Iceland

Iceland feels like driving through a different planet — black sand beaches, glacier tongues creeping down from the highlands, and waterfalls that appear around almost every bend of the Ring Road. The scale of the landscape is hard to overstate; distances that look short on a map can take a full day once you factor in the number of times you'll want to pull over.

The Ring Road (Route 1) is the classic way to see the country, looping the entire island and connecting most of the major sights. In summer, near-endless daylight makes it easy to pack in long driving days; in winter, the same roads open up a shot at the northern lights.

Highlights

• Drive a stretch of the Ring Road along the southeast coast near Vatnajökull
• Walk behind the curtain of water at Seljalandsfoss
• Watch icebergs drift out to sea at Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon
• Hike onto a glacier tongue with a guide in Skaftafell
• Chase the northern lights on a clear winter night away from town lights

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