When my colleague, Nfocus editor-in-chief Janet Kurtz, asked me to write about my recent “gentlemen’s trip to Iceland,” my first thought was, “That is an extremely generous application of the term ‘gentlemen.’”
In late May, a few weeks ahead of his wedding, a good friend took his bachelor party international, inviting several pals and close family members for a roughly weeklong excursion to Iceland. And by “several,” I mean there were 22 of us — 22 men, many of whom have been friends since we were teenagers, and are inclined to let our more reckless and juvenile sensibilities run wild when in each other’s company. Traveling to the “land of fire and ice” just weeks after the Nashville International Airport introduced direct flights there, I was concerned we’d make bad ambassadors — embarrassing ourselves at best, or causing some sort of international incident at worst. “We should probably all memorize the number of the American embassy,” I thought.
Ultimately, there were no incidents. None serious enough to contact the embassy over, anyway. We still slipped into our antics here and there — drinking too much gin and hiding cured meat in each other’s luggage — but Iceland’s sights are humbling. From the inhospitable, alien landscape that flanks long stretches of the island nation’s Ring Road to waterfalls like the thundering 200-foot Skógafoss, we filled our days with awe-inspiring scenes.
Snorkeling in the Rift
The first surreal moment came just a few hours after we debarked at Keflavík International Airport. Our first group activity was snorkeling in the Silfra fissure — the glacier-water-filled gap between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Crammed into dry suits and goggles, our faces numbed by the frigid water, we floated face-down through the electric-blue underwater landscape of the fissure, watching undisturbed seabed pass beneath us.
“This time yesterday I was filling out a spreadsheet,” I remember thinking to myself, the sound of icy freshwater gurgling in my ears. Some of us did better than others with the claustrophobia of it all, but our guides at Arctic Adventures managed to keep us from drifting into the rift-valley lake Þingvallavatn — a fate that would’ve required a helicopter rescue, one guide told us.
Hot Spring Home Base
For most of our trip, we lodged at Hvammsvik Nature Resort, whose natural hot springs are a popular tourist destination. The property features a number of rentable lodges — some of them farmhouses built many decades ago and recently renovated — as well as Stormur Bistro, which boasts the best food in the area. (OK, it’s the only option for miles, but it’s got a delicious and savory seafood soup, plenty of wine and beer options, and a swim-up bar adjacent to one of the area’s geothermal pools.)
The property is situated on a small peninsula that juts out into the Hvalfjörður fjord, a narrow channel fed by the Atlantic that offered us occasional glimpses of marine wildlife. I spotted one curious seal, and while my attempts at fishing were fruitless, the groom’s dad managed to catch something.
Black Sand And Beached Icebergs
Our bachelor-in-chief offered us the option of bowing out of the long road trip required to reach Diamond Beach, a black-sand beach roughly 4.5 hours from the capital city of Reykjavík. But everyone in our caravan — composed of a half-dozen vehicles — was game for the coastal trek along the Ring Road, which offered us countless stunning vistas. More than once, I murmured “every view is a knockout” to my car mates, who agreed to let me hop out and photograph a family of sheep. Icelandic sheep are thought to have been introduced to the island more than a thousand years ago. The locals didn’t share my glee. It’s the only time we were honked at.
Diamond Beach, whose name is technically Eystri-Fellsfjara, was worth the drive. In a land full of sites that look like the sets of Ridley Scott films, this was the most cinematic. (Scott did film a portion of 2012’s Prometheus in Iceland, but I’ll fight the urge to digress into that topic.)
Diamond Beach is so nicknamed for the glistening chunks of iceberg strewn along its jet-black shore. It’s a stunning sight — one that jolted us from the bleary-eyed state we’d found ourselves in after a long drive made while jet-lagged and about 75% hungover. Adjacent to Diamond Beach, on the inland side of the Ring Road, Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón) is dotted with sapphire-hued icebergs and offers some of the best photo opps in the entire nation. Boat tours are available.
More to Explore
Other highlights included a day trip to the island of Heimaey — the largest of the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). Traveling there by ferry, we passed the tiny island of Elliðaey, which features a photogenic hunting lodge that is not actually Björk’s home — no matter what the internet tells you. Heimaey offers gorgeous hikes, views of puffins (and more sheep) and a handful of tourist-friendly pubs and restaurants.
For the definition of quaint, visit the seaside town Vik. For the most nightlife Iceland has to offer, spend time in Reykjavík. Though half the nation’s population is concentrated in the capital, the total Icelandic population is roughly half of Nashville’s — about 398,000 people. Reykjavík offers many opportunities to take a spa day. You can also try one of the nation’s famous hot dogs, or even experience a rite of passage for travelers: having a bite of fermented shark and tossing back a shot of brennevín, which requires bravery.
And be kind to your flight crew on the trip home. You never know how many 22-member bachelor parties they’ve had to endure recently.