6 Alternatives to Iceland (Without the Crowds or the Price Tag)
Same wild landscapes, steaming water and northern lights, minus the tour bus convoy.
Yellowstone’s geothermal scene has nothing to envy to Iceland!
Don’t get us wrong: we love Iceland. We first went 17 years ago, in fall, and had the waterfalls, black sand beaches and hostels all to ourselves. We came back twice, and our latest trip in 2026 was way too busy for our taste, even in winter. The country has also become very, very expensive! Since then, the question we get most from friends and readers is some version of this: Where to go instead of Iceland, if I don’t wan crowds or crazy prices?
This is our answer, and every place on it is somewhere we have been. Some are for the northern lights, some are remote islands, and two are for anyone whose favorite part of Iceland was sitting in hot water while the ground steams around them.
🛌 Where to stay:
• Hotel Brandan, Tórshavn — we stayed here. The only Green Key certified hotel on the Faroe Islands, with great staff and a central location.
• Rostad Retro Rorbuer, Reine, Lofoten — we stayed here on a last-minute deal and it turned out to be one of the best views we have ever had.
• Mefjord Brygge, Mefjordvær, Senja — we stayed here. Fishing village atmosphere, timber houses, sauna and rental boats.
• ICEHOTEL, Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland — rebuilt fresh every winter from ice carved out of the Torne River. We have visited six times and counting.
• Cabin Jomsborg, Ilulissat, Greenland — we stayed here. Ten meters from the water, with icebergs drifting past the kitchen window.
• Black Swan Lakeside Boutique Hotel, Rotorua, New Zealand — right on the lake, an easy base for the geothermal parks.
🇫🇴🇳🇴🇸🇪🇬🇱🇳🇿 Top experiences:
• 🇫🇴 Boat trip to Mykines — the express crossing to the Faroes' most iconic puffin island.
• 🇳🇴 Northern lights minivan tour from Svolvær — a guided aurora chase through Lofoten, so you do not have to hunt for clear skies on your own.
• 🇳🇴 Private guided mountain hike on Senja — a local guide we know and can vouch for takes you up one of the island's dramatic peaks at your own pace.
• 🇸🇪 Dog sledding northern lights tour, Kiruna — you mush your own sled, and it is our favorite thing to do there, lights or not.
• 🇬🇱 Greenland tours — icefjord boat trips, whale watching, hiking and aurora excursions out of Nuuk and Ilulissat.
• 🇳🇿 Te Puia Maori Cultural Experience, Rotorua — geysers, boiling mud pools and a traditional haka performance.
🚗 Car rental in the Faroe Islands — a car is essential there, and buses are very limited.
🚗 Car rental in New Zealand — you will want one for the North Island, buses do not reach most of the stops.
Jump to: Faroe Islands · Lofoten and Senja · Lapland · Greenland · Yellowstone · New Zealand · FAQ
Where to go instead of Iceland: quick answer
If you want the closest thing to Iceland with far fewer people, go to the Faroe Islands. If the northern lights are why you wanted Iceland, go to Lofoten and Senja or Lapland, and travel outside the summer rush. If you want to feel as far from everything as possible, Greenland and Svalbard are the most remote you can get in the Arctic. And if the geothermal side of Iceland is what you love, Yellowstone and New Zealand both have hot, steaming ground in very different settings, and New Zealand has volcanic landscapes and glaciers too. More on each below.
| Destination | Country | Replaces Iceland's | Crowds | Budget angle | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands | Waterfalls, cliffs, hiking | Low outside summer | Cheaper off season | Remote islands |
| Lofoten and Senja | Norway | Northern lights, sea and peaks | Lofoten is busiest in summer | Book early, avoid peak | Aurora and hiking |
| Lapland | Sweden, Finland | Northern lights, wilderness | Low, lowest in the Finnish north | Autumn is cheaper than winter | Aurora and dog sledding |
| Greenland | Greenland | Ice and remoteness | Lowest | Few rooms, book first | Icebergs and solitude |
| Yellowstone | United States | Geysers and hot springs | Summer is peak season | Car-based road trip | Geothermal fans |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | Volcanoes, hot water, glaciers | Lower in winter | Winter campervans cost less | Geothermal road trip |
Faroe Islands
If you love Iceland’s greenery and waterfalls, the Faroe Islands will make you happy! Here at Múlafossur.
