Getting around the crowds in Iceland
If “overtourism” has become a red flag for the global travel industry, Iceland is a prime example.
Visitor numbers have grown an average 32% annually since 2012. The country gets seven visitors for every local, with travel now contributing more than 10% to gross domestic product, making it the largest economic sector.
Some Icelandic sites are at risk of closing, or have closed, such as Fjadrargljufur canyon — featured in a Justin Bieber music video — because of too much pedestrian traffic.
“People feel that all of Iceland is crowded … but that’s like saying a rock concert is fully booked when there are 50 people in the front row and no one in the back,” says Runar Karlsson, head guide for Borea Adventures, one of a handful of outfitters helping to redistribute tourist traffic to the country’s less-known corners.
So if you don’t also want to fall into what Karlsson characterizes as influencer-inspired Instagram bucket lists (Beiber, again) and the lopsided marketing of a handful of key sites, here’s how to do Iceland right.
Focus on locals: “Four years ago, Instagram had 800,000 photos with the Iceland hashtag,” says Gunnar Gunnarsson, a professional photographer who focuses on Iceland’s frigid landscapes. “Today that number is over 12 million.”
He says it’s the result of cash-poor operators and freebie-seeking influencers creating an arbitrary, sometimes destructive echo chamber of “Instafamous” and “must-visit” sites. All this overlooks Iceland’s delightfully quirky culture.
The people can be just as memorable as those
ethereal fjords. For example, Herdis Fridriksdottir’s family-run business, Understand Iceland, is making a name for itself by setting up culturally immersive adventures, such as dying wool and knitting with village women.
Support small businesses: Even though most white-glove travel agencies use the same inbound operators to source their “exclusive” experiences, small Icelandic tourism outfits are of surprisingly high quality and easy to reach online. The only catch is that they’re often buried under a few pages of Google search results.
Take Midgard Adventure, a mountaineering company based in the unassuming southern township of Hvolsvollur. Book its Super Jeep tour of the Icelandic outback’s hidden gorges and glaciers, and you may well end up at
your guide’s house for lamb stew.
Additionally, both Local Guide and From Coast to Mountain deliver on their names, focusing on staffers’ childhood favorite sites such as the great ice caves of Vatnajokull National Park. The Wilderness Centre tops many insiders’ lists for its unique hikes, which can culminate at one-of-akind accommodations such as traditional turf homes from the early 1800s.
Go south: Though few first-timers realize it, most flights to Iceland land in Keflavik, an hour southwest of the country’s biggest city. Reykjavik is roughly the same size as Rochester, Minn. It’s charming but skippable.
If seeing the capital is non-negotiable, cap your time there at 25% of your visit. Otherwise, head straight to the south coast, where you can stay in contemporary chalets, chic farmhouses, and small hotels.
“Most of the tourists I see spend four, five, even six hours a day driving to and from Reykjavik to walk on the glacier at Solheimajokull or visit the lagoon at Jokulsarlon,” says Icelandic expedition leader Sigurdur Bjarni Sveinsson. “It completely baffles me.”
Plus, when you’re based in the countryside, there’s no need to sign up for a northern lights tour — just look out the window.
Instead of Gullfoss, choose any other waterfall: A photo of Gullfoss, or “Gold Waterfall,” aptly positioned along the Golden Circle, is one of the snaps most tourists are compelled to tick off their bucket lists, even though more than 10,000 chutes are scattered around the country. Two worth prioritizing are the bundt cakeshaped Dynjandi in the Westfjords and Aldeyjarfoss, with its organ-pipe basalt columns; they see a fraction of Gullfoss’ tourist traffic and are just as photogenic, if not more so.
Fly farther afield: IcelandAir’s free extended layover program has been a huge contributor to the country’s tourism growth. But short stays needn’t be kept to a tight radius of the airport — particularly now that ample domestic flights have made it easy to get to the remote northeast in just 45 minutes.
Here’s the long weekend itinerary, doable either as a series of guided day trips or as a self-guided road trip.
Carve a triangle from Akureyri over to Myvatn’s bizarre collection of earthen anomalies (alien lava fields, volcanic craters, and steaming earth), then up to the adorable port village of Husavik for whale watching. If you have extra time, tack on the verdant canyons of Asbyrgi or the waterfall at DettifossEurope’s largest by volume.
Go in November: The most obvious way to avoid crowds anywhere is to travel during shoulder season. But in Iceland, even the tail end of summer has become swollen with booked-out hotels. This makes a strong case for visiting in the statistically quietest month: November.
Don’t shudder thinking about the weather. Iceland never promises sunshine — even in summer. And if you’re not going to get great weather, you might as well get a different perk: great lighting.
Says Gunnarsson of the six or so hours the sun is up: “At the end of the year, you have a constant ‘golden hour’ glow. It’s perfect for photography.”