Iceland Tour Info
The Great Adventure!
The 6 Days Around Iceland Adventure will take you on the famous and breathtakingly beautiful Ring Road of Iceland and will give you the chance to explore more of Iceland in a relatively short period of time. This is the perfect way to maximize your experience in Iceland, giving you a fabulous ‘Iceland in a Nutshell’ experience.
The exciting adventures ahead also include whale watching, glacier hiking on Europe’s largest glacier, with hiking in beautiful unique Icelandic nature and stops at extraordinary sightseeing spots. All hikes and activities on this tour are rated as easy, the pace is slow and determined by the participants. For those looking to relax along the way we will make a stop at the beautiful Mývatn Nature Baths known as ‘The Blue Lagoon of the North.’
Sightseeing
Sights and destinations around Iceland have been hand-picked by our tour planners to show you the best places and natural wonders that Iceland can offer: charming towns and fishing villages with fascinating histories, the most famous and unusual waterfalls. You will see Gullfoss, the most popular waterfall in Iceland, and Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe, you will hear the great Jökulsá á Fjöllum river thundering in the distance long before you see the gushing torrent!
Visits are made to incredible black beaches, lava fields and the unbelievable lava formations at Dimmuborgir, the astonishing iceberg filled glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón and an erupting geyser. See the historic sites of Þingvellir National Park and Reykholt, both have played very significant roles in the development of the Icelandic nation. At Þingvellir you will clearly see where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates have moved apart.
In summer there are the energizing bright nights and the midnight sun. May to August the puffins return to land to breed, so this time is also the puffin watching season! In the East we may come across some reindeer, if that happens, we like to indulge in a little reindeer gazing and photography.
Along the journey, you will pass through extremely varied scenery with great mountains, famous volcanoes, glistening glaciers, many incredibly beautiful fjords, including Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in Iceland. You stay in a different place each night, so every day you will awaken to a different vista.
A few sightseeing stops are made each day, these are interspersed with other activities, so you will never be on the minibus for too long without an interesting stop. Our vehicles are sturdy, cozy and comfortable so you can take off your extra layers and relax – we want you to feel at ease. The Icelandic weather is very unpredictable, there can be quite a few changes even on the same day, prepare for this and you will be comfortable. Sometimes, particularly in the winter, the itinerary will be adapted a little around the weather, this is an exciting part of adventure travel in Iceland.
Naturally, these activities combined with the extremely changeable Icelandic weather, generate some specific clothing requirements. To help you prepare for Icelandic conditions, we have put together a packing list, provided some weather information and also some details concerning the sort of facilities and meal possibilities you can expect to find at different stops.
Accommodations
There is a limited range of hotels and guesthouses in the countryside. This means that some might be located in or close to towns and villages, but others could be situated in more remote areas out in the countryside. Accommodation options are also subject to availability, so the places where we stay will vary between tour departures. Examples of the areas we stay in are Vík, Skaftafell (or Höfn), Egilsstaðir, Akureyri and Borgarnes, all of these places offer amazing views from or around the places where you will stay.
However, all of the country hotels and guesthouses where we stay have some things in common, they offer standard comfortable rooms with made up beds and provide towels. They all have free Wi-Fi for guests and a daily breakfast buffet. We are often asked if hair dryers are available, and they certainly are, if you cannot see a hair dryer in your room, then you just need to ask at the reception desk.
Hotel Breakfast – Included
Daily breakfast buffets at the hotels are included in the tour price. These are Nordic style breakfast buffets that generally offer bread, crispbread, cereals, fruit juice, teas, coffee, milk, butter, jams, sliced vegetables, fruit, boiled eggs, cheese, ham and often salami. Extras often include yogurt or the famous Icelandic Skyr, we recommend that everyone visiting Iceland tries this particular delight.
Lunch and Dinner – Your Choices
Along the way, we will be stopping at gas stations, roadside shops/supermarkets, hotels and restaurants where you can purchase food and meals. Examples of what you can find at these places are sandwiches, hot dogs, soups, hamburgers, fish, chicken, chocolate bars, snacks, drinks, etc. Normally, we eat dinner at the hotel we stay at or find another restaurant in the area. Keep in mind that some of the hotels we stay at offer a fairly extensive evening menu, but country hotels sometimes offer just the dish of the day rather than a menu.
Some of the freshest fish in the world and delicious wild mountain lamb dishes feature strongly on Icelandic menus. Although towns, such as Akureyri, Höfn and Egilsstaðir, have a wider choice of restaurants it is important to realize your hotel is quite likely to be out in the countryside where the only option is to eat at the hotel. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the meals, just ask your guide on the tour, he/she will be happy to provide information about the food options for each day.
Unless you are vegan or lactose intolerant and also need to be gluten free, it should not be too difficult to accommodate your needs. If you require gluten free bread or other very specific alternative items, it may be best to bring them with you, since options on the road may be limited.
Hiking
This tour has some really interesting hikes and lots of short walks to explore waterfalls and natural wonders or to look around towns, villages and historic sights. All hikes are rated as easy and are at a slow pace determined by the participants.
