Iceland

Ranked the safest country in the world nineteen years running. Small enough to circle in a week, empty enough that you'll stop the car just to listen to nothing.

Where to stay

Hotel Borg by Keahotels

Reykjavík · city centre · near Harpa and the harbour

Marble, chandeliers and a spa, in the middle of Reykjavík.

See if your Reykjavik dates are free

  • Ninety-nine rooms in the centre of Reykjavík, close to the Harpa concert hall and the harbour. The lobby is all marble and chandelier, and there's a full spa with sauna and hot tub, a gym, a restaurant and a bar. It's the easy base for a first trip — you can walk the whole city from here, and most tours will collect you from the door.

    • 99 rooms in central Reykjavík

    • Full spa with sauna and hot tub

    • Restaurant, bar and gym

    • Close to Harpa and Reykjavík Harbour

    • Concierge arranges tours and tickets

Hotel Rangá

South Iceland · Rangárþing ytra · under dark skies

They wake you up when the northern lights come out.

See if your Rangárþing ytra dates are free

  • Fifty-two rooms in south Iceland with an observatory of its own for stargazing, outdoor hot tubs positioned for aurora viewing, and staff who will ring your room when the lights appear — which removes the impossible choice between sleeping and not missing them. There's a restaurant doing Icelandic cooking, hot springs on site, and helicopter tours if you're feeling flush. Part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

    • On-site observatory for stargazing

    • Outdoor hot tubs positioned for aurora viewing

    • Northern Lights wake-up calls from staff

    • Restaurant, hot springs and spa treatments

    • Small Luxury Hotels of the World

ION Adventure Hotel

Nesjavellir · near Þingvellir · on the Golden Circle

A glass box on a lava field, with a spa built into it.

See if your Nesjavellir dates are free

  • A Design Hotels member out at Nesjavellir, between the Golden Circle sights and Þingvellir national park, surrounded by lava field and geothermal steam. There's the Lava Spa, an outdoor pool, a sauna, a gym, and the Silfra restaurant cooking local produce. Horse riding runs from the property. It's remote by design — you'll need a car, and that is rather the point.

    • Design Hotels member on a lava field at Nesjavellir

    • Lava Spa, outdoor pool and sauna

    • Silfra restaurant serving local cooking

    • Horse riding from the property

    • Near Þingvellir and the Golden Circle — a car is essential

8 Bucket List things to do in Iceland

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10 of the best Icelandic Tours

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The best places to stay in Iceland

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      • Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index as the world's most peaceful country for 19 consecutive years, most recently in 2026.

      • Around a tenth of the country is covered by glaciers.

      • Nearly all of Iceland's electricity and heating comes from renewable sources — geothermal and hydro.

      • There are no mosquitoes in Iceland.

      • The whole population is under 400,000 people — fewer than live in most European cities.

  • Best time — June to August for the midnight sun and open highland roads. September to March for the northern lights. Late September and early October give you both real darkness and roads you can still drive.

    Getting around — Hire a car; the Ring Road circles the island. In winter, check road.is and vedur.is every morning, and treat road closures as instructions rather than suggestions.

  • Iceland is about as easy as solo travel gets, and the safety ranking isn't marketing — it's nineteen years of data. The risk here is weather and terrain rather than people: wind strong enough to take a car door off its hinges, sudden whiteouts, and unfenced cliffs and hot springs. File a travel plan at safetravel.is before heading out of the city in winter, and never step off the marked paths at geothermal sites — the ground is thinner than it looks.

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