Visit Reykjanes

Important information for travellers looking into hiking to the eruption site.

It’s a long standing joke amongst Icelanders that if you don’t like the weather, you should just wait five minutes and you’ll be served up something different. The country’s location in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean means that conditions are changeable, to put it mildly. That doesn’t have to impact your itinerary, so long as you’re prepared to be a little flexible, but it can cause headaches for first-time visitors as they struggle to decide what to pack for their trip. Though it’s tempting to throw everything in, lugging all that gear around with you won’t be fun, even if you sling it in the boot of a rental car. But how do you know what to chuck in and what to leave out without regretting those decisions once you get there?

When the Fagradalsfjall eruption kicked off in March 2021, it captured the world’s attention. This little known volcano had slumbered on the Reykjanes Peninsula for centuries before waking up in dramatic style. For six months, and again briefly in 2022, magma rose to form restless lakes of lava which churned and overflowed. Fountains of molten rock exploded into the air and red hot rivers snaked down its flanks, altering the landscape for good. Visitors hurried to take a closer look, hiking up the valley ridge and flying over the scene in helicopters and small planes. But Fagradalsfjall is not the only volcano in the region. On the Reykjanes Peninsula, there are a handful of volcanic systems, some more lively than others. A volcanic system is defined as a group of volcanoes that share the same magma chamber, in other words are fed from the same build up of magma below the surface. Elsewhere in Iceland, many volcanic systems take their name from a central volcano – as with Hekla or Katla. In the Reykjanes Peninsula, these systems don’t have as clear a focus so their name refers to a wider geothermal area. Here’s everything you need to know about the Reykjanes Peninsula volcanoes.

The best kinds of trips are those where you get to know a destination by interacting with its residents and doing things you wouldn’t do usually at home. Of course, once you arrive at the airport, all you need is two feet and a sense of adventure: hikers will be delighted at the extraordinary sight of nearby Fagradalsfjall volcano even though the eruption’s currently on pause and the lava’s subsided. But although there’s plenty to see in this part of Iceland, there’s a lot to be said for basing your itinerary around pastimes that are much more active. The good news is that you don’t have to venture far from Keflavik Airport to find some fun things to do. Before you hit the road for Reykjavik and beyond, here are five things to do near Keflavik Airport.