10 Best Sights in East Iceland and the Eastfjords, Iceland

South of Snæfell is the spectacular Eyjabakkajökull, the northeasternmost glacial outlet of Vatnajökull glacier. It’s a bumpy 50-minute ride from the Snæfell mountain hut all the way down to the edge of the glacier, but well worth traveling the few extra miles. The F909 mountain route is only suitable for vehicles with 4WDs. At the end of the road, there’s a car park and a visitors’ trail (marked out annually depending on changes to the glacier).

A superb spot for bird-watching, at Hafnarhólmi, you can climb a the staircase leading up to a viewing platform to see puffins up close without risking life and limb on the cliffs. You'll also see other seabirds such as kittiwakes and fulmars. About 10,000 pairs of puffins nest here from mid-April through mid-August, then spend the winter at sea.

Nature makes its own music at Heinabergslón, one of several glacier lagoons between Skaftafell and Höfn. A pleasant symphony of chiming candle ice is interrupted now and then by the air-fracturing sound of icebergs crashing as they calve from the serrated edge of the glacier. IceGuide offers kayaking tours on the lagoon, but you can drive there on your own (note this is a gravel road) and follow walking trails in the area. Look for the sign about 3 km (2 miles) west of Flatey Farm.

Literally translated as "Glacier River Lagoon", Jökulsárlón is where you can see large chunks of the glacier tumble and float around in a spectacular ice show. The scenery is so magnificent, it has been used as a location for scenes in some James Bond movies (A View to a Kill and Die Another Day), as well as Lara Croft Tomb Raider. West of the lagoon, on the Breiðamerkur sands, you'll find the largest North Atlantic colony of skua, sizable predatory seabirds that dive-bomb intruders during nesting season. Boat and zodiac rides on the lagoon are hugely popular, but you can spend hours just walking the area and admiring the spectacle.

The 2.3-mile round-rip walk to the Skaftafell outlet glacier is one of the more comfortable options for seeing a glacier, with the trail to the edge of the glacier paved half the way there. Starting from the visitor center, the trip to Skaftafellsjökull takes around 30 minutes each way. The color of the glacier occasionally dazzles in brilliant shades of blue.

Set aside five to seven hours for the round-trip hike to Stórurð, where giant moss-topped boulders form islands within pools of vibrant green water. To reach Stórurð, which translates to “giant boulders,” take the trail from the Vatnsskarð pass: it takes around 2½ hours. A round-trip is approximately 9 miles with an elevation of between 1,640 to 1,968 feet. For guided tours with transport from Egilsstaðir, contact the tour company Wildboys.

A wooded cove on the shores of Lagarfljót, Atlavík is a popular picnic spot and summer destination, especially for young weekend revelers and those on the lookout for the legendary lake monster (the famous “Lagarfljótsormurinn," Iceland's version of the Loch Ness Monster). There’s a camping area on-site and pedal boats for hire during the summer months.

Smaller and considerably colder than Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón offers an alternative perspective of iceberg calving activity, and with the snout of the glacier being much closer to the shore, you don't need a long lens to see the action. Services at the lagoon include boat tours, a modern visitor center, and a restaurant.

As a filming location for several big-budget films and the wildly popular HBO show Game of Thrones, Svínafellsjökull is often referred to as the “Hollywood glacier,” attracting countless fans to its formidable icy terrain. More recently, it has been a cause for concern as scientists discovered the glacier was becoming more unstable and too dangerous to warrant any glacier walking activities (so glacier tours take participants to nearby glacier tongues). You can drive the very bumpy access road to the car park giving access to a few trails (on regular terrain, not on ice) for some great close-ups. It's off the Ring Road just east of Skaftafell.