Gastronomy and northern lights holiday in Iceland

Planet

The foodie tour of Reykjavik will give you a unique insight into a gastronomy culture unlike anywhere else in the world, whilst also ensuring guests can still explore the highlights of this magical island.

By staying at the Exeter hotel, you will be staying in accommodation that has been built with ultra-green construction in mind. The concrete used in building the hotel is locally sourced, helping in fire and earthquake protection, saving energy by maintaining a comfortable temperature, and reducing the need for paint. It is powered and heated exclusively by hydropower and geothermal sources, whilst cold water comes from a local well. All bathroom amenities are plastic-free. Including bamboo toothbrushes, even the Nespresso pads are recycled through a special bin in guest rooms.

Each of the restaurants where you’ll eat a fantastic meal has been chosen for the quality of food sourced, with an emphasis on those using healthy, local produce wherever possible. This reduces the carbon footprint of importing food from around the world. Iceland has been able to use geothermal greenhouses to grow vegetables that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to grow in its harsh climate.

This trip does include a Northern Lights cruise, which takes place onboard a small boat, which in comparison to larger passenger cruise liners, has much less impact on the Arctic waters that they explore, whilst allowing guests time to enjoy and appreciate the open spaces of the ocean.

People

All activities involve the use of local guides, building on the extensive knowledge they have of their home country. This ensures that guests can authentically learn about the culture of Iceland, whilst it also means that all money is kept in the local economy and eliminating the potential for tourism leakage.

Another we ensure that tourism leakage is reduced is by using locally owned suppliers. We have worked closely with our suppliers in Iceland for a number of years now and have a productive working relationship with them.

Making use of locally owned restaurants for the duration of this foodie tour ensures that money stays in the local economy, which also further eliminates tourism leakage so that we are sure we are doing all we can with this aim in mind. We regularly review our practices on every trip to see if there are any further ways we can support the local economy of our fantastic winter destinations.