Real journeys. Real lessons
Stories to spark your next trip
Journeys I've actually done
13 stories
Jokulsarlon · Iceland · Europe
The glacier lagoon you can reach without a tour
On Iceland's south coast there is a lagoon full of icebergs, and the strangest thing about it is how easy it is to reach. No tour, no guide, no boat required:…
Seljalandsfoss · Iceland · Europe
One waterfall in Iceland you can walk behind
Iceland has so many waterfalls that you stop counting by day two. But one stands out, not because it is the biggest, but because of what you can do with it. At…
Reykjanes Peninsula · Iceland · Europe
How to spend an Iceland layover on the Reykjanes peninsula
Plenty of people pass through Iceland on a layover and never leave the airport. On my way to climb Denali, with flights routing through Reykjavik, I did the op…
Iceland · Europe
Is Iceland expensive? An honest breakdown
Is Iceland expensive? Yes, genuinely, and it is worth knowing why before you go, so the prices do not blindside you. When I first went as a student, we travell…
Iceland Ring Road · Iceland · Europe
F-roads: the rental-car trap in Iceland
We rented a car in Iceland, drove the full loop around the island, and only learned afterwards that the country's roads come in two legal categories. Nobody at…
Iceland · Europe
How many days do you need in Iceland?
How many days do you need in Iceland? For the full Ring Road around the island, the honest answer is at least seven, and I say that as someone who tried to do…
Iceland · Europe
The Iceland Ring Road mistakes (and myths) to know before you go
Iceland's Ring Road is hard to get badly wrong, but there are a few mistakes that quietly cost you the best of it, and I made some of them. Here is what I woul…
Gspon · Switzerland · Europe
Simplon Pass to Saas Fee: no room at the inn in Gspon
Guideid 2022_simplon-pass-saas-fee slug simplon-pass-saas-fee title Simplon Pass to Saas Fee: no room at the inn in Gspon type inspire region Switzerland & the Alps…
Triftbrücke · Switzerland · Europe
Triftbrucke: Switzerland's scariest footbridge
GuideSome hikes start with a plan so simple it sounds like a joke: park the car and walk uphill until you reach one of the most dramatic bridges in the Alps. The Tr…
Reykjavik · Iceland · Europe
Trying hakarl, Iceland's fermented shark
There is one thing you are more or less obliged to try in Iceland, and almost nobody enjoys it: hakarl, fermented shark. It is exactly what it sounds like. Gre…
Thorsmork · Iceland · Europe
The Laugavegur trek we abandoned
The plan was to walk the Laugavegur, Iceland's most famous trek, over a few days. We did not finish it, but we got more than halfway. And it remains one of my…
Iceland · Europe
The night that never came: Iceland's midnight sun
The thing no photograph prepared me for in Iceland was the light, or rather, the refusal of the dark. I went at the end of June, and for the whole trip the sun…
Ring Road · Iceland · Europe
What driving Iceland's Ring Road is actually like
Driving Iceland's Ring Road is the rare trip that lives up to every photograph, and then quietly outdoes them. Route 1 is a single road that loops the entire i…
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