Nevada has set its sights on a different kind of tourism. Rather than tout the famous casinos of Las Vegas, the state’s tourism division, Travel Nevada, is pushing rural tourism and the natural beauty of the state.
01.04.2024 - 00:17 / lonelyplanet.com
The Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon, Glacier Lagoon… sure, Iceland's big hitters are absolutely worth the visit but can also become quite crowded.
Why not include something different in your itinerary, something that might surprise and delight? Here are some of Iceland's great off-the-radar experiences – many of which are summer-only activities – that will help you understand the people, culture and history of your host nation a little better.
In a Reykjavík suburb, you can visit an ancient turf farm. Árbær, the farm after which the suburb Árbær is named, is mentioned in sources dating as far back as 1464 but archaeological analysis has shown that people have lived there since the 10th or 11th centuries. Árbær Open Air Museum comprises a cluster of old houses in addition to the turf farm, and in summer and at special occasions visitors can participate in old-fashioned farm work, such as haymaking.
Planning tip: If it fits your schedule better, other turf farms welcome visitors in the summer: Glaumbær, Laufás and Grenjaðarstaður in North Iceland, Bustarfell in East Iceland and Skógar museum in South Iceland.
These are the 12 best places to visit in Iceland
Iceland is bubbling with geothermal energy, so better put it to good use! At the Geothermal Park in Hveragerði, about a 30-minute drive from Reykjavík, you can boil an egg in a hot spring, try delicious hot spring bread and cover your hands and feet in healing mud. Combine your visit with a walk along the warm river in Reykjadalur valley and soak in a natural hot spring. It's a fairly easy route best done in the summer season. During rain and the spring thaw, the path can be too muddy, and when the valley is covered in snow, there's the added risk that you might accidentally step into hot springs and get burnt.
Planning tip: Up for the adrenaline kick of a lifetime? Soar down to Hveragerði, superman style, on Iceland’s longest zipline.
If you like to run, why not test your running skills in the wild Icelandic nature? Trail races are picking up speed in Iceland. Many come for Laugavegur Ultra, a 55km-race (35 miles) in the highlands from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk. But there are myriad possibilities, including the Mývatn Marathon, with the full-distance marathon and a 9.4km (5.8-mile) Lava Run. Check the online list of races and pick one that's right for your level of challenge. Of course, you don’t have to participate in a race – just lace up your trainers, tap into the power of nature all around you as you jog through a forest, up a mountain or along the seaside.
Local tip: Want to go sightseeing while running in Reykjavík? Check out these two routes by Running in Iceland, which take you past some of the capital’s main landmarks.
A visit to Iceland is not
Nevada has set its sights on a different kind of tourism. Rather than tout the famous casinos of Las Vegas, the state’s tourism division, Travel Nevada, is pushing rural tourism and the natural beauty of the state.
Kazakhstan and Iceland have emerged as favored destinations among Chinese tourists, while Thailand continues to struggle with perceptions of safety, according to Dragon Trail International’s latest Chinese consumer sentiment research.
Mainland Europe’s first total solar eclipse since 1999 is just 850 days away. Where will you be? As excitement dies down from the “Great American Eclipse,” eclipse chasers are turning their attention to Wednesday, August 12, 2026, when a 183-190-mile-wide moon shadow moves across remote Siberia, Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
The totality of an eclipse is never long enough. My first total solar eclipse experience in 2017 made for the shortest two minutes of my life: the sun transforming into a blazing diamond ring, the beautiful delirium of darkness, that perfect circle in the sky. Before I knew it, the eclipse was over—and my friends and I were plotting how we could catch our next.
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Even as Dutch entrepreneur Alex Mulder found success as part of a diversified investment firm, he always kept the idea of giving back. And so, when he and his colleagues at the parent company of the hospitality upstart Pillows Hotels saw that a historic property in his childhood neighborhood on the east side of Amsterdam was for sale—one with a hotel permit already attached to it—he went for the opportunity.
For many travelers, what the Eiffel Tower is to France or the pyramids are to Egypt, the Blue Lagoon is to Iceland.
Narrowing down the best things to do in Iceland isn't a simple task. Whether you've come for adventure or leisure (or both), this Nordic island has enough to fuel a lifetime of vacations—one of the many reasons I've visited the Land of Fire and Ice a dozen times over the last decade.
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