Iceland September 22 - 29, 2025

Golden Circle, Vik, Westman Islands

The land of fire and ice will ignite your creativity and imagination, and reset your spirit. This tour of the natural world of Iceland is curated with ease in mind. Seven nights in just 2 hotels allows you to unwind, explore, and relax all while visiting iconic sites and hidden treasures in this amazing country.

How can I tell you about the beauty of Iceland? The flowing lava fields, mountainous glaciers reflecting blue, white and gray, spectacular ice caves deep in the earth, the shooting steam exploding from geysers surrounded by pools of bubbling, boiling water, mighty waterfalls that will make you feel like a speck on the planet?! Iceland gives me perspective on who I am and why I’m here. The silence and sounds of nature in this vast, sparsely populated (less than 400,000 people!) country is powerful. The lack of noise allows you to experience nature at a level few do.

On this trip you will hear the geysers bursting forth, the waterfalls slamming the rocks, and bird songs from Ravens, Gyrfalcons and Arctic Terns . Nature breaks through the icy landscape, with double rainbows, expansive rock formations, hearty sheep, stout horses, and hot lagoons.

As we travel slowly, you are invited to go within to explore your inner landscape. We take time to do just that by gathering daily to meditate, write to prompts, and share our work. As your words unfold, a new community is created. I’ve seen such love, support, and care come from these gatherings and trips. Be a part of it. And let it become a part of you.

I love traveling to Iceland because it’s easy. From where I live (Baltimore) there is a direct flight (starting at $300 roundtrip), every day. We leave in the early evening and arrive five hours later, early in the morning in Keflavik. Iceland is pure - the water is crystal clear, you can eat all the food without worry, and you can even sit on the toilets! The buildings, hot tubs, and lagoons are heated with geothermal waters. It may be chilly outside, but it’s refreshing, the cleanest air, the bluest skies, the snow-capped mountains, the northern lights at night.

All you need to do is put down a partially refundable deposit to hold your place. My Icelandic retreats sell out fast. $850 will hold your place. The balance is due on June 30. Payment plans can be arranged.

By the way, we are three retreats for three for seeing the Northern Lights. Many times! Many nights! I expect this will continue!

Want to talk about it? Let’s set up a call. Email me: susan@susanweisbohlen.com. I’d love to tell you more.

Minimum amount of travelers: 6; Maximum 12.

We depart BWI, or your local airport, on Sunday, September 21 and arrive in Keflavik on the morning of Monday, Sept. 22 (for those celebrating Rosh Hashana, what a way to do it! If departing from another city, please be at the Keflavik airport by 5 am Monday, Sept. 22 or you can arrange to meet us in Reykjavik later in the day.

The itinerary may change slightly due to weather. The weather in September is typically in the 40s in the day and the low 30s at night. It usually does not snow in the Fall, but their could be rain and wind. Sunrise is around 7:30 am and sunset around 7:30 pm giving us plenty of day light.

Day 1 Monday, Sept 22: Upon arrival at 5 am, a private bus will take us to our hotel in Reykjavík where we can rest for a few hours before venturing out to see the city. A big treat awaits us at the world-famous Sandholt Bakery. After a bite and a coffee, we can tour the main streets and get a feel for the city before we meet our guide, driver, and my dear friend Heiða Björk Sturludóttir who will take us to the incredible Sky Lagoon Hot Springs. Everything here is rooted in Icelandic tradition. Enjoy a dip in the hot waters, a cold plunge, and the 7 Rituals including a sauna, scrub steam, mist and herbal elixir. Over the wall of the lagoon is the Atlantic Ocean. I chose this for our first day as I want you to wash away whatever you don’t need for this trip, and soak in the minerals, the warmth and beauty that will last a lifetime. You won’t want to leave, but I promise more wonderful adventures await.

