Game of Thrones Season 7 Iceland Tour: Winter is Here

The morning breeze carries the aroma of the Atlantic Ocean through the city streets. The briny scent fades beneath the fragrance of rich coffee emanating from a café opened in the 1950s and often referred to as containing the “Spirits” of Reykjavik’s ancestors, due to its age and soulful ambiance. After breakfast, your private transfer escorts you to the nearby Reykjavik domestic airport for your brief flight to Akureyri, the Capital of Iceland’s northern region, situated less than 40 miles away from the Arctic Circle. The cold air bites at your cheeks. In spring, lupines shimmer with radiant purple petals against the lush landscape outside of town.

In winter, snow drapes across the fields, leading to the protruding mountain ridges rolling into the distance. The city overlooks the glistening waters of the Eyjafjordur, the longest fjord in Iceland, which reaches a length of more than 35 miles. The main church was crafted out of basalt and adorns a hill atop the city. The 1940s architecture contains an art deco style, showcasing an organ with 3,200 pipes. Icelandic horses graze on the grasses on the farms in view of the surrounding snowcapped peaks.

In the evening, your guide collects you from the hotel and escorts you into the countryside in search of the swirling lights of the Aurora Borealis. The lights were named after the Roman goddess Aurora, meaning “dawn,” and retain a mystical element in their mesmerizing movement and lavish natural colors. You ignore the cold air of the night after finding the remarkable starlight flickering across the open sky. You arrive at a field and exit the car to find streaks of green and blue spreading over the night, erasing the starlight you had seen earlier. The Northern Lights dance over the snowcapped peaks of the nearby massif, shining their radiant hues over the reflective icy surface.

You find the aroma of the sea to fill the air in the quiet morning. The scent of coffee emanates from a quiet café with windows looking out to a dairy farm. Your guide greets you at the hotel after breakfast, eager to lead you North of the Wall around the territory of Iceland’s Lake Myvatn. Before reaching the simmering mud pools and unique lava pillars, you stop at Godafoss. The Waterfall of the Gods was named after the legend of Thorgeir of Ljosavatn, who threw the statues of heathen gods into the water more than a millennium ago.

The thunderous sounds of the water hitting the river below echoes into the distance. The water tumbles over a cliff nearly 40 feet tall and reaching a width of almost 100 feet. The river glows an icy turquoise against the rolling hills flush with emerald grass. You keep a lookout for White Walkers, while your guide shares stories of trolls and elves. You take a brief respite in Grjótagjá, a small lava cave and thermal spring that Jon Snow and Ygritte had an intimate moment together. Afterward, follow in the footsteps of the former King of the Wildlings, Mance Rayder while touring Dimmuborgir. The show filmed the Wildling camp set amongst the frozen lava field in winter.

Without the layers of snow spreading across the landscape, you find the peculiar shapes of pillars and caves formed by lava tubes and the cooling of an ancient magma lake. The dark stone and rugged pillars resemble the ruins of an ancient castle, drawing deeper connections with the tales in Game of Thrones, the natural landscape, and the legends across Iceland. You find a cave known as “the Church,” located at the edge of the trail. A lava tube formed the arched entrance thousands of years ago and leads to a dome-like ceiling within the cavern.

The morning light washes over the waters of the fjord. The doors to the boutique shop Geysir open to showcase handcrafted woolen blankets and chic lopapeysa, a traditional Icelandic sweater. Old maps offer insight into the unique landscape of the island terrain, along with its effortless connection to the inspired landscape of George R.R. Martin’s Seven Kingdoms. After breakfast, you return to Reykjavik by plane and meet your private transfer at baggage claim. Take a moment to settle into the comforts of your hotel before following embarking on the path to the black sand beaches of Vík. The filming directors of Season Seven chose this location as a suitable destination detailing the arduous journey that Jon Snow and his unlikely three companions take to the north of the Wall, on their most dangerous mission yet.  The sheer scale of the cliffside is daunting and you can't help but feel this is the perfect setting for a Game of Thrones scene.

