Nicole Kidman in Iceland

Nicole Kidman’s Iceland visit has been quietly becoming the holiday itinerary of the month: a little eclipse sky-watching, a stop in Akureyri, an underground concert on Snæfellsnes and an Instagram caption that could double as a postcard. The actor shared a family-and-friends photo album from the trip with the message: “Beautiful country, trip of a lifetime … We love you Iceland!!”

It is a suitably Icelandic way to travel: let the weather make the plans, collect a few wildly different landscapes and leave with enough photographs to make everybody at home reconsider their next holiday.

Akureyri: city life, whales and a very good soak

Kidman’s posts included time in Akureyri, Iceland’s friendly northern capital. It is the kind of place where a café, a harbour walk and a mountain view can fit into the same short stroll. From the harbour, Eyjafjörður is also one of the country’s best places for a whale-watching trip; in summer, humpbacks are frequent visitors and the dramatic mountains do their best to steal the show.

For an easy Akureyri day, pair the waterfront with the botanical garden or a food walk, go out on the fjord, and finish at Forest Lagoon. That is an itinerary with the useful Icelandic quality of being memorable even when it rains sideways.

Explore Akureyri and Eyjafjörður

Akureyri Classic Whale WatchingSearch Eyjafjörður for whales from Akureyri harbour. Akureyri Express Whale WatchingA fast route to the wildlife of Eyjafjörður. Forest Lagoon Delight AdmissionGeothermal bathing with a view across the fjord. Akureyri Food Walk and City TourStories, local flavours and a proper look around town. Lake Mývatn, Goðafoss and Lava FieldsA full northern day of waterfalls, lava and geothermal country. Whale Watching with TransferA simple way to fit a fjord adventure into an Akureyri stay.

Snæfellsnes: a concert beneath the lava

Another memorable stop was Snæfellsnes. Reports from the peninsula place Kidman and her party in Vatnshellir, an 8,000-year-old lava tube beneath Snæfellsjökull National Park. Opera singer Alexandra Chernyshova performed in the cave for the visiting group—an unexpectedly cinematic setting, even by Icelandic standards.

Vatnshellir is not a cavern with a gift-shop soundtrack: visitors descend through volcanic rock into a lava tube shaped by an eruption long ago. Above ground, the peninsula connects fishing villages, black beaches, sea cliffs, Kirkjufell and the glacier-volcano that inspired Jules Verne. In other words, it is an excellent place to pretend that you, too, are on a very well-produced adventure.

See more of Snæfellsnes

Vatnshellir Cave TourStep underground into the lava tube featured in the visit. Wonders of Snæfellsnes Bus TourA classic day around the peninsula’s dramatic coast. Wonders of Snæfellsnes Super Jeep TourExplore with added reach and a smaller group. Snæfellsnes PeninsulaVillages, beaches, cliffs and glacier scenery in one day. Kirkjufell Classic Kayak TourA water-level perspective on Iceland’s famous mountain. Secrets under the LavaAnother way to explore Iceland’s volcanic interior.

The full Nicole Kidman photo album

Browse all images from Nicole Kidman’s Iceland Instagram post below. Credit: Nicole Kidman / Instagram.

Kidman’s trip is a lovely argument for keeping an Iceland itinerary flexible. Start in a northern town, descend into a lava cave, listen to the forecast, and leave room for the sort of story that sounds made up until the photographs appear.