Later we will make our way to our lovely boutique hotel, a former schoolhouse, next to a magnificent church. The Skalholt Hotel will be our home for the next 4 nights, in the heart of the Golden Circle. We will have a private room with a fireplace for our writing sessions, and group meals by innovative Chef Bjarki Sol at his restaurant in the hotel, called Hvonn. He uses only locally grown and sourced foods.

Settle in your rooms, enjoy a meal, and get ready for our adventure. You can use the hot tubs at the hotel anytime! Maybe even see the Northern lights while you soak in the warm waters.

Day 2 Tuesday, Sept. 23 After breakfast and our first writing session, we will visit two spectacular natural wonders. At Geysir Hot Springs we will see boiling mud pits, and wild, exploding geysers. The Strokkur geyser lets loose every few minutes. A hush falls over the waiting groups in anticipation of the shooting hot water. Delightful cheers erupt along with the geyser, which spouts water 100 ft into the air.

Then we will visit Gulfoss, an astonishingly huge waterfall, powerful, gorgeous and LOUD! We will walk up the paths and see the prisms of light and rainbows as the water flows. After our time in the natural world, we will go shopping! A big, beautiful store and cafe nearby offer Icelandic sweaters, socks, hats, gloves and more. .

After a rest back at the hotel, we’ll have dinner. You will already be bursting at the seams with thoughts, feelings and images to transfer to the page.

Day 3 Wednesday, Sept. 24 This morning after breakfast we will continue the writing salon and then travel to village of Selfoss, about a half hour from the hotel. Today is SPA DAY! Before we even leave the US, you can reserve time at Hotel Selfoss for authentic Icelandic spa treatments. Experience traditional sauna, steam room and hot tub where every detail is designed to soothe the senses and rejuvenate body and soul, as well as body treatments and scrubs. Not into the spa? Spend the afternoon in the shops and cafes dotting the streets of this quaint town and get a true feel for Icelandic life.

Day 4 Thursday, Sept. 25 Breakfast and writing start off the day. Today’s journey today takes us into the Kerið's Crater. Approximately 6,500 years old, it’s deep in the earth, wide and easily walkable. We’ll go around the rim and venture down to the depths to explore. The caldera is approximately 180 ft deep, 560 ft wide, and 890 ft across. Later we will visit to Fridheimar restaurant, a geothermal tomato greenhouse, and an Icelandic horse farm. How about that for unique? And the food is simply delicious, fresh off the vine, farm-to-table. We’ll visit with the horses and learn more about their way of life.

Northern lights and hot tubs await us in the evening. Did I mention that wine and beer and local liquors are available at the hotel? They are!

Day 5 Friday, Sept. 26 Today we head out early to reach the mystical, black beach town of Vík í Mýrdal, the southern-most seafront village in Iceland where we will learn about the folklore of trolls, elves, ghosts, and fairies, that are very much a part of the Icelandic sagas, and the natural formations. We’ll explore the Reynisfjara Sea Beach walk, visit the black beach and the hexagonal basalt columns in the cliffs, and see the famous Three Trolls standing guard. (The eerie, surreal Netflix series Katla was filmed here.) Our day will include an Ice Cave visit, the extraordinary Lava museum. which is the closest you may ever get to a lava flow, and Skogarfoss waterfall.

In the evening we will take a ferry boat to the famous Westman Island (Vestmannaeyjar in Icelandic), an archipelago off Iceland’s south coast, formed by underwater volcanic eruptions, where we’ll spend the final three nights of our journey. Our guide Heida was born here and her family escaped the night of the devasting eruptions in 1973 when over 400 buildings were destroyed, including her house.

Hotel: https://hotelvestmannaeyjar.is/

Day 6 Saturday, Sept. 27

Breakfast together, writing together, sharing our words, and roaming continue. Today we visit the volcano museum, walk the lava fields and take a boat ride to see the cliff birds around the Island.

Day 7 Sunday, Sept. 28 Breakfast and writing followed by time in town to do some last minute shopping. We’ll hike a beautiful Lava Field and visit the Volcano Eldfell, a volcanic cone just over 660 ft high. It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began without warning. Our day will be filled with natural and nature wonders as we explore the Island.