Afterward, you follow the Golden Circle to reach Thingvellir National Park. En route, you stop at the Geysir geothermal area, featured in episodes of the fourth season of Game of Thrones. Steam rises out of thermal pools and spreads like a thin fog over the walkways, leaving moisture along the path. You hear a quick gurgle before Strokkur Geyser erupts, spouting water up to 98 feet high.

Once in Thingvellir National Park, you find a landscape where the history of Iceland once again meets the legends of Game of Thrones. The world’s first documented parliament met in the 10th century at Law Rock, reached by the boardwalk near the visitor’s center. A pathway runs along the division of the European and American tectonic plates. The rigid walls connote the continued drift between the two continents. The landscape looks familiar as you return to your images of Game of Thrones, realizing you are on the path to the Eyrie. It was on this path that Brienne of Tarth fought the Hound.

The wonders of Iceland continue to call to you during your Game of Thrones tour through the way the landscape enchants visitors and how the history has helped inspire the rich, detailed sagas of the epic fantasy. Your private transfer leads you north after breakfast to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. The jagged lava fields and sandy shores offer magnificent contrasts. Imposing cliffs along the edges of the promontory lead to quiet fishing villages and open plains. You immerse yourself in the beauty and wonder of the countryside with your guide, leading you into the earth at Vatnshellir Cave. The 8,000-year-old lava tube extends more than 650 feet, reaching nearly 115 feet below the earth’s surface.

The former lava river cooled on the surface, forming the crust atop the cave, with the remainder of the magma to drain out, leaving behind the tube shape. You press your fingers to the stone to find the earthen layers sharp and cold. Your guide’s voice echoes down the length of the gallery, winding beneath the stalactites and over the stalagmites. In the evening, you arrive at the village of Stykkisholmur. The black and dark brown soil peeks out from beneath the mossy grass along the shoreline. The wooden homes are painted with bright colors and date back to the 19th century. The church is located on a small hill and offers a stunning view of Breidafjordur, the shallow bay separating the west fjords from greater Iceland.

Fantastical beasts that can captivate the imagination do not just reside in the sagas of Game of Thrones but live and breathe around Iceland. The breeze carries the scent of the sea through the streets of Stykkisholmur. At breakfast, you find the refreshing scent of coffee emanating from the dining room. You indulge in an early breakfast before boarding a boat in the marina. The masts of fishing boats wade in the gentle wake of the sea against the backdrop of rising mountains.

Your boat weighs anchor and sets out into the open sea in search of humpback, minke, and blue whales within Breidafjordur Bay. The cliffs and mountains framing the bay extend over a length of more than 75 miles, with a width of over 30 miles. Short, soft grass drapes over the mounds, revealing pockets of silver stone. Basalt columns resemble shelves with which the cliffs were stacked. Your skipper calls to your attention and points towards the horizon. A large tail rises out of the water before slapping the surface of the ocean. Within seconds of the tail disappearing, another humpback whale erupts from the water.

Females grow to a length of 46 feet. Their body twists through the air before splashing back down into the sea, causing a wave to rock the boat. The whale retains its elegance while swimming and leaping. After returning to shore and visiting the Bjarnarhofn Shark Museum, you continue with your private transfer to Deildartunguhver, the hottest thermal spring in Europe. The waters reach a puff of unending steam against the backdrop of rising hills. The baths reach temperatures of more than 175 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam reminds you of the smoke drifting over Blackwater Bay after the Battle of King’s Landing.

Swans and Arctic terns relax in the waters of Lake Tjornin at the heart of the city. The Old Harbor overlooks the edges of the Atlantic and harkens back to the days of the whale trade but rejuvenated with new life, focusing on the preservation of the natural beauty around Reykjavik. Fishing boats linger along the marina, and the colorful rooftops shimmer against the cobalt ocean. The coffee houses in the chic neighborhoods of the city fill the air with the aroma of roasted coffee beans and freshly baked pastries. The Nordic culture permeates the history of the island and the traditions of Reykjavik. You find an essence of Viking in the legends of the Wildlings and images of the North of the Wall. The connection between Iceland and the Game of Thrones landscape is distinctive. Your private transfer escorts you from the hotel to Keflavik Airport when you’re ready, leaving behind the Wall and northern edges of the Seven Kingdoms as you make your way home.