The longest hike is a spectacular three hour hike in East Iceland which will take you to Hengifoss, Iceland´s second highest waterfall. You will also see a stunning gorge where you can clearly see the volcanic layers in the rock face, and Litlanesfoss waterfall, with a high cascade framed dramatically by enormous hexagonal basalt columns. Anyone in reasonable condition, who is capable of hiking for three hours at a slow pace on uneven surfaces can do this. There are short breaks and pauses to admire the views and take photos, it is good to bring a drink and a snack to enjoy.
Other hikes to explore natural wonders are quite short, a few will take you over rough lava. At the Námaskarð geothermal area, close to boiling mud pots and bubbling hot springs, there are picturesque areas of multicolored mud, so in some places you will be walking on softish mud. The sulfur scented steam makes the air a little moist, most people are not bothered by this at all, it is just part of the atmosphere in this otherworldly place.
Wearing rainwear is certainly recommend for walking the pathway behind the cascade of Seljalandsfoss waterfall, or close to Skógafoss waterfall. Otherwise, the spray from the tumbling falls can make you fairly wet.
Strong hiking shoes are recommended for shorter walks because you will often be on rough paths. In wintry weather there can be snow or ice, ice grips or traction cleats which fit on your shoes are useful in winter.
Mývatn Nature baths
Set in the middle of a lava field, Mývatn Nature Baths really are the Blue Lagoon of the north. When the alkaline, mineral rich water emerges from the earth it is 130° C, before being cooled to a comfortable 36° C to 40° C, perfect for bathing. The composition of the water ensures that undesirable bacteria does not breed, so no chlorine or other chemicals are added. It is soothing for most skin conditions, and the sulfur-rich steamy atmosphere is often helpful to those with asthma or chest conditions. The changing rooms, public areas, licensed café/restaurant and outdoor seating areas are all very comfortable. The scenery and the views from every window are outstanding and the atmosphere is serene and relaxed.
Glacier hiking
Our tour planners have chosen an easy, but really spectacular, glacier hike on an outlet glacier or glacier tongue of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. Most people have never set foot on a glacier so this will be a totally new and really exciting activity. Your glacier guide will issue you with crampons and all necessary glacier gear and explain how everything should be used. You will see breath-taking ice formations including moulins, networks of crevasses and sometimes ice falls. This is a powerful place which is always changing, the ice creaks as it moves on the glacier and people feel very small in the face of nature!
It is important that you wear proper hiking boots because the crampons cannot be fitted to any other kind of footwear. Whatever the weather, make sure you have got your sunglasses and sunscreen, additional warm clothing and your waterproof jacket and trousers with you. We all know glaciers are cold, but the temperature does vary, so you may need to increase or reduce your layers. Your camera is essential and carrying a drink and a small snack is recommended!
Whale Watching
Your whale watching boat trip sets off from Dalvík, a really charming, and still traditional fishing village on Eyjafjörður Fjord. Your three hour tour will take you across Eyjafjörður in whichever direction is best to see whales, dolphins, porpoises, other ocean wildlife and sometimes seals. The search could take you in the direction of Akureyri, or in the direction of Grímsey on the Arctic Circle. Wherever you go you will not be far from the Arctic Circle, with fabulous views of Eyjafjörður, little fishing villages and towering mountain peaks.
The moment when you spot your first whale is always spellbinding, something no one ever forgets! Whales or dolphins are spotted on 98% of tours, an astonishing success rate. Make sure your phone is fully charged or your camera has plenty of battery!
This tour gives you a real ocean experience. You get the chance to try a little sea angling, when you get back to Dalvík where the catch is barbecued, giving you a delicious taste of really fresh fish. Cod, haddock, pollock and catfish are caught most often.
The boat is very stable, good quality overalls are provided, as well as a taste of the catch of the day, you get a hot drink with a traditional Icelandic snack. It is good to have headwear, scarves, and gloves to wear, temperatures cool down and breezes increase out on the water. On sunny days, with so much reflected light around, sunglasses and sunscreen are particularly useful.
A word about the Icelandic language
Icelandic is the closest language to Old Norse. This is largely due to the relative isolation of the island and also, in modern times, to the efforts of the Icelandic people. When something new arrives on the scene, new Icelandic words are often carefully formed. For example, tölva, meaning computer, was developed from two words meaning to predict and to count. Icelandic people are very talented with languages, most have a very high standard of English and they are usually proficient at a couple of other languages too. It is nice to know a few Icelandic words though:
Já/yes, the ‘j’ is pronounced ‘y’ and the ‘á´ as ‘ow’, so this kind of becomes ‘yauw’
Nei/no is pronounced, ‘nay´.
Góðan daginn/Good day which is pronounced ‘go-than daginn’ with a softened ‘g’
Gott kvöld/good evening, the ‘ö’ is pronounced ‘ur’ is little like in urgent but soft and shorter.
Góða nótt/Good night. ‘Gothah note’, with the ‘ó’ pronounced as in ‘gold’.
Takk, takk takk or takk fyrir/Thank you, the ‘y’ is pronounced ‘i’ as in ‘link’.
Bless/bye, bless, bless is also often said.