Iceland

A rift valley where the continental plates separate, a hot spring that erupts, and a two-tier waterfall, all in one day. The most common day trip out of Reykjavík.

Geothermal water from a power station, coloured by silica. Entry is by timed slot, and being close to the airport, many people fit it around arrival or departure.

Ice calved from the glacier drifts across the lagoon to the sea, and some of it washes back onto the black sand. Five hours from Reykjavík by road, so allow more than a day.

Visible on clear dark nights between September and April, and you only need to get slightly out of town. It depends on the weather, so allow several nights.

One has a path running behind the curtain of water; the other has steps up to a view from the top. Both sit directly off Route 1.

The Harpa concert hall and the tower of Hallgrímskirkja are the landmarks, and the city is small enough to walk. Swimming pool culture runs deep — every neighbourhood has heated outdoor pools.

Where an open-air assembly was held from the year 930, and where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart. You can dive in the water between them.

Pushed up by an undersea eruption in 1963 and closed to visitors so scientists can watch how life arrives and settles. Seen only from a boat or a plane.

Active volcanoes sit under the largest glacier in Europe, so an eruption melts ice and floods the plain. Ice cave tours only run safely in winter.

Most of the population lives in the capital area, so everywhere else is village-sized. The airport is at Keflavík, forty-five minutes away.

Waterfalls and basalt column beaches line the road down to Vík. Sneaker waves sweep people off these beaches — do not stand near the water.

Glacier, volcano and sea cliffs packed into a short stretch, so a day gives you a version of the whole island. Kirkjufell is the mountain from the photographs.

The base for whale watching and the geothermal country around Lake Mývatn. Reached by domestic flight or Route 1.

Rough roads and almost nobody about, so few visitors get there. Practical only in summer, and only with time to spare.

Coloured rhyolite mountains and hot spring valleys. Four-wheel drive only, and the roads open for a few summer months.

Near-permanent daylight gives you long driving days, and the highland roads open. The most expensive season, and rooms go early.

The aurora returns while the roads are still good. Fewer people and lower prices.

The season for aurora and ice caves, but with only four or five hours of daylight. Storms close roads regularly.

Lengthening days while prices are still low. The puffins start coming back.

Iceland is not in the European Union but is inside the Schengen area. Up to ninety days in any one hundred and eighty across the whole area.

Cards work virtually everywhere and cash is rarely needed. Prices are very high, so mixing supermarkets and petrol station food helps.

Wind and rain change fast, and roads close in winter. Checking the forecast and the road conditions together before setting out is routine here.

Taking an ordinary hire car onto an unsurfaced F road voids the insurance. Wind ripping car doors off their hinges is common enough to have its own cover.

The cold tap is glacier water and needs nothing done to it. The sulphur smell in the hot tap is the geothermal supply and is normal.

Reaches police, ambulance and rescue, with good English. On remote routes there is a service for registering your travel plan in advance.