Iceland

Here is an article on the Top 10 Souvenirs From Iceland.

FOOD

A high end restaurant that I believe Rick Steves recommended is Grill Mark Adurinn.

The Your Friend in Iceland has lots of tours in Reykjavik and throughout Iceland. Their Reykjavik Food Lovers Tour looks interesting; cost is 17,990.

ACTIVITIES

Tours & Activities by Icelandia provide a huge variety of tours throughout Iceland, from 6.5 to 14.5 hours. Examples are: Golden circle, South Coast, Askur Ice Cave, the Blue Lagoon, Jokülsárlón Glacier, and the Highlands. And beside standard bus tours they have ATV, horseback, kayak, and snorkeling tours.

South Coast

Geysir

ATV tours

Askur Ice Cave

SITES

One of the must see sites is Þingvellir, the divide between the North American and European tectonic plates that is moving apart at a rate of about 2cm per year.

Surprisingly, there are 30 golf courses in Iceland. Golf Digest has an article on the best ones to try.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Experience Thingvellir provides an experience of visiting the important site of Þingvellir. It is best viewed on a mobile phone rather than a laptop.

Welcome to Þingvellir brochure

Sweden

On my Scandinavian tour in 2025 we stopped at Everts Sjöbod Grebbestad which is about a 5 minute drive from the town of Grebbestad (which is about a 1 1/2 hour drive north of Gothenburg and about a 2 hour drive south of Oslo, Norway). They took us on a boat ride around the numerous rocky islands. We then had a very nice lunch there.

From their website: "Grebbestad is known for its good seafood, and lobster safaris, oyster tastings and fishing trips are just a few examples of what you can experience here in [the province of] Bohuslän."

They also provide a bed & breakfast: "Everts Sjöbods B&B consists of two beach houses with hotel rooms inside.... Each house has a suite, a room with a beach view and a room without a beach view. You can rent per room, or if you are a group you can rent an entire house (3 hotel rooms) or both houses (6 hotel rooms). Our suites, which are located on the upper floor of the building, are larger than the other rooms.... If you choose to rent a room with us, in addition to the room, you have access to a shared kitchen and a dock where you can sit together. If you want it to be more private, and you are a small group, you can instead choose to rent an entire house."

Denmark

I missed a few sites in Copenhagen on my last trip.

In Ærøskøbing on Ærø Island, the Ærøhus Hotel & Restaurant looks to be a good higher-end accommodation, but Andelen Guesthouse, where I stayed, is certainly adequate and in a good location.

Norway

Hiking in Norway - see Naroy Fjorden for hikes.

On my next trip try a dinner cruise in Oslo. Also on a Rick Steves video he mentions Balestrand, a classic 19th century resort town. The main resort Kviknes Hotel looks amazing and has a huge buffet of Norwegian delicacies.

 

One of my favourite stops on the Rick Steves tour was Østerbø Fjellstove, a fantastic camp in a picturesque valley. They provide a location for doing a variety of activities all year round.

Interior of one of the cottages

Waterfall across from Østerbø