Programme
A rejuvenating trip to the Blue Lagoon; a volcanic day on a Super Jeep; geology, history and snowmobiling in the Golden Circle, from Thingvellir to Geysir; a visit to Reykjavik and the Harpa conference centre.
Profile
Client: an insurance company.
Incoming agency : Iceland Travel DMC & PCO
Skutuvogur 13A. 104 Reykjavik.
Tel.: +354 585 4300
Email : info@icelandtravel.is
Internet: www.icelandtravel.is
Group size: 90 people.
Duration of the operation: four days.
They have done their homework:
Iceland Tourist Board (Promote Iceland)
Tel.: +354 511 4000
Email : info@promoteiceland.is
Internet: en.visiticeland.com
Practical guides
Le Routard Iceland (2013-2014), Lonely Planet Iceland (2014),
Le Petit Fûté Islande (2013), Guide Vert Islande (2013),
Traveller's Library Iceland (2012).
Flight plan
Icelandair operates up to sixteen flights a week to Reykjavik Keflavik airport from Paris-CDG (terminal 1), with at least one daily flight during the winter. The aircraft, Boeing B757s configured in three classes - Saga Class (business), Economy Comfort Class and Economy Class - reach Reykjavik in 3 hours 20 minutes. Icelandair also makes it possible to use Iceland as a stopover on a flight to North America, at no extra charge.
Tel.: 01 44 51 60 51
Email : france@icelandair.is
Internet: www.icelandair.fr
Day 1: Arrival at Keflavik airport. Transfer to the Blue Lagoon. Swimming and welcome cocktail. Transfer and check-in at the Icelandair Reykjavik Marina hotel. Visit to the Harpa conference centre. Dinner at the Grill Market restaurant.
Hotels
Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina
The Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina can never be accused of being too conformist. Inaugurated in April 2012 on the Icelandic capital's harbour, the hotel revisits the marine theme in its 108 rooms, with an Icelandic originality that skilfully blends tradition and modernity, faux kitsch and genuine boldness. The use of wood helps to create a warm atmosphere, enhanced by the fireplace in the lobby, where travellers will be happy to gather on a breezy day. The dashes of colour, sometimes flashy, sometimes pastel, illustrate a "cosy, fun and funky" universe, which is also embodied in the wooden sculptures scattered throughout the hotel. Then there's the Slipp Bar, where you can enjoy one of the many cocktails on the menu in a friendly, trendy atmosphere. Just to warm up, of course.
Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina Myrargata 2
Tel: +354 444 4000 Email: marina@icehotels.is
Internet: www.icelandairhotels.com
Alternative: Hilton Reykjavik Nordica
Located 40 minutes from Keflavik International Airport and within easy reach of the city centre on foot or by taxi, the 252-key hotel is one of Reykjavik's leading business addresses. Its facilities have a lot to do with it, with eleven meeting rooms able to accommodate up to 650 guests in resolutely modern comfort. The Hilton Reykjavik Nordica has just undergone a partial refurbishment. In addition to the facilities for holding events and meetings, the hotel has a remarkable wellness area. There is also the Vox restaurant, renowned on the local gastronomic scene.
Hilton Reykjavik Nordica Sudurlandsbraut, 2
Tel.: +354 444 5000
Email : info.reykjaviknordica@hilton.com
Internet: www1.hilton.com
Blue Lagoon: the empire of the senses
It's like being on the moon, or in a dream; and that's the charm of the Blue Lagoon, which takes travellers who have just arrived in Iceland by the hand and leads them on a plunge, literally and figuratively, into the heart of an almost surreal picture. The surrounding swirls, which even though they look like smoke are not smoke but water vapour, give off a cottony atmosphere. The palette of colours is extremely limited, basically just three shades, which she uses as she pleases: turquoise for the water, black for the rock and white for the snow. Add to that the unmistakable smell of sulphur, and you've got yourself a winter's bath with an average temperature of 38 degrees. A few swims and you're ready for the traditional mineral 'make-up', a kind of white paste ladled from tubs and reputed to have healing properties. Sound, smell, sight and touch: in the end, all that's missing from this multi-sensory experience is taste... A gap that the Lava restaurant, used to hosting major corporate events and renowned for its themed settings, proposes to fill.
Blue Lagoon 240 Grindavík
Tel.: +354 420 8800
Email : sales@bluelagoon.com
Internet: www.bluelagoon.com
Day 2: Volcanic day. Departure by Super Jeep on the "trail of a thousand rivers". Tasting of langoustines at the By the Seashore restaurant, visit to the Krysuvik geothermal site, then city tour of Reykjavik. Dinner at the Gallery, the Holt hotel restaurant.
Super jeep: conquering the white desert
We suspected that the journey through the lunar lands of the Golden Circle would not take place in the saddle of a Vespa... But here! The Super Jeep has well earned its superlative. Equipped with XXL tyres, the machine makes the ride look like a battle between the mechanics and a hostile environment. However, neither the terrain, nor the snow, nor the lava flows, nor even the rivers will stop the vehicle's progress on the "trail of a thousand rivers". Even deflating the tyres along the way makes it easier to tackle the steep paths that punctuate the route... Rolling down the slopes, the Super Jeep opens a window onto a truly wild nature. It's easy to see why most of the island is considered uninhabitable...
