Rick Steves explores Iceland's natural beauty in new travel special

Thunderous waterfalls, geologic might, the midnight sun and larger than life natural wonders — all on one little island. You guessed it, we’re talking about Iceland. The small island has so many marvels that Rick Steves has a new one-hour special to showcase everything Iceland has to offer, from rugged adventures to enjoying a good wool sweater. 

While many people may consider Iceland’s geysers, glaciers and grit to be outside of their comfort zone, Rick Steves is just the guide to show a broad range of the enchanting island's splendors. This one-hour special begins in Reykjavík, with endearing sights and thermal pools, plus a side-trip to the Golden Circle's gorges, geysers and waterfalls. Then, after fording rivers in a desolate valley and spotting puffins on volcano-shaped islands, the special takes us on a drive around the 800-mile Ring Road — connecting glaciers, fjords, geothermal hotspots, sod-roofed settlements and majestic Icelandic nature. 

Viewers can ride shotgun on breathtaking journeys, moonwalking through volcanic terrain and peering over dramatic cliffs. But, in Steves’ signature, approachable style, he also showcases a gentler side to experiencing Iceland. Steves discusses the centuries-old history, impressive greenhouse system and Reykjavik’s cultural offerings.   

In honor of the Rick Steves’ Europe “Iceland” special, Steves chatted with Cascade PBS about making the most of your Iceland vacation, enjoying the island’s powerful natural beauty and the Nordic kinship Seattleites may feel on their travels. Here’s what Steves had to say.  

[This interview has been edited and condensed.]  

Iceland is a popular layover destination on the way to Europe. Would you recommend Iceland as a layover? Any must see stops on a quick trip?  

Well, this is kind of what I do for a living, I help people cut through the superlatives and deal with the reality that America has the shortest vacations in the rich world. How should we use our precious vacation? Americans always want to try to see too much in the given amount of time.  

So, if you're thinking about a layover in of Iceland, that is nothing new. I mean, when I was a kid, the cheapest way to get to Europe [was flying through Iceland]. You could get a stopover in Reykjavik and people would have 24, 48 hours. If I had two weeks in Europe, and I was trying to think what's the most exciting extra day I could have, it would be Iceland on the way home. So, if you can do that, I, I think it's a great idea, but I think Iceland deserves more than a layover.  

If you have one day, you can go direct from the airport and enjoy Reykjavik. If you have a reasonable stop, I think you need three days. And what you want is a day in Reykjavik and a day doing the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is just this three-hour drive that loops north from Reykjavik, and it's laces together on this circular road. It's a long day, but it's a beautiful day.   

You've got Þingvellir [Thingvellir], which is where the warlords and the leaders of the clans all gathered when they had their annual summit of the Icelandic people, where the first government was. And that was 1,000 years ago. They would meet at this spot, and it's a dramatic spot. What's interesting to me is they didn't know 1,000 years ago that this is the fissure where the tectonic plates of Europe and America come together. This is where Europe meets America geologically. And that's where the earliest Icelandic people met and had their annual gathering, their first parliament. So that's a very cool place from a historic cultural and geological point of view. And everybody goes there for good reason. You walk down a gully, and you just feel like America is on the left-hand side and Europe is on the right-hand side.   

So, that's one stop, then a little bit beyond that ... comes the Geysir. And that's where we get our word “geyser” is from. The original geyser in this sort of a little national park where people park and wander through all of the lunar landscape with all the bubbles and steam. You've got the old faithful kind of geyser there. You gather around, and everybody is excited, and then it blows. It's a lot of fun.   

Then you go to Gullfoss, and it’s amazing. It's the most powerful waterfall I have ever seen, and you get very close to it. It just gives you a very intimate and powerful sense of beauty, and power, and nature.  

And then apart from that, the drive is just beautiful. You got Icelandic horses. You've got the greenhouses. You’ve got little farmhouses. You can stop for lunch.  

You get back to Reykjavik that night. Remember, when you are traveling in Iceland, it doesn't get dark until midnight, depending on when you're there. You can usually do your sightseeing and everything almost until midnight. So, you have a long day to do something like that. And that's just a wonderful day.   

Seattle prides itself in its Nordic heritage. Would a Seattleite feel at home in Iceland?  

Well, I pride myself in my Norwegian heritage. We should remember Scandinavia means Denmark, Sweden and Norway and Nordic means those countries plus Finland and Iceland, if I understand it correctly.  

You certainly feel at home in Norway if you are a Seattleite. In fact, Bergen is Seattle's sister city. And you see why when you go there ... So, I think, yes, we have that Nordic heritage in common. We have the sea in common. We have fishing fleets in common. We have a rugged appreciation of nature in common. And we have population sparsity, relative population sparsity, in common. So, I think, yes. You'll feel a little more a kinship with the people of Iceland than you would if you go to Portugal or Croatia.   

Is there anything else you'd like to add?  

The language is really hard for me. I'm embarrassed by how few names are on the map that I can actually pronounce. It's not a hindrance because any educated person in Iceland speaks English ... English permeates the society when you are traveling there.  

Something I really like is just trying to get into the spirit of the people. There’s a famous saying, “Þetta reddast.” It means, “It's ok. Don't worry. Don't deal with what you cannot control. Just deal with what you can control, and everything will work out ok.”   

I was walking home from the cathedral one day when we were shooting our TV show, home to my hotel, and in the playground at the cathedral, there was a swing set. We all grew up on swing sets, swinging in parallel on a straight swing set. The swing set there was circular. I've never seen a circular swing set. It was filled with giggles and laughter as the kids were coming into the center and looking at each other — laughing, and tickling, and kicking, and then going back, and coming in. The whole society was facing itself and enjoying life. And I thought that's emblematic of what Iceland is all about. The alternative is that straight swing set where everybody's parallel. I like the circular swing set. And in Icelandic society, in the midst of powerful and beautiful nature, is that circular swing set.   

Watch the Rick Steves’ Europe “Iceland” special online or with the Cascade PBS app!   

Photos courtesy Rick Steves' Europe.