Snaefellsnes
"Every Icelandic landscape compressed into one peninsula and capped with a volcano from a Jules Verne novel."
Snaefellsnes is called Iceland in miniature because the peninsula contains nearly every landscape the island offers — glacier, volcano, lava fields, sea cliffs, black and golden beaches, fishing villages, and mountain passes — compressed into a drive of a few hours. At its western tip, the Snaefellsjokull glacier-volcano rises in a perfect cone, the same volcano Jules Verne chose as the entrance to the centre of the Earth. On clear days it is visible from Reykjavik, pulling your gaze west.
The black church at Budir stands alone in a lava field, one of Iceland’s most photographed buildings. Arnarstapi’s basalt coastline is carved into arches and columns by the sea. Kirkjufell mountain near Grundarfjordur, with its distinctive peak and companion waterfall, is the most photographed mountain in Iceland. The fishing village of Stykkisholmur, with its colourful harbour and ferry to the Westfjords, is the perfect base for exploring the peninsula.
When to go: Year-round — the peninsula is accessible in all seasons via paved roads. Summer for midnight sun and the fullest services. Winter for northern lights and dramatic storms over Snaefellsjokull. The Vatnshellir lava cave tour runs most of the year. Spring brings migrating birds to the cliffs.