Summer Nights at Ranga

On arrival at Keflavik international airport collect your rental vehicle and head off along the scenic coastal road to Hotel Ranga – your home for the next three nights.

After enjoying one of Hotel Ranga’s famous buffet breakfasts, drive north through beautiful rural countryside towards the Golden Circle – Iceland’s celebrated trio of natural wonders. Easily visited during a day’s gentle touring, the triple whammy of Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir showcases Iceland’s rugged, volcanic beauty.

At the geothermal hotspot of Geysir, you can follow paths between bubbling springs and watch the obligingly regular Strokkur shoot scalding water 30m into the air. There’s wild water at Gullfoss too. This twin-tiered waterfall is a thunderous concoction of rapids, cascades and spray, squeezed into a narrow canyon and garnished with a rainbow. Calm and serene by comparison, Thingvellir has mysterious pools of gin-clear water. The flooded Silfra fissure is actually a rift between the Eurasian and North American plates. It is also the site of Iceland’s first parliament, founded in 930.

Return to Ranga for your second night’s stay, and perhaps use the hotel’s solar telescope to study the sun in startling close-up before it sets. At this time of year, you will often be treated to long, beautiful sunsets.

After enjoying one of Hotel Ranga’s famous buffet breakfasts, drive north through beautiful rural countryside towards the Golden Circle – Iceland’s celebrated trio of natural wonders. Easily visited during a day’s gentle touring, the triple whammy of Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir showcases Iceland’s rugged, volcanic beauty.

At the geothermal hotspot of Geysir, you can follow paths between bubbling springs and watch the obligingly regular Strokkur shoot scalding water 30m into the air. There’s wild water at Gullfoss too. This twin-tiered waterfall is a thunderous concoction of rapids, cascades and spray, squeezed into a narrow canyon and garnished with a rainbow. Calm and serene by comparison, Thingvellir has mysterious pools of gin-clear water. The flooded Silfra fissure is actually a rift between the Eurasian and North American plates. It is also the site of Iceland’s first parliament, founded in 930.

Return to Ranga for your second night’s stay, and perhaps use the hotel’s solar telescope to study the sun in startling close-up before it sets. At this time of year, you will often be treated to long, beautiful sunsets.

In pictures

Another sensational drive beckons today. This time head southeast, following Iceland’s iconic Ring Road along a narrow coastal plain between black sand beaches and towering cliffs, volcanoes and icecaps. After crossing the Markarfljot river, stop to admire Seljalandsfoss – a delicate 60m-tall horsetail plume cascading from an ancient sea cliff. Walk behind the waterfall into an overhang dripping with emerald-coloured mosses. A little further on, Skogafoss catches your eye. It cascades over the edge of former sea cliffs in a 25m-wide curtain of thundering water.

Beyond Skogafoss, the road crosses wide gravel plains scratched by rivers. Look west and you might see the Westman Islands offshore. To the north, however, looms a far more overwhelming presence – Myrdalsjokull. This 600 sq km ice cap slumps over the Katla volcano, but a tongue of ice – the Solheimajokull glacier – snakes tantalizingly towards the coast. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a guided glacier walk.

How far you want to continue along the South Coast is entirely up to you. You may choose to drive to Vik where you can walk along dramatic black sand beaches towards troll-like sea stacks or even opt for a the long drive to the glacial lagoon, Jokulsarlon, and back. During mid-summer it remains light long into the night! Returning to Hotel Ranga, relax in one of the outdoor hot tubs, enjoying one of Ranga’s extraordinary sunsets, before dinner.

Another sensational drive beckons today. This time head southeast, following Iceland’s iconic Ring Road along a narrow coastal plain between black sand beaches and towering cliffs, volcanoes and icecaps. After crossing the Markarfljot river, stop to admire Seljalandsfoss – a delicate 60m-tall horsetail plume cascading from an ancient sea cliff. Walk behind the waterfall into an overhang dripping with emerald-coloured mosses. A little further on, Skogafoss catches your eye. It cascades over the edge of former sea cliffs in a 25m-wide curtain of thundering water.

Beyond Skogafoss, the road crosses wide gravel plains scratched by rivers. Look west and you might see the Westman Islands offshore. To the north, however, looms a far more overwhelming presence – Myrdalsjokull. This 600 sq km ice cap slumps over the Katla volcano, but a tongue of ice – the Solheimajokull glacier – snakes tantalizingly towards the coast. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a guided glacier walk.

How far you want to continue along the South Coast is entirely up to you. You may choose to drive to Vik where you can walk along dramatic black sand beaches towards troll-like sea stacks or even opt for a the long drive to the glacial lagoon, Jokulsarlon, and back. During mid-summer it remains light long into the night! Returning to Hotel Ranga, relax in one of the outdoor hot tubs, enjoying one of Ranga’s extraordinary sunsets, before dinner.

In pictures

Head back towards Keflavik, where you will spend the night at the Northern Light Inn. Located next to the Blue Lagoon, why not take a relaxing dip at the Blue Lagoon or enjoying some sightseeing on the Reykjanes Peninsula

This morning return your rental car and checking in for your flight home