This is the one we picked ourselves for our unofficial wedding. We wanted dramatic, slightly whimsical landscapes and almost nobody else on the trails, and the Faroes delivered. Eighteen islands in the North Atlantic, around 55,000 people, grass-roofed houses on clifftops, and adorable sheep (I probably took 100 photos of them) that clearly have the right of way on every road. We went in late August and early September, spent three nights at Hotel Brandan in Tórshavn, then moved into a fisherman's cabin in Klaksvík with an outdoor hot tub, which covers the Iceland hot water requirement nicely.
If crazy Icelandic weather seems appealing to you, you’re in for a treat. Wind canceled our hiking plans twice. Not rain, not cold, just wind at the cliff edge doing something we chose not to argue with. We planned to climb Slættaratindur and ended up on the gentler Gongutúrur trail above Gjógv instead, and on the way to the Kallur lighthouse on Kalsoy, I (Eli) ended up crawling. That hike is still our favorite in the islands. The Faroes are also not cheap. Accommodation is limited and rental cars get pricey in summer. What you escape is the crowds, and traveling off season brings the costs down too.
What you get in return is the version of the North Atlantic that the Iceland tourist circuit stopped offering. A local named Hans sells waffles with cream, jam and coffee from his own house in Tjørnuvik, and if you have no cash you can mail him the money. In September we watched bottlenose whales in the fjord at Kollafjørður over several days, and we even got wedding photos with them.
Faroe Islands highlights
The hike to the Kallur lighthouse on Kalsoy, the view from No Time to Die, with a ferry ride to get there. Our full trail list is in our Hiking in the Faroe Islands guide.
Múlafossur waterfall dropping toward the sea beside the village of Gásadalur, the most photographed sight in the islands and the backdrop for most of our wedding photos.
Winter northern lights when solar activity is high and the sky is clear, covered in our Northern Lights in the Faroe Islands guide.
Perfect for: Travelers who want Iceland's drama and quirkiness without all the tour buses, and who are happy to let the weather set the schedule. Our Faroe Islands Travel guide has the full itinerary, our Best Time to Visit the Faroe Islands guide goes month by month, and our Where to Stay in the Faroe Islands guide covers Tórshavn and beyond.
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in the Faroe Islands
🐧 Explore tours in the Faroe Islands
Resources if you’re going to the Faroe Islands
Things to Do:
Faroe Islands Guide
Best Time to Visit the Faroe Islands
Hiking in the Faroe Islands
Northern Lights in the Faroe Islands
Where to Stay:
Where to Stay in the Faroe Islands: Tórshavn Hotels & Beyond
Where to Stay in Klaksvík
Lofoten and Senja, Northern Norway
Besides the northern lights, Senja offers world-class hiking possibilities with less crowds than Lofoten and Iceland — Here hiking Hesten with a view on Segla
Lofoten, Arctic Norway, is the one on this list we hesitate over. When we were choosing where to get married, we already felt Lofoten was the next Iceland, and summer there is busy. The best rorbuer sell out months ahead, especially in summer and aurora season. So we go outside the peak, and the trade is worth it. We stayed at Kaikanten Rorbuer in Sennesvik in October and got a northern lights show right by the pier. A last-minute deal allowed to spend the night Rostad Retro Rorbuer in Reine, with one of the best views we have ever had.
Rorbuer, the old fishermen's cabins, are our favorite kind of accommodation anywhere, and they are the thing Iceland does not have. We first stayed at Skårungen in Kabelvåg years ago, back when it was a rustic rorbu, and went back after the renovation. The spa that opened in May 2024 has a private wood-fired sauna at the end of the pier, above the Vestfjord. We have also hiked many trails in the islands, including Reinebringen, Ryten, Kvalvika, Røren and Mannen. The beaches look tropical right up until you put a toe in the water.
Senja is the version of Lofoten that is still under the radar, and we probably shouldn’t tell you about it. It is Norway's second-largest island, about two to three hours from Tromsø by car and ferry, and we spent four days there hiking Hesten, Husfjellet, Knuten and Utsikten. We stayed in a timber house at Mefjord Brygge, a fishing village resort in Mefjordvær, and at Yttersia Base in Skaland, right at the Husfjellet trailhead. We started in overcast weather, hit snow at the summit in late May, waited about an hour at the top, and the views finally cleared. That night we climbed little Knuten above Mefjordvær at midnight, under the midnight sun, on legs that barely worked. Senja's villages are working fishing communities rather than postcard rorbuer, but the scenery around them is as unreal, and beaches like Ersfjordstranda compete with Lofoten's with fewer people on them. The scenic route across the island stays quiet enough to stop at every viewpoint, while Lofoten's main road fills with camper vans in summer. You need a rental car, and the northern lights are possible from late September through April.
