Iceland is hot right now, and for good reason. Along with the country’s fjords, ice fields, geysers, and geothermal pools, the
capital of Reykjavik is a hip little city with a thriving culinary scene, funky shopping along Laugavegur Street, and year-round festivals, including Yoko Ono’s annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower. You’ll find craft shops and museums, cutting-edge street art, and music ranging from symphonies in the honeycombed-glass Harpa concert hall to unplugged folk at Café Rosenberg. With near 24-hour sunlight during the summer, the nightlife (or “jammith,” as the locals call it) never seems to end.
Hit the City: Working with your travel advisor, Virtuoso’s on-site tour provider,
Iceland Encounter, can create a customized, seven-day trip featuring glacier treks and visits to Gullfoss waterfall, all bookended by centrally located stays in the capital.
Ever since German geologist Hans Meyer’s first recorded summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1889, thrill seekers have dreamed of scaling the “roof of Africa.” The continent’s highest peak, in Tanzania, seduces climbers from across the globe, who willingly endure weeks of training and the risk of altitude sickness for bragging rights at 19,341 feet. On the ascent, they get to experience four different climate zones: rain forest, low alpine, high alpine, and glacial.
Rise to the Occasion: The mountain has seven official routes that cater to different fitness levels; an exclusive, ten-day Lemosho climb with Kensington Tours takes a more leisurely yet still invigorating pace to the crown. You’ll be led by a team of professional guides, who set up comfortable camps each night, while a logistics team at the base monitors every step of the journey.