Trip Report: The Best of Iceland - September 2025

Iceland, known as “The Land of Fire and Ice” is called as such because of the large amount of volcanoes and glaciers that can be found throughout the country (not because of its association with the TV show ‘Game of Thrones’).  But our BCJ journey on this small island with a population of only 390,000 people began in Reykjavík.  However, we didn’t stay there for long because BCJ’s ‘Best of Iceland’ is more than just a photography voyage, it’s also a road trip!  Our first night after a fabulous dinner and introductions to each other as well as getting to know our Icelandic guide, Siggy – who would be driving us all around this magical island, we went to bed early knowing we had an early start and a big day ahead of us in the morning.

Our first day started as we made a quick stop outside of Reykjavik at Thingvellir National Park and then continued Southeast towards more waterfalls such as: Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui. Before stopping for the night at the Southern most tip of the Island near Dyrholaos Lake. But the real excitemeant awaited us that night as we were constantly checking the forecast for solar activity and a chance to see the Northern Lights!  For most of our guests this was not only their first time seeing the Aurora Borealis, but it was also their first time trying to photograph them.  However, while the solar winds and magnetic disturbance levels were looking high (KP Index), the cloud coverage in the sky was also significantly obstructive.  Thick clouds block the view of the lights from the ground, so we needed to find a gap in the cloud coverage.  Luckily for us, Siggy knew just where to take us, and we were able to catch a short window of brightly colored skies with still some clouds for a bit of compositional accent.

After a late, but exciting, night we woke up the following morning and continued east on our journey to explore Iceland.  After seeing some sea stacks at Reynisfjara beach we came upon a Mossy Lava fields in Eldhraun and a group of Ptarmigans.  Everyone was excited not only to see such a natural marvel as 240 year old lava fields, but also to see the wildlife that calls it home.   

After the lava fields, we continued east and came upon a beautiful river called Fossalar, where I was able to get one of my personal favorite photos from the entire trip.  Iceland is a perfect place to play with long exposure photography as you have beautiful landscapes and a lot of moving water!  Using a variable ND filter, I was able to bring my camera exposure down 9 stops to capture this 30 second exposure during the middle of the (albeit rainy) day.   

Our third day was also our first introduction to the wonderful glaciers of Iceland and the icebergs that they produce.  We spent a couple of days exploring glaciers such as the famous Jokulsarlon and the associated lagoon; as well as the nearby “Diamond Beach” where icebergs head towards the sea and break apart as they hit the warmer ocean water creating smaller pieces of ice all over the sand and along the shore.  The clear and small ice pieces from a distance make the beach look like it's covered in diamonds. 

  As we continued heading Northeast in search of more glaciers and waterfalls, we made sure to also stop for the other beauties that Iceland has to offer like the AMAZING horses!  Icelandic horses are famous for their friendly personalities and their pure breeding.  It’s strictly forbidden to bring any other horse breed to the island that could endanger their genetics.  Every time we saw a group of horses in a photogenic area, we would stop for photos as well as some very eager pets.   

Each stop also lent us a chance to look down and marvel at the tiny beauty just next to our feet.  Iceland doesn’t have much forest or trees at all, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t full of life.  Every time we paused long enough to look down, we often found beautiful mushrooms along with tiny creatures like this adorable little slug. 

Days 5,6, and 7and 8 we continued our journey to Circumnavigate the entire island (by land) stopping along the way to enjoy more beautiful waterfalls, geothermal sites, and even rainbows as well as taking advantage of opportunistic wildlife sightings like this encounter with an arctic fox and the frequent fulmar sightings along the edges if cliffs. 

Our final days were spent heading towards the oldest church in Iceland, Grafarkirkja and one of the most famous waterfalls in all of Iceland, Godafoss – which literally means “waterfall of the gods” and it did not disappoint!  We were graced with a rainbow that finished right in the middle of the waterfall pool creating a stunning image as we wrapped up our trip exploring the best of Iceland.