Northern lights at Haukland Beach, Lofoten
Lofoten & Senja highlights
Rorbuer over the water, from rustic to spa-level, sorted by village in our Where to Stay in Lofoten guide.
Aurora season away from the summer rush, covered in our Northern Lights in Lofoten guide and our Lofoten in Winter guide.
Our favorite hikes, with honest notes on conditions, in our Hiking in Lofoten Islands guide.
On Senja, Hesten, Husfjellet and Knuten, plus the ones we skipped, in our Hiking in Senja guide.
Where we stayed on Senja, and the quieter corners of the island, in our Best Hotels in Senja guide and our Things to Do in Senja guide.
Perfect for: Travelers who want the northern lights and sea-meets-mountain scenery, and will travel outside peak summer to get them. Choose Lofoten for the rorbuer and the classic postcard, and Senja for hiking and fewer people. Getting to Lofoten is a small adventure of its own, and our How to Get to Lofoten guide explains the ferry, flight and drive options (including via Senja).
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in Lofoten
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in Senja
Resources if you’re going to Lofoten
Lofoten Hiking Guide
Lofoten Hotels & Rorbuer
Things to Do in Lofoten
Best Time to Visit Lofoten
Northern Lights in Lofoten
Lofoten in Winter
Where to Stay in Lofoten by Area
Best Reine Rorbuer
How to Get to Lofoten
Resources if you’re going to Senja
Best Hotels and Cabins in Senja
Yttersia Base Hotel & Nordisk Bris Restaurant
Mefjord Brygge
Tranøya Island with Senja Moments
Things to Do in Senja
Hiking in Senja: Best Trails, Including Hesten & Segla
Senja Tour from Tromsø
Sommarøy Travel Guide
Lapland: Sweden and Finland
It’s not ICEland, it’s the ICEHOTEL!
Lapland is our home turf in the Arctic. I’ve been to Swedish Lapland seven times and counting, and it was the first Arctic destination I took Jake to after he moved to Europe. We have visited the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi six times, and around Kiruna you can mush your own dog sled, which is our favorite thing to do there, northern lights or not. Abisko, about an hour away, has a local wind pattern called the blue hole that tends to open a gap in the clouds, which is why it has such a good reputation for clear aurora skies. And the inland weather in general is much more stable than in Iceland!
Finnish Lapland is the quiet counterpart, as long as you skip Rovaniemi. We went in autumn, took the Santa Claus night train from Helsinki, and then drove north from cabin to cabin, each with a sauna, because there is always a sauna. In Kemijärvi we watched the northern lights reflect off the lake. Near Inari we hiked for five hours in Muotkatunturi without seeing another person, and we visited the Siida Sámi Museum. Autumn in Finnish Lapland is quieter and more affordable than winter, and unless you have kids, we would skip Santa Claus Village.
Lapland highlights
A night at the ICEHOTEL, rebuilt from Torne River ice every winter, in our ICEHOTEL, Sweden guide.
Muotkatunturi and the lake cabins around Inari, in our Finnish Lapland in Autumn guide.
Kiruna, Abisko and Jukkasjärvi in our Things to Do in Kiruna guide.
Perfect for: Northern lights hunters who want wilderness, stable weather and quiet over a famous name. If you can’t pick between the big Lapland hubs, our Tromsø vs. Rovaniemi vs. Kiruna guide settles it, and our One Lapland Trip, Three Countries guide shows how to combine them.
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in Finnish Lapland
🐧 Explore tours in Finnish Lapland
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in Swedish Lapland
🐧 Explore tours in Swedish Lapland
Resources if you’re going to Swedish Lapland
Kiruna:
Best Hotels in Kiruna
ICEHOTEL Sweden
Things to Do in Kiruna & Swedish Lapland Year Round
Things to Do in Kiruna in Winter
Northern Lights in Kiruna
Northern Lights Tours in Kiruna
Car Rental in Kiruna
Abisko:
Abisko Northern Lights Tours
Best Hotels in Abisko
How to Get to Abisko from Kiruna
Swedish Lapland in general:
Best Hotels in Swedish Lapland
Northern Lights Tours in Sweden
Best Time to Visit Lapland
Northern Lights in Lapland
One Lapland Trip, Three Countries
Our Ultimate Arctic Travel Guide
Northern Lights for Dummies
Resources if you’re going to Finnish Lapland
Rovaniemi:
Best Hotels in Rovaniemi
Winter Activities in Rovaniemi
Christmas in Rovaniemi
Best Time to Visit Rovaniemi & Finnish Lapland
How to See the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi
Magical Alternatives to Rovaniemi
Our Northern Lights Tour in Rovaniemi
How to Get to Rovaniemi
Northern Lights in Lapland:
Best Glass Igloos in Finland
Aurora Tours in Finnish Lapland
Northern Lights in Lapland
Best Aurora Hotels in Finland
Northern Lights Hub
Finnish Lapland in General:
Finnish Lapland in Fall
Kiruna vs. Rovaniemi
Lapland on a Budget
Sauna and Ice Dip
Arctic Food Guide
Greenland
Surrounded by icebergs in Isfjord, near Ilulissat. A childhood dream come true!
