Joseph Shackleton, a member of the same family as Sir Ernest Shackleton, visited Iceland with two friends in 1861. They travelled in Arcturus, a Danish vessel that ran a scheduled service in summer. They visited the two main ‘attractions,’ namely Thingvellir and the geysers. Shackleton's manuscript account of the trip indicates that tourism was developed by such an early date and that the infrastructure for it was in place and efficient. His account also provides interesting information concerning contemporary Iceland.