Tour Itinerary
Highlights:
• Sandgerði
• Coast line of Reykjanes Peninsula
• Hvalneskirkja church
• Lava fields
• Bridge between two continents
• Lighthouse
• Gunnuhver hot spring
• The Blue Lagoon
• Krýsuvík geothermal area
• Kleifarvatn lake
• Lunar landscape
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Tour Description:
You will visit the geothermal wonders and highlights of the Reykjanes Peninsula on this special tour which is a combination of AH19 Reykjanes Peninsula and AH16 Krýsuvík geothermal area & Kleifarvatn lake.
AH19 Reykjanes Peninsula tour description:
The Reykjanes Peninsula tour offers extreme variety of landscapes dotted with fissures, lava fields and geothermal activity. We depart from Reykjavík heading towards the community of Sandgerði, one of the country's major fishing points. The tour continues along the coast line through Miðnesheiði moor which rises up from the lowland. We will stop at the stone built church of Hvalneskirkja from the year 1887.
The journey proceeds through lava fields onwards to Sandvík where two of the earth's tectonic plate split. At Sandvík you will get the opportunity to walk over a symbolic footbridge which crosses a fissure which provides clear evidence of the rift between the European and the North American tectonic plates.
We head towards the coast for the lighthouse of Reykjanesviti, one of the oldest lighthouses in Iceland. Weather permitting you can glimpse at the island of Eldey, which rises from ocean, and witnes the foamy waves beating up on the dark rocks. Close by is the country's largest mud pool, Gunnuhver, which will be our next stop. According to a legend a great ghost nicknamed Gunna caused great disturbance in the area until a priest set a trap for her and she fell into the 300°C hot spring. The area offers unique colours which will not disappoint the photographer.
Break at the Blue Lagoon with time to enjoy the Blue Lagoon:
Tour AH19 ends at the Blue Lagoon where you have time from 11:30 to 14:00 to enjoy the Blue Lagoon. Please be aware that tour AH16 leaves the Blue Lagoon parking lot at 14:00, so please make sure you are at the parking lot on time.
AH16 Krýsuvík Geothermal Area & Kleifarvatn Lake tour description:
We leave the Blue Lagoon parking lot at 14:00 and drive to Grindavík fishing village where we will make a short stop down by the harbour. From Grindavík the journey continues along the coastline and onwards through the lava fields. Our next stop will be at Krýsuvík geothermal area where you can take a walk between the boiling mud pools and smelly solfatares.
The tour proceeds to the largest lake on the Reykjanes peninsula, Kleifarvatn. The lake is situated on the fissure zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is one of the deepest lakes of the country, 97 meters. In the year 2000 the water level shrunk dramatically after an earthquake. Today the lake level has recovered but south shore of the lake you can still see steam rising up from the border of the lake from numerous hot springs which were revealed after the earthquake period. We will stop at a viewpoint close by the lake before heading back to Reykjavík.
