In 2017 I had the opportunity to travel to Iceland with some colleagues. I’ll start out by saying, if you live in North America—particularly in New England—a quick overnight flight is going to land you in a place that feels like a different planet. Besides the Dunkin’ Donuts at the airport, you’re not going to feel like you’re home.

It’s absolutely surreal. The minute you get off the plane you’re greeting with the thick taste of sulfur in the air—it’s a pro-volcanic country. Trees? There’s probably more in your local park than on this entire island. And the moss. It covers everything and is absolutely beautiful.

If can you rent a car, I recommend it. The capital city of Reykjavík is an amazing place, but the landscape is why you come to this majestic country.

Right outside of the airport is the famous Blue Lagoon natural hot spring. While full of tourists (such as yourself), it’s truly a remarkable experience to swim in. Pro-tip: If you wander around outside of the spring, you can find brilliant blue streams surrounded by volcanic rock and lichen.

After getting some work done in the city, we took off South down the coast to the sleepy town of VÌk.

Around VÌk is where you’ll find the most spectacular black sand beaches and more Puffin than you can count. We actually showed up on the one day a year the sun is out /s.

Iceland is also known for its waterfalls (anything that ends with “foss” is a waterfall.). Many of these are absolutely infiltrated with tourists, so it’s best to get there as early as possible.

Make sure you spend time outside of the immediate area of tourist attractions. Many people stay close to the parking lots and restaurants. If you’re willing to walk a km or 2 away, barely anyone is there and the views are spectacular.

Hope to see you there.