While Iceland's land of extreme geography might be your idea of a great place to spend a week or a lifetime, it's difficult to get there right now, thanks to the recent Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption that spewed ash for hundreds of miles and seriously hindered global airline travel. The media was aghast. The nerve of that volcano! Umm, that's what they do, you know. Human systems such as airline flights assume the existence of a benign planet.

Sometimes nature is downright aggressive.

But the eruption puts the focus on Iceland. Beckoning the international traveler with a taste for out of the way places, this is a picturesque land of volcanoes and glaciers, rivers and mountains, long dark winters, followed by warm summers. Iceland is a land of coasts, with seaside cliffs plunging into black sand beaches. The locals talk of trolls and elves, telling you later they are simply bedtime superstitions to keep the kids behaving, but maybe the adults kind of believe it as well…

And don't forget whale watching. Iceland enjoys it's role as one of the best destinations anywhere for that pursuit. But how are you going to get there? Iceland Air has daily flights from major American and European cities. If you prefer the laid-back pace of a cruise, Smyril Lines operates regularly from the Faroe Islands.

The Jetsetter Team

Flickr / o palsson

Tags: Iceland, international travel