Reykjavik: quiet and trendy
Reykjavik may be home to most of Iceland's population, but it still retains the charm of a capital city on a human scale. It's also the most northerly of them all, and undoubtedly one of the safest. Here, for example, the police are unarmed... "Where could the criminals go? Just block the airport".says a pragmatic French expatriate. The Prime Minister's residence has no barriers to entry. In this relaxed atmosphere, it's a pleasure to stroll along Laugavegur - the city centre's main shopping street - from designer boutiques to cosy cafés in a northern decor dotted with red, blue and green corrugated iron facades. Further on, you'll discover the unique architecture of Hallgrimskirkja, the country's most imposing Lutheran church. But when night comes... From Café Boston to Faktory, the peaceful capital is alive with the sounds of Sigur Ros and many other beats. The bravest travellers - or the unwary, as the case may be - will be drawn into a terrible "runtur", in other words an orchestrated ballet that intoxicates the Icelandic capital every weekend; a singular pub crawl from which you generally only emerge at milkman's time with a very small face... If you still have one.
Harpa Convention Centre: an arty showcase
The bold design of the Harpa congress centre is certainly the contemporary plastic touch that Reykjavik has been missing. However, the financial storm of 2008 almost killed off the project, which was finally completed in 2011. Since then, international events have been held behind the 10,000-stained glass façade, which lights up in the evening with multicoloured reflections. Designed by Olafur Eliasson, it pays homage to basalt organs. References to Iceland's tormented nature are everywhere. The red of the concert hall is reminiscent of molten magma.
Harpa Austurbakki 2
Tel.: +354 528 5000
Internet: en.harpa.is
Day 3: "Golden Circle" tour. Depart Reykjavik by Super Jeep and first stop at Thingvellir National Park. Visit the Geysir site and the Strokkur geyser. Depart for Skalpanes, in the south-eastern part of the Langjökull glacier. Wear cold-weather gear and enjoy a buffet lunch on the glacier. Snowmobile activity. Visit to Gullfoss waterfalls. Dinner at the panoramic Perlan restaurant.
Thingvellir National Park: natural history
Some sites are so symbolic that they command respect. Thingvellir National Park - or Þingvellir as it is spelt locally - is one of the highlights of a visit to the "Golden Circle", and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. It is here that the American and Eurasian plates separate at a rate of five millimetres every year, a tectonic dance that explains the over-activity of the Icelandic subsoil. It was also here in 930 that the Althing, the oldest parliament in Europe, if not the world, was held. Facing the Rock of the Law, a natural megaphone, you can imagine Viking chiefs converging from all over the country in June on this assembly set against a backdrop of lava rock. A few centuries later, these same "plains of parliament" - Thingvellir in Icelandic - were the site of another historic turning point, when the country's independence was proclaimed on 17 June 1944. This life-size setting has also won the favour of Hollywood: Iceland and the national park are now the setting for the American series Game of Thrones.
Gullfoss Falls: cascading emotions
Vertiginous gorges, walls of ice, sea spray that blurs the landscape, a gigantic rainbow and the roar of the Hvita river, whose flow is fed by the melting Langjökull glacier. It's impossible not to be captivated for long minutes by these staircase-like waterfalls. These immense falls were saved from the waters at the last minute - in this case from a hydroelectric dam project - by a woman with a strong character. According to legend, the preservation of the Gullfoss site is due to Sigridur Tomasdottir who, faced with the ambitions of foreign investors at the beginning of the twentieth century, decided to build a dam on the site.e Since then, the portrait of the heroine has stood guard over this unique site, attracting many visitors throughout the year.
Strokkur and Grand Geysir: geothermal adventure
Admittedly, the eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano did try to steal the show for a few weeks in 2010, causing the cancellation of several thousand flights. But Geysir is still one of Iceland's most famous geological attractions. It is the origin of the term 'geyser', which has long been part of everyday vocabulary and, according to the Larousse dictionary, refers to a "geyser". "source from which hot water or water vapour intermittently gushes out, releasing sulphur." . If the king of kings, the Great Geysir, is not what it used to be, the success of the site today rests on its neighbour, the Strokkur. No matter how much you've been warned, and how many others have been watching for the underground tremors, the sudden gush of boiling water always has an effect. Especially as the column can be up to thirty metres high, and Strokkur isn't the only one putting on a show. In fact, geothermal activity is present everywhere, even in this natural oven where, a few dozen metres further on, a delicious black bread is being baked...
More
- An unspoilt wilderness.
- A local destination.
- A pleasant, safe capital on a human scale.
- A very exotic destination, almost like another world.
Minus
- Versatile weather.
- Bar prices can be prohibitive.
- Hotels still in the making.
- A Blue Lagoon deserted by local customers due to its pricing policy.
