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  "path": "/2026/06/28/went-iceland-became-a-twitcher-ariana-grandes-latest-obsession-28799171/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-28T08:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Lifestyle",
    "Travel",
    "Animals",
    "Ariana Grande",
    "Iceland (country)",
    "Travel Inspiration",
    "Travel Reviews",
    "more than half (55%)",
    "latest obsession",
    "London",
    "Metro Deals",
    "Get deal now",
    "pic.twitter.com/4EBGWgXBFc",
    "June 12, 2026",
    "sweltering through yet another record heatwave",
    "puffin and volcano tour",
    "school",
    "writes in the locally-loved Reykjavík Grapevine",
    "quad bike ATV tour",
    "Justin Beiber’s music video set",
    "Grandi by Center Hotels",
    "Grandi by Center Hotels",
    "Puffin and Volcano Tour in Westman Islands",
    "South Coast, Plane Wreck, & Beach ATV Tour",
    "Sky Lagoon Entrance Pass With 7-Step Spa Ritual",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source",
    "@BritBox_TV"
  ],
  "textContent": "Ariana Grande has been getting into birdwatching, so I did too (Picture: Jed Bradley / GetYourGuide / Karwai Tang / WireImage)\n\nMy eyebrows did rise when I was tasked with travelling to a rock in the middle of the Atlantic, to hop on a ferry to an even smaller rock, to look for some birds.\n\nBut with more than half (55%) of UK travellers eager to experience birdwatching on their next trip and Ariana Grande herself calling it her latest obsession, I thought I would see what it was all about.\n\nSure, I could test it out closer to home. But even with the best of binoculars, there’s one species I must leave Blighty to spot.\n\nPuffins are the unofficial icon of Iceland, and with GetYourGuide now running excursions to their patch on the island of Vestmannaeyjar, I jumped on a three-hour flight from London to the Land of Fire and Ice.\n\nThese days, tourism is big business in Iceland. But it wasn’t always that way.\n\nRemember the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull? All those flights cancelled? It’s one the newsreaders probably want to forget:\n\n##  Best of Metro Deals\n\nGet exclusive discounts with Metro Deals – save on getaways and spa days. Powered by Wowcher\n\n**Bannatyne Spa** : Spa day for two with treatments, lunch & prosecco — save up to 57% off.\n\n Get deal now\n\n**Mystery Escape** : Hotel stay with return flights from as low as £92pp — save on worldwide holiday packages.\n\nGet deal now\n\n**Beach Retreat (Lanzarote)** : 4* Lanzarote beach holiday with flights — save up to 58%.\n\nGet deal now\n\n> Newsreaders vs Eyjafjallajökull pic.twitter.com/4EBGWgXBFc\n>\n> — BritBox TV (@BritBox_TV) June 12, 2026\n\nNot a great week for airlines, but weirdly great for Iceland. Numbers flowing through Reykjavík International went from only around 500,000 prior to the eruption, to well over 2 million today.\n\nNow there are hotels everywhere, smooth transport links, a shiny new airport, and a general vibe that visitors aren’t just tolerated, but actively welcomed.\n\nIt may not seem the most obvious of summer destinations, but with the UK and much of continental Europe sweltering through yet another record heatwave, interest is rising cooler places.\n\nJust the other day, British Airways told **Metro** that searches to Reykjavík had risen by 74% on Thursday, 25 June, compared to the same day the previous week.\n\nBut back to the birds.\n\nVolcano goes boom, so does tourism (Picture: AP / Brynjar Gauti)\n\nMy eyebrows did the thing again, reading through the itinerary for the puffin and volcano tour the next day.\n\nDuration: **_14 hours_**.\n\nBut as I would come to find out, my feet wouldn’t hurt as badly as I thought.\n\nIt starts with being picked up near your hotel by friendly guides like Thor.\n\nAlthough the Icelandic language can look to English speakers like a cat walked across a keyboard, everyone has an expert grasp of English, making the language barrier non-existent.\n\nThor & Pedro will show you the way (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nWe glide down the highway that traverses the entire island towards the south coast, passing active geothermal areas puffing steam and generating that sweet, sweet free energy (electricity bills here commonly run about £6 a month).\n\nMeeting our electric ferry, I thought we would be continuing on foot, but then I realised the van comes too!\n\nAfter 45 minutes at sea, and passing ‘the loneliest house in the world’, we arrive in the port next to the cruise ships on which you can also circumnavigate the country.\n\nCruising past the ‘loneliest house in the world’ (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nLoading back into our van, everyone is keen to see our avian friends, so Thor zips us up to a protected viewing area on the far side of the island.