Greenland was a childhood dream for us and the last Arctic destination we hadn’t explored. Getting there takes more planning than anything else on this list, but it is also the furthest you can get from a crowd (along with Svalbard). Reykjavik has direct flights to Nuuk and Ilulissat, so Iceland can be your launch pad if you have 15 to 20 days to combine both.
In Ilulissat we stayed at Cabin Jomsborg, ten meters from the water, with icebergs drifting past the kitchen window. The Icefjord boat tour was a must. There are no roads between towns, so we took the ferry between Ilulissat and Nuuk, three days along the west coast through the ice, stopping at tiny settlements. Most people fly. We floated, the way Greenlanders do. Rooms are limited and go fast, so book accommodation before you book flights.
Greenland highlights
The Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a cabin with icebergs outside the window, both in our Greenland Travel Guide.
The Coastal Ferry Between Ilulissat and Nuuk, slow travel at its best.
Winter northern lights, with the details in our Northern Lights in Greenland guide.
Perfect for: Travelers who care more about remoteness than convenience, and who have the time and the budget to make the trip worthwhile. It is the least crowded trip on this list by a wide margin.
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in Greenland
Resources if you’re going to Greenland
Nuuk:
Nuuk Travel Guide
Best Tours in Nuuk
Best Hotels in Nuuk
Ilulissat:
Ilulissat Travel Guide
Ilulissat Best Tours
Best Hotels in Ilulissat
Greenland in general:
Greenland Travel Guide
Best Time to Visit Greenland (Month-by-Month Guide)
Nuuk vs. Ilulissat (Where to Stay)
Packing for Greenland
Northern Lights in Greenland
Greenland by Ferry: Slow Travel from Ilulissat to Nuuk
Yellowstone, USA
These tiny but mighty geysers are in constant eruption! And Old Faithful is the highest.
If the part of Iceland you love is geothermal, Yellowstone is the American answer. We actually included it along Iceland in the Places that Make You Feel Like You’re on a Different Planet! It’s famous for its geysers and hot springs, but set in wide forest and meadow country that looks nothing like Iceland's lava fields. We’ve been to Yellowstone twice, and we very recently visited the park and Grand Teton on a US road trip with American family (guide coming soon).
One penguin warning: Yellowstone is absolutely not an escape from crowds in peak summer, since it is one of the most visited national parks in the United States. Go outside July and August if you can, and book lodging well ahead.
Yellowstone highlights
Geysers and hot springs, the closest thing on this list to Iceland's steaming ground.
Bisons and bears. Iceland doesn’t have bisons and bears.
Grand Teton National Park next door, which makes the road trip worth the drive.
A rental car and a long road trip, with no transatlantic flight if you already live in North America.
Perfect for: Travelers who love Iceland's geothermal activity but want big American landscapes and a road trip. For our wider US picks, see our 5 Destinations for Nature Addicts guide.
New Zealand
The North Island offers the closest Iceland landscapes you can get — Here in Tongariro
New Zealand is Iceland's cousin on the other side of the planet. The North Island has the volcano craters, steaming ground and beaches that vary between black sand and turquoise bays, so the landscapes will feel familiar if you love Iceland. The South Island adds the glaciers. I went in August, which is winter there, and got fewer crowds, cheaper campervan rentals and snow-capped mountains. At Hot Water Beach, I dug into the sand at low tide, and geothermal water bubbled up into my own private hot tub. I even woke up in the middle of the night to do it a second time, digging with my cooking pots as I had no shovel! In Rotorua the air smells of sulfur and the mud pools bubble, and I watched a traditional haka performance with steam rising from the ground everywhere around. The Blue Lagoon is cool, but it has never had a haka. But it has elves. It’s a question of preferences.
