Day 6: Our Final Day - A Tour of the Reykjanes Peninsula
Day 6: Into the Lava - Tunnels, Crater Hikes, Volcanos and Alien Landscapes
With this as our last full day in Iceland, we headed southwest toward the Reykjanes Peninsula, a stretch of land full of lava fields, steaming vents, and geological oddities that look like they belong on another planet—or at least in a sci-fi movie.
Raufarhólshellir: Lava Tunnel Tour
But first up: Raufarhólshellir, one of Iceland’s largest and most accessible lava tunnels.
We had booked a guided tour inside this massive cave carved out by flowing lava thousands of years ago. Helmets and headlamps on, we followed our guide down a long metal walkway into the dim, eerie underworld.
The walls were streaked with reds, blacks, and oranges—like nature’s own graffiti—and we even saw remnants of the original lava crust clinging to the ceiling.
Our guide was a playful storyteller but also a legit geologist with a ton of knowledge about the tunnel. She used a flashlight to point out different colors present in the rock, red from iron and yellow streaks that were stained from sulfurous gases.
Fun fact from our guide: this tunnel formed from flowing lava that hardened at the top and continued to flow underneath. Eventually, the lava underneath drained out and left this tunnel. She said there are thousands of undiscovered tunnels like this all over Iceland.
Usually these tunnels are found when something, like some goats or sheep, fall through weak areas in the top. Our guide told us, that when the farmer goes looking for his animals, then the he also falls in the hole. Sooner or later, the farmer's wife goes looking for him and she falls into the hole as well. Over time, the farmers family comes looking for them and experience the same fate...This, according to our guide, then is why there are so few people in Iceland.
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| Light shining down from this hole (skylight) in the tunnel. Notice not all of the snow had melted yet. Our guide says this is unusual for this time of year. |
Eventually, our guide took us into a large open area fitted with fancy multi-colored LED lights. She explained that they had use this space for fun events like a wedding, a concert, and even movies.
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| The striations in this rock show the direction of the lava flow. |
From there our guide took us a little deeper into the tunnel and then allowed us to explore back toward the entrance at our own pack. She cautioned us about on particular side trip and said to go that way at our own risk.
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| Luckily, I had an Elven blade that Frodo lent me to stab this giant spider and drive it away. |
The kids even enjoyed a mini "cave rave."
We snapped pictures of the cool structures as we headed back out of the tunnel.
Seltún Geothermal Area
From the cool, damp shadows of the lava tube, we reemerged into sunshine and continued our drive into the wild heart of Reykjanes—with the GuideAlong app once again serving up a stream of Viking stories, historical nuggets, and suggestions for scenic detours.
Next stop: the Seltún Geothermal Area, a bubbling, hissing, steaming landscape that smells strongly of science class (read: sulfur).
Bright red and yellow mineral deposits covered the hillsides, and wooden boardwalks zigzagged across the hot, muddy ground. It felt like Yellowstone’s moodier cousin.
While beautiful to see, the smell of this spot was like a field full of rotten eggs.
The boardwalk at the site made it easy to walk around. You could see footprints in areas where risk-taking tourists had gone past the boardwalk to get closer to the geothermal features.
As we approached the car, we could see a herd of the Icelandic horses running in a field across the street.
We decided to walk that way to see if we could pet them. As we approached, two long-maned horses walked right up to the fence to say hello.
Kleifarvatn Lake
Just down the road, we made a stop at Kleifarvatn Lake, a deep, mysterious crater lake surrounded by black volcanic cliffs. It’s Iceland’s largest lake that’s entirely fed by groundwater, and legend has it a giant worm-like creature (kind of like the Lochness monster) lives in its depths. We didn’t see the worm, but we did see some dramatic clouds rolling in—perfect backdrop for photos.
When you have a beautiful place like this all to yourself, it's pretty humbling. Places like this, where the land feels untouched and silent, have a way of making you feel very small—in the best way.
Up by the rock hill next to the lake was a cave, and we discovered many examples of people who had carved their names or messages in the soft rock.
