Iceland in Winter: Waterfalls, Black Sands & Northern Lights

There's an Iceland that doesn't exist in summer: one where waterfalls dress themselves in ice, daylight lasts only a few precious hours, and when darkness falls, it fills with aurorae. This is the Iceland we invite you to discover on this journey, behind the wheel of a 4x4, with a Teekonda Tour Leader by your side from the first day to the last.

We start in Keflavík, taking our time as the whole group arrives before hitting the Ring Road east. From there, the South Coast tells its own story: Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, two waterfalls that feel plucked from another era, their outlines reshaped by ice hour by hour; and then Reynisfjara, the island's most famous black sand beach, with its basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks rising out of a stormy ocean — a place we give an entire day to, unhurried, because it deserves to be lived, not just photographed.

Then the road climbs back toward Reykjavík, the northernmost capital in the world, where we spend three nights. One day is dedicated to the Golden Circle: Þingvellir National Park, where the tectonic plates of America and Europe visibly drift apart and the Öxarárfoss waterfall tumbles into the Almannagjá canyon; the Geysir geothermal area, where Strokkur erupts again and again; a stop among the greenhouses of Friðheimar, the celebrated tomato farm that thrives even in the depths of the Icelandic winter, powered by geothermal energy; and finally Gullfoss, the "golden waterfall" that turns into a frozen amphitheatre of spray in winter. The remaining days are yours, to experience Reykjavík your own way — galleries, cafés, the silhouette of Hallgrímskirkja — and to enjoy the activity you'll have chosen at booking, just one of the two included in the package: the thrill of whale watching in Faxaflói Bay, searching for humpbacks and maybe an orca, or the warm waters of the Sky Lagoon, its infinity pool suspended over the Atlantic.

On every evening the schedule allows, we go hunting for the Northern Lights, weather permitting — because in January, when the Icelandic sky clears, it puts on one of the finest shows on the planet.

A journey built for those who aren't afraid of the cold, and who know that Iceland's most beautiful experiences are found right there: in the quiet of winter.

The tour includes: 6 nights in handpicked hotels (double rooms, breakfast included, private bathroom), rental of 3 4x4 vehicles, fuel, a Teekonda Tour Leader for the entire journey, Northern Lights hunting on available evenings (weather permitting), and — chosen at the time of booking — one activity per person between whale watching and the Sky Lagoon.