\n\nYou get a preview walking up to the Stórhöfði lookout with the tiny birds swooping overhead, and then you’re amongst them. Up to a million pairs call the southern tip of the island home.\n\nHey there little guy! (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nI have to admit I went in sceptical.\n\nBirdwatching always sounded like something you accidentally fall into in your 60s.\n\nBut find yourself a quiet spot just off the trails and something clicks.\n\nWatching them bicker, swoop, vanish into burrows, and reappear like they forgot something is oddly absorbing. Not to mention they mate for life, which does warm your heart.\n\nInterest is taking off with GetYourGuide seeing a 110% jump in searches for birdwatching tours (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nBjørn Penk grew up birdwatching, despite the name-calling and unkind looks he got in school.\n\nHe now writes in the locally-loved Reykjavík Grapevine newspaper:\n\n‘Post-pandemic, something shifted in how people want to spend their time: slowly, outdoors, with their attention pointed at something real and unpredictable… In an age of relentless distraction, paying attention to birds turns out to be practice in paying attention, full stop.’\n\nIf you do happen to suffer from ornithophobia, Iceland, being built from the ground up for tourists post-eruption, has you covered.\n\nThe landscape basically demands a four-wheel drive, so the quad bike ATV tour is less of a gimmick and more of a necessity that also reveals some history at your destination.\n\nDespite the midnight sun, there’s no tanning on these beaches (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nAfter zipping down the formidable black sand beaches, you arrive at the wreck of a US Navy plane.\n\nAll crew members miraculously survived, and the weathered wreckage has since become one of Iceland’s most iconic and surreal tourist attractions, plus Justin Beiber’s music video set.\n\nAll seven crew members survived the crash after the aircraft encountered a severe snowstorm. (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nThe tour also includes a spin around the south coast waterfalls, where, if you’re braced for a soaking, you can walk behind for an unparalleled view.\n\nAfter a day spent traversing the island, it’s time for some well needed recovery.\n\nPrepare to be drenched in some of the freshest water if you dare to walk behind Seljalandsfoss (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nSky Lagoon, an oceanside geothermal spa, is more than just floating around in some natural spring water.\n\nIt’s a seven-step ritual that throws you from soothing warmth to refreshing cold plunges – all of which leave you recharged for the next day.\n\nA geothermal paradise (Picture / Sky Lagoon)\n\nStep 1 – Laug (Lagoon): Slow down and relax in the lagoon\nStep 2 – Kuldi (Cold): Cool down with the cold plunge\nStep 3 – Ylur (Warmth): Relax and enjoy the views in the sauna\nStep 4 – Súld (Drizzle): Refresh in a cold mist\nStep 5 – Mýkt (Softness): Invigorate and exfoliate with a body scrub\nStep 6 – Gufa (Steam) – Chill out in the steam room\nStep 7 – Saft (Juice) Taste the essence of krækiber — the crowberries that dot our lava fields.\n\nConvinced?\n\nWith tourism numbers at an all time high, Iceland offers a diverse range of places to call home.\n\nFor the explorers, a lap of the island in your campervan is easily done.\n\nBut for those happy to settle in, Grandi by Center Hotels blends clean Scandinavian design with spa access and buffet breakfast of course.\n\nDon’t miss your chance to try a delicious sample of Icelandic lamb with a glass of red.\n\nIceland’s pure bred lambs graze free in the wilderness, eating grasses, berries and wild herbs. (Picture: Jed Bradley)\n\nIt’s also located near the coastal walks along the Old Harbour, which also offer several supermarket choices if your looking to save some cash.\n\nTwo full meals often come in above £100 when dining out, so now’s the time to start saving.\n\nOr maybe you could invite Ariana to come with you. She might take care of the bill.\n\n_Jed was a guest of GetYourGuide, but don’t expect us to sugarcoat anything – our reviews are 100% independent._\n\n_Rooms at Grandi by Center Hotels start at £134 a night._\n\n_GetYourGuide’s Puffin and Volcano Tour in Westman Islands start at £200, the South Coast, Plane Wreck, & Beach ATV Tour from £219 and Sky Lagoon Entrance Pass With 7-Step Spa Ritual from £87._\n\n_Flights from London start from £106 on EasyJet or £221 on Icelandair._\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "I went to Iceland and became a ‘twitcher’, Ariana Grande’s latest obsession"
}