers. A huge canyon carved out by massive flash floods caused by eruptions in Vatnajökull, Iceland’s biggest glacier.
As we drive along the coastline to the fishing village Húsavík we will do our best to spot some puffins. The puffins can be seen in the sea cliffs nesting from May to early August so there is a good chance that we will see these odd looking birds on the tour.
When we get to Húsavík it is time for some relaxation. We recommend a visit to the newly opened GeoSea geothermal sea baths. If that is not your thing just spend some time walking around Húsavík, have coffee, visit museums. We recommend the Whale Museum, it is both very interesting and educational, and also quite inexpensive. From Húsavík we have just under one hour relaxing and scenic drive to Akureyri.
If this short overview of the Diamond Circle Classic tour interests you then join a tour! We guarantee a small group tour which offers personal service, flexibility and many interesting stops and walks with a local experienced guide. You can check availability and book a tour here.