Speaking of rock, this was a great location to look for them. I think it was here that Jen found lava rocks in 4 different colors - red, purple, yellow, and orange.
I've learned that Jen and Mikah are great "finders." Both are skilled at noticing things like cool rocks, shells, or fossils that I typically walk right by.
Grænavatn Lake
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| A cool aerial view of the lake that I stole from the internet |
The color of the lake was really pretty. It contains a lot of sulfur which gives it a lovely green color.
Stora-Eldborg Volcanic Crater Hike
Next out Guide Along recommended to pulling in to Stóra-Eldborg, a striking volcanic crater that offers both a "5 minute hike" and a dramatic glimpse into Iceland’s fiery past. The name translates to “Big Fire Castle,” and once you reach the top, it’s easy to see why.
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| Always take a picture of the map. |
GuideAlong App
First off, I want to take a short aside to give a fair assessment to the GuideAlong App that we used. I should begin by saying that I would 100% recommend it if you want to find off the beaten path gems. It included wonderful cultural stories and interesting background information that you wouldn't get otherwise unless you paid for a tour guide.
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| The app's GPS used your location to share information and stories about places nearby. |
That said, there were also times where it was just plain wrong. For example, the guide was set up to work in which ever direction you were traveling. Sometimes, this would cause problems where he would say that you would take the "second exit" in the roundabout, or "turn left" which worked in one direction, but not the other.
Or in the case of this hike, our friendly guide said that it was just "an easy 5 minute hike" - and that was definitely not the case.
Despite a few navigational quirks—GuideAlong was one of the best travel tools we used.
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| The guy's voice was friendly and reminded me of Tom Bosely from Happy days. |
Now, back to talking about Stóra-Eldborg.
We started the hike from a small gravel parking lot off Route 427. We were the only car there, so we had this hike completely to ourselves. It’s a relatively short trail—about 2.5 miles round-trip—but the path wound through a surreal landscape of moss-covered lava fields and jagged rock formations.
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| The hike begins with an easy, gently sloped path. |
At one point we saw some wild goats and sheep resting on nearby rocks. Unfortunately, this was one of the rare times one of us didn't take a picture of something. It felt like we were climbing the edge of a giant’s cauldron, with the wind and loose rock daring us to turn back.
The final ascent was steep, rocky, and a little tricky. The dusty dirt path was littered with rounded lava rocks everywhere. Imagine walking on a path covered in marbles.
You had to choose each step wisely otherwise you would roll on them and slip down. We had several near falls and numerous balance checks.
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| This section above was VERY tricky and forced us to go very slowly. |
The views at the top definitely made the climb worth it.
The crater itself is around 50 meters high and formed during an eruption roughly 2,000 years ago. According to the GuideAlong app, Stóra-Eldborg is part of a larger fissure system that has produced multiple eruptions over millennia—and could potentially erupt again in the future. Iceland keeps you humble like that.
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| Looking inside the crater. Pictures never do justice to the scale of big things like this. |
I chucked a couple rocks as hard as I could and almost made it to the center of this crater, but not quite. At the top, we were rewarded with sweeping views of the crater’s rim and the endless black lava stretching toward the Atlantic.
You can just barely make out our white car in the lot in the picture below. As we went to leave, we noticed another car pull in.
Not that we minded a bit more of a hiking challenge, but do you think it's possible to do 2.4 miles up a volcanic crater and back in "5 minutes?"
We didn’t see any other hikers here until we left, which made it feel like a hidden gem. The solitude, the sweeping views, and the sense of standing on ancient fire made it one of the more memorable hikes of the trip.
Brimketill
Our next detour on our drive took us to Brimketill, a lava rock pool perched right at the edge of the Atlantic. The waves were crashing hard when we arrived, making it clear why this natural “hot tub” is not for actual bathing. The legend here is that a troll woman named Oddný used to bathe in the pool—though we’re pretty sure she’d have preferred a hot spring over freezing sea spray.