Tongariro had other plans. The volcano was erupting during my visit, so the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing was off the table, and I hiked to the Tama Lakes instead, through a landscape that looks like Mordor. Before that, I glided in a small boat through the Waitomo caves under thousands of glowworms. The catch is distance. New Zealand is a long way from almost everywhere, so give it at least seven to ten days. If you have the time, go south. On the South Island I walked up to the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, where icy blue ice flows right into the rainforest, something I hadn’t seen anywhere else. I also woke up in my campervan surrounded by snow-capped mountains in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, where the hiking comes with glaciers in view.
New Zealand highlights
Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula, where you dig your own hot pool at low tide.
Rotorua's geothermal parks, mud pools and haka performances.
Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and Aoraki Mount Cook on the South Island, for the Iceland glacier fix.
Volcano hikes in Tongariro National Park and glowworm caves at Waitomo, all in our Things to Do in New Zealand: North Island Journal.
Perfect for: Travelers with a week or more to spare who want the geothermal fix alongside volcanoes, glaciers, caves and a different hemisphere. Our Things to Do in New Zealand: South Island Journal covers the glaciers and the rest of the south.
🐧 Explore hotels, cabins and apartments in New Zealand
🐧 Explore tours in New Zealand
Resources if you’re going to New Zealand
New Zealand: South Island
New Zealand: North Island
If you still want Iceland
We get it, because we do too. Iceland is unique in the world. If you still want Iceland, keep the classics and add the quieter version. We wrote that up in Iceland's Most Famous Spots Have a Quieter Version Right Next Door, which covers alternatives to Jökulsárlón, Reynisfjara, Gullfoss and the Blue Lagoon. For the rest of the planning, our Iceland Travel Guide gathers everything in one place, our Best Time to Visit Iceland guide helps with timing, and our Best Northern Lights Hotels in Iceland guide covers where we stayed.
How to choose where to go instead of Iceland
We would pick the Faroe Islands for the closest match to Iceland with far fewer people, as long as you can handle wind. We would pick Lofoten, Senja or Lapland for the northern lights, Lofoten for rorbuer and the classic postcard, Senja for hiking and fewer people, Lapland for wilderness and dog sledding. We would pick Greenland if remoteness matters more than convenience. We would pick Yellowstone if you live in North America and want hot ground without a transatlantic flight, and New Zealand if you can spare a week or more and want volcanoes, glaciers and caves along with the geothermal awesomeness. For any of them, a season outside peak summer changes the experience.
FAQ: Iceland alternatives
Where can I go instead of Iceland?
For similar scenery with fewer people, try the Faroe Islands. For northern lights, try Lofoten or Senja in Norway or Lapland in Sweden and Finland. For geothermal hot springs, try Yellowstone in the United States or the North Island of New Zealand. For a truly remote Arctic trip, try Greenland.
What is the closest alternative to Iceland?
The Faroe Islands. They sit in the North Atlantic roughly halfway between Norway and Iceland, with waterfalls, cliffs and hiking. The weather and wind are demanding, so build flexibility into your plans.
Is the Faroe Islands cheaper than Iceland?
We haven’t compared them side by side with verified figures, so we can’t give you a number. In our experience the Faroes aren’t a budget destination, since accommodation is limited and rental cars get expensive in summer, but traveling off season costs less. Check current prices before you decide.
Where can I see the northern lights instead of Iceland?
Lofoten, Senja, Swedish and Finnish Lapland and Greenland all work. The Faroe Islands can also show them in winter when solar activity is high and the sky is clear. Abisko in Swedish Lapland is known for clear skies.
Is there anywhere with geothermal pools like Iceland?
Yes. Yellowstone has geysers and hot springs, and New Zealand's North Island has Rotorua's geothermal parks and Hot Water Beach, where you can dig your own hot pool at low tide. Both are very different from Iceland in setting.
Is Lofoten less crowded than Iceland?
Not in summer. We already felt Lofoten was heading down Iceland's path when we planned our Faroe trip, and the best rorbuer sell out months ahead in summer and aurora season. Outside the peak, we have found it calmer.
Iceland is still wonderful, and we still love it. It just stopped being the place where we feel alone with the landscape, and, unfortunately, it has lost some of its authenticity. The six places above bring that feeling back, each in a different way. Pick the one that matches what you loved about Iceland in the first place, or book a consultation with us if you’re still hesitating!
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Our Iceland Travel Guide
Iceland's Most Famous Spots, Quieter
Northern Lights Hub
The Ultimate Arctic Travel Guide
Arctic Travel Hub
Comparisons:
Magical Alternatives to Rovaniemi
Tromsø vs. Rovaniemi vs. Kiruna
Faroe Islands
Lofoten
Swedish Lapland
Finnish Lapland
Greenland
New Zealand, North Island
