I’d never done a small group tour before, so I was a bit nervous flying into Keflavik. But from the moment I got picked up, it felt more like joining a group of future friends than strangers. Iceland has always been on my list, but experiencing it this way, slow, meaningful, and with people who care about the land, was something else entirely.

Thorus Retreat was the perfect start. Completely off-grid, solar-powered, surrounded by silence and stars—I finally unpluged. From there, the trip just kept unfolding in the best ways. We sailed past cliffs with puffins, saw dolphins in the distance, and hiked across a glacier with our guide, Polli, who somehow made the ice feel alive with stories.

I still can’t get over walking behind Seljalandsfoss or standing in the spray of Skógafoss—it’s one thing to see photos, but being there, hearing the roar, feeling it? Nothing compares. Volunteering with Dagny on the black sand beach was very inspiring. She taught us about preserving the fragile ecosystems, and it made me see tourism differently.

We ended with time at the Sólheimar Eco-Village—candle-making, organic food, slow mornings—and a final soak in the Blue Lagoon under open skies. It was the kind of trip that doesn’t just wow you, it resets you. I left Iceland with cold cheeks, a full heart, and a bunch of new friends I didn’t expect to make.

— Jan