Day 8 Monday, Sept. 29 Early departure on the Ferry and then directly to the famous Blue Lagoon for one more dip in the hot springs, one more sauna, one more view of gorgeous Iceland, and our final hours before flying home.

Pricing: 7 nights and 8 days:

Double room, sharing: $5995 each

Single room, $6495

A partially refundable deposit of $850 will hold your place. Payment by credit card please add 4%. Payment methods: Venmo: susan-weis-bohlen (last for of cell are 2096; Zelle: 4109792096; check to Breathe Books, 20 Clarks Lane, Reisterstown, MD 21136

Full payment is due June 1. Payment plans can be arranged.

Price includes All travel within Iceland, 8 breakfasts, and 4 dinners; entrance fees, Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon experiences, Ferry and boat rides, guide and driver and tips (always optional if you want to offer more), writing salons, 1 private session with Susan for either Ayurveda or writing advice.

Not included: Airfare to Iceland; additional spa services; espresso drinks; alcoholic drinks; laundry services; excursions outside of the itinerary; tips for hotel staff; 7 lunches; 3 dinners (count on $30-$70 a meal without alcohol)

NOTE: A single room for the 5-hour rest after our flight in Reykjavik may not be available. Currently, we have double rooms held that are worked into the price. If you require a single room, at an extra cost, let me know ASAP and I will try and get you a room! Reykjavik is extremely popular and hotel rooms must be booked far in advance.

Review flight options on Play Air. Plan to arrive on the morning of Monday, Sept. 22, and depart the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 29. Flights book up extremely far in advance. I advise you to book your flight ASAP, and buy travel and flight insurance in case you need to cancel or make changes. If you prefer to fly Iceland Air, depending on your time of arrival, you may need to arrange private transport to meet us in Reykjavik.

A packing list will be sent upon sign-up.

Questions? Call me! 410-979-2096. I can’t wait to write and roam with you!

Testimonials:

“I. LOVE. SUSAN'S. WRITING. TRIPS and the Gateless method.  This retreat allowed me to discover my writer.   If you've ever had an inkling to write, then this is where you can discover your voice.  It's encouraging and supportive, inviting your writer to come out and explore. Susan provides a safe environment to express yourself whether it's a list of words, phrases, or sentences.”  MR

“My Write-and-Roam trip to Iceland under Susan's enthusiastic leadership was just what the doctor ordered! Great generative prompts, helpful crafts tips, wonderful writing and feedback, amazing sights, and delicious meals in simple but elegant lodging amongst a group of warm, open, intuitive women (and one man). Our Icelandic guide Heida was terrific too. Highly recommend.” DR

“My favorite parts of the trip were having regular writing practice to look forward to, and the restaurants were enjoyable. The trip was well led and planned and well explained, and what was planned was clear. There was enough flexibility and light-heartedness to make it easy and fun. The writing time really helped to break the ice and to get acquainted with each other.” CM

“What a glorious week! I’ve just returned from Casa Om Potomac after a few days of a writing retreat led by Susan Weis-Bohlen. It was a fun, inspiring, and a safe space to be creative. I made new friends and they are all goddess warriors. We laughed, cried, and danced. Share your story. Open your heart. You will find magic!” Alex H.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to connect with so many creative, special women at the Casa Om workshop. Your facilitation was excellent. Casa om was beautiful, the food was excellent, and just unwinding along the beautiful Potomac river with the birds and the groundhogs and other beautiful nature sounds and beautiful grounds was a real healing for me. The opportunity to share and write about our experiences past, present and future dreams was also a healing for me. I hope to attend future seminars and experiences with you and maybe even a trip to a beautiful place that you and Larry explore with others. I highly recommend your workshops to creative people who want to explore their inner lives, creative writing skills, and express in dialogue their thoughts, experiences and wisdom, as well as, humor and laughter. As an observant Jew I enjoyed the mid week schedule as well.”
Shoshana S.