Get hip in the capital

The old quarter of Reykjavik is full of cheerfully painted wooden houses with cool cafes and pubs to enjoy as the afternoon turns to evening and the sun still shines. The inhabitants are into design, so expect some cutting-edge interiors and a technological spin in the museums. Check out Viking history in the Saga museum (€12.80) and spend a night on the tiles at a local nightclub; just remember the party does not get started until after midnight. Try B5 on Bankastraeti to get a feel for the crazy scene.

Float in the Blue Lagoon

It might be cold outside but in the southwest of Iceland, locals and tourists strip off and float against a backdrop of snowy hills (after a good scrub in the shower; there’s no chlorine). The sky-blue water is full of heated seawater pumped out by a geo-thermal plant; slather yourself with white mud like a native then enjoy the steam.

One of the joys of living on a volcanic island is that it’s cheap to heat the pool

Girdle the Golden Circle

You can drive yourself southwest around the Golden Circle (car hire starts from €33/€64 a day in low/high season). This area includes the incredible landscape in Thingvellir National Park, where you’ll see solid, little Icelandic horses trotting about. Better still, you can go diving in the Silfra fissure, the space between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. Yes, the water might be hovering around freezing, but it’s drinkable and crystal clear and they’ll stuff you into a dry suit to enjoy Big Crack, Silfra Hall and the Cathedral. Within the circle, you’ll also find the Gullfoss waterfall and the geysers of Haukadalu (below).

See the Geysir geyser

If you’d ever wondered where the word “geyser” comes from, now you know. This geothermal region has pools of bubbling mud and the infamous Strokkur, which shoots boiling water into the air every few minutes. Geysir itself is mostly dormant, but you might get lucky and see it blow.

Admire an iceberg

To the south, Jokulsarlon lagoon has 1,500-year-old icebergs bobbing about in a blue-green lagoon formed by a gigantic glacier melting into the sea. A boat trip will get you closer for €25.60.

Have an (n)ice adventure

Iceland has almost endless adventure opportunities, but snowmobiling is one of the best. Glacier Jeeps (www.glacier jeeps.is) will take you by super jeep to the edge of the icecap at Jöklasel, Europe’s largest glacier (16km from the ring road). They’ll give you overalls, boots, helmets and gloves, then let you rev the powerful engines and whip across pristine snowscapes. You can also strap on a pair of crampons for a glacier walk to experience the shifting colours and deep fissures right beneath your feet. Tours start at €121.

Watch whales

There are 23 species of whale in Icelandic waters, and from April to October you have an excellent chance of seeing them. The main species are minke and humpback, but you might also get a glimpse of white-beaked dolphins, harbour porpoises and sea birds such as puffins, gannets, guillemots, gulls, kittiwakes and arctic terns as a free bonus. Elding Whale Watching (www.whalewatching.is) charges around €53 for a two-and-a-half-hour trip from Reykjavik. Whale watching also encourages the Icelandic to view their whale population as a tourist attraction rather than something that should be hunted.

Swim in volcanic waters

One of the joys of living on a volcanic island is that it’s cheap to heat the pool. Make the most of the public ones to swim or relax in a hot tub. Natural pools also abound; at Landmannalaugar, hot water rises from under a lava flow from the 15th century and mixes with a cold spring. You can find the perfect temperature, then sit back and float. Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach is also a pleasure with a long pool of geothermically heated seawater as well as hot tubs.

Take a road trip

Jump into the car and head west to the Snaefellsnes peninsula for glacier walking and whale watching. It’s been called “miniature Iceland” because you can see so much in such a small area. Snaefellsjokel volcano was the setting for Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth and has a glacier at the top. There are also lots of little fishing villages, basalt columns at Gerduberg, the pebbled beach of Djupalonssandur with its strange rock formations and Vatsnshellir, where you can follow a lava flow into an 8,000-year-old cave.