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| Again, pictures like this don't always show the size of this "pool" which was much larger and deeper than a standard swimming pool. |
As we drove on we got eye-catching views of Fagradalsfjall volcano, which last erupted in 2021, 2022, and again in July 2023—a reminder that Iceland is still very much still forming beneath your feet. The most recent eruption created dramatic new lava flows visible from the road.
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| Not my picture, but one that shows what it looked like when active. |
We chose not to hike all the way out to the fresh lava fields, a half day adventure, but even from a distance, the blackened landscape was awe-inspiring. Without the moss covering it, the area looked much more like what you expect from a lava field - high fields of black rock.
The Bridge Between Continents.
Then came one of the quirkiest stops of the trip: The Bridge Between Continents.
A short footbridge spans a sandy rift where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull apart.
Naturally, we had to take photos standing on either side—one foot in Europe, one foot in North America. Just your average day, straddling continents.
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| The rock formations of each side of the sand represents different continental plates. Pretty cool. |
Stampar
We did not pull off to explore this area but it is worth mentioning, nonetheless. Our GuideAlong app had this to say about the area:
Stampar, a striking series of volcanic craters, presents a landscape reminiscent of the moon's surface. Formed during the Reykjanes Fires, a period of intense volcanic activity, these craters exemplify the dramatic results of magma reaching the earth's surface and explosively hollowing out the land. Located just off the main road, visitors can easily access this geological wonder by parking nearby and taking a short walk. This unique, moon-like terrain offers a captivating glimpse into the dynamic forces shaping our planet.
It really did look and feel like you were driving through another planet.
By late afternoon, we made it back to Keflavík, where we would check into our final Airbnb of the trip. The mood was a little bittersweet—the day was winding down, and it was starting to feel very real that our adventure was nearly over.
We picked a restaurant called Olsen Olsen to eat dinner. It had a rock and rock kind of theme with a classic American diner kind of decor. It had a good variety of food including many burgers. We enjoyed refueling while reminiscing about the trip and the day's fun.
On the way out, I stopped to get gas at an Oli's. At the station, I watched another family leave without getting gas, a look of confusion was on the dad's face. I soon understood, because where the pumps were, there was no screen to pay. It took Jen and I a second, but we discovered that it had just one shared kiosk to pay that was in between the 4 pumps. We used good ole Apple Pay and filled up the tank again. This time was a little cheaper - just $132 USD.
We had a little trouble getting into the house. The host said it would be unlocked, but the front door was not. We tried ringing the Ring Doorbell, but no-one asnwered. Fortunately, the side door was open and we were able to get in. The host promised they would stop by to "look at us," but they fortunately never did.
This Airbnb in Keflavik was possibly the nicest one we stayed in, with spaces and beds for each of the kids. It had a nice shared space where we could chill or watch TV. On the wall, they had a world map where tiny red stickers could mark where you were from. Mikah and Ryan added a dot for them in Columbus. There were stickers from all over the world.
Interestingly, the backyard of the home was shared by 3 or 4 neighbors, many of whom let their dogs run around back there.
The location of the place gave us easy access to the airport which was just 5 minutes away. This was important since we had to return the rental car and get there early for our international flight that left at 8:50 am the next day. The plan was to leave up at 5 am to give us time to check in and get through customs.
Most of us showered that night and repacked our bags one last time.
As we settled into our Airbnb in Keflavík—our last night in Iceland—we could all feel the trip winding down. No one was asking what adventure lay ahead tomorrow. Over the past week, we’d climbed craters, wandered through lava tunnels, stood between tectonic plates, and explored landscapes that felt like another planet. And just as meaningfully, we took the first official steps in welcoming Ryan into our family—though he’s always been one of us. More than anything, we experienced it all together. These shared memories—of hikes, hot dogs, geysers, midge bites, ice bergs, and goofy moments—are what we’ll carry home. It’s the kind of trip we’ll talk about for years. And hopefully, one we’ll never forget. I know I won't.
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