There’s something you will quickly learn when you visit Iceland for the first time—hotels, while beautiful, can be few and far between once you leave city limits. Luckily, Iceland is a treasure trove of Airbnbs, from luxury apartments in Reykjavik steps from all of the best downtown restaurants to cozy homes outside of the central districts that offer a touch more privacy. As a bonus, you can see the Northern Lights from any of these picks on nights with strong aurora activity, whether they’re right in town or a drive well into the countryside.
While Reykjavik is a magical city, not venturing outside of it is a missed opportunity. Iceland is a country of contrasts: expansive waterfalls and private saunas, remote swimming holes and luxury hot spring spas, miles of road lined with lava rock fields and mountainous valleys. With this in mind, we’ve found 16 beautiful places to lay your head no matter where you are on your journey. Given how remote much of the country is, when picking our favorite Airbnbs we kept a few important things in mind: driving distance from major cities and airports, proximity to natural wonders, and of course, on-property amenities. As someone who has visited the country 15 times and counting, I’ve learned a few things that can help make the entire trip just a bit easier. To help whittle down the options (there are many), we’ve compiled a list of the best Iceland vacation rentals in the country. Now you can focus on filling that itinerary.
We’ve vetted these listings based on Superhost status, ratings, amenities, location, previous guest reviews, and decor. This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date. Additional reporting by Meredith Carey.
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