Iceland

The world's northernmost capital is a tiny, colorful city that punches way above its weight. Reykjavik is the base for Iceland's otherworldly landscapes — the Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon, northern lights, and glacier hikes are all accessible as day trips. The city itself has excellent restaurants, a lively bar scene, and that unmistakable Nordic cool.

Iceland's southernmost village — 750 people clinging to the foot of Mýrdalsjökull glacier, with the black-sand crescent of Reynisfjara and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks two minutes' drive west. The red-roofed clifftop church above town is one of the country's most photographed landmarks. Vík is the practical base for the South Coast circuit (Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Sólheimajökull, Dyrhólaey), 187 km / 2.5 hours from Reykjavík on the Ring Road.

A working langoustine port on a flat tongue of land that pokes into the Hornafjörður lagoon, with the white wall of Vatnajökull — Europe's largest ice cap — filling the entire western horizon. Höfn (the name just means "harbour") is the obvious base for the Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón), the Diamond Beach, and ice-cave excursions onto Vatnajökull's outlet glaciers. 459 km / 6 hours from Reykjavík on the Ring Road; the eastern fjords begin 30 minutes north.

Iceland's de facto northern capital — a town of 19,000 at the head of the 60 km Eyjafjörður, ringed by 1,500m mountains that hold their snow until June. The botanical garden is the world's northernmost; the bars on Strandgata are unexpectedly lively for a sub-Arctic latitude. Akureyri is the launch pad for the Diamond Circle (Goðafoss, Mývatn, Dettifoss, Húsavík whale watching) and a far quieter alternative to Reykjavík for serious north-Iceland exploration. 388 km / 5 hours from Reykjavík by Ring Road, or a 45-minute domestic flight.

A 90 km finger of land on Iceland's west coast nicknamed "Iceland in miniature" — glacier-volcano Snæfellsjökull at the tip, lava fields, black-pebble beaches, basalt cliffs, the cone of Kirkjufell rising over Grundarfjörður, and the tiny black church of Búðakirkja standing alone on a moss field. Two hours and 190 km from Reykjavík via the Hvalfjörður tunnel; one of the most rewarding two-day drives in the country and a credible substitute for the South Coast when the queues at Reynisfjara feel like too much.