The Land of Fire and Ice has almost too much to offer for outdoor enthusiasts. Where to even start? We recommend this tour. Not only are we going to visit some of Iceland’s most famous attractions, but we’ll also be going off the beaten path. From Instagrammable waterfalls and black sand beaches to rugged hikes showcasing the wildest parts of the country. One day it’s an 11-mile hike in the Highlands and the other sightseeing and a soak in a geothermal lagoon. And let’s not forget colorful mountains, dramatic canyons, quaint fishing villages, bustling streets of Reykjavik…the list could go on forever. It’s the best of Iceland in 8 days. What do you say?
Embark on an 8-day hiking and sightseeing adventure showcasing different parts of Iceland. Starting in Reykjavik, you will first climb Mt Hengill, followed by a hike in Thorsmork, and a 7 Peaks walk in the Westman islands. You will also visit some of the most famous attractions on the South Coast like the Skogafoss waterfall and do a hike in the Icelandic Highlands. The tour includes a local guide, hotel accommodation, breakfasts and some lunches, all transits during the tour, and other activities like going to a geothermal lagoon. Explore the best of Iceland in 8 days!
Arrive at Keflavik International Airport and take a bus ride to Reykjavik. Today, you’ll have time to explore the capital of Iceland. Grab something to eat, explore its bustling streets or visit one of its many museums. In the evening, go to your hotel to meet your Iceland hiking guide and fellow hikers for dinner and trip briefing.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel
After enjoying a hearty breakfast, it’s time for hiking! Your adventure starts by climbing Mt. Hengill, a large volcano just outside of Reykjavik that offers amazing 360° views over the southwestern part of Iceland. A great climb to prepare for the coming days. Return to your hotel and get some rest for tomorrow.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Hotel
Driving: 1.5 hours
Hiking: 5 miles (8 km)
Elevation gain: 1,250 ft (380 m)
After breakfast, your group will travel into the valley of Þórsmörk (lit. Thor’s forest), where the goal is to hike the Fimmvörðuháls trail, located right next to the infamous volcano Eyjafjallajökull. A valley surrounded by glaciers and volcanoes, which have created one of the most dramatic landscapes in Iceland, you’re sure to be blown away by the beauty of the area. It’s a challenging but extremely rewarding hike in one of the best hiking areas in the whole country. Return to your hotel for some well-deserved rest.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Hotel
Driving: 2 hours
Hiking: 9 miles (15 km)
Elevation gain: 3,550 ft (1,080 m)
After leaving the hotel in the morning, you’ll be heading to Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands). A cluster of volcanic islands just off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a fishing town of about 4,000 inhabitants, where you’ll spend the next 2 nights. After reaching the island by ferry, you’ll take a thrilling boat ride around the island to see all the amazing rock formations it has to offer. Spend the evening in the quaint town before returning to your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel
Driving: 30 minutes
The island Heimaey boasts of 7 peaks, surrounding the town and the goal is to climb all those 7 peaks in one day. After breakfast, the hike takes your group through newly created lava fields and craters, stunning landscape created by volcanic eruptions and shaped by erosion, large puffin colonies, beautiful views towards the south coast of Iceland and so much more! This is a challenging hike, but you’ll be able to get plenty of rest back at your hotel. Tomorrow you’ll only do some sightseeing and short hikes.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel
Hiking: 10 miles (17 km)
Elevation gain: 3,770 ft (1,150 m)
After breakfast, your group will leave the Westman Islands behind and head to the South Coast of Iceland. The day will be a mix of sightseeing and shorter hikes. Along the south coast you can find stunning waterfalls like Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, black sand beaches, glaciers and stunning canyons. The day will be spent checking out some of the most iconic sites in Iceland and preparing your muscles for the last big hike the next day.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel
Driving: 2 hours
Hiking: Only short walks
Elevation gain: 490 ft (150 m)
Your last big hike on this trip will be in the Icelandic Highlands. An area where there’s wild, untouched nature as far as the eye can see. Filled with volcanos, geothermal areas, colorful mountains and beauty like no other, this is somewhere you don’t want to miss out hiking when in Iceland. The hike takes you to Landmannalaugar, more specifically Grænihryggur, which is a beautiful, green rhyolite ridge that lies inside the largest caldera in Iceland called Torfajökulsaskja. On this hike you can see all the colors of the rainbow in the mountains and the hills surrounding Grænihryggur—truly an amazing area!
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Hotel
Driving: 3 hours
Hiking: 11 miles (18 km)
Elevation gain: 2,460 ft (750 m)
On your way back down from the Highlands, you’ll make a stop at one of the highest waterfalls in Iceland, called Háifoss. This dramatic waterfall drops down into a large canyon, where it’s possible to hike down and see the waterfall from below, which makes it even more spectacular. When you reach Reykjavík in the afternoon, you’ll head for a well-deserved soak in the Sky Lagoon, where you can soothe your muscles after this amazing hiking adventure and reflect back on all the memories you’ve made for the last week. Celebrate your achievements in Reykjavik and say goodbye to your Iceland tour guide and to fellow hikers!
Meals: Breakfast
Driving: 2.5 hours
Hiking: 4 km (2,5 mi)
Elevation gain: 250 m (820 ft)
We had the pleasure of being on a group tour led by Orri. He was very knowledgeable and helpful with everything we wanted to know and learn about Iceland. He provided a great mix of history, local knowledge and personal stories. His enthusiasm surrounding our pursuit of the northern lights paid off. We have great pictures taken by Orri to remember it all! We highly recommend adding Orri to your Iceland adventure!
Orri is a great guide with lots of experience. I used him for a week long excursion in Iceland where we walked on a glacier, saw a waterfall and hiked along cliffs. I felt safe with a Orri and he provided excellent local knowledge and story telling!
What you get on this adventure:
What’s not included:
To join this guided hiking trip in Iceland, you need to be in very good physical shape. All participants should have extensive hiking experience in hilly terrain. However, it is not necessary to have experience with multi-day treks, it is enough to be accustomed to full-day hikes. On this tour, you will mostly have a longer hike one day and a shorter hike the next day—this alternation will allow everyone to recuperate and have a more enjoyable experience.
On longer hiking days, you’ll cover distances between 5 and 11 miles (8-18 km), while on shorter hiking days you will only do short walks while sightseeing or hikes no longer than 3 miles (4.8 km). During longer hikes, you can expect altitude gains of up to 3,500 feet (1,080 m). Another factor to be aware of is changing weather. Sometimes it can be rainy, cool, and windy even in the middle of summer—especially in higher elevations. You will also encounter some steep and uneven terrain.
To prepare for this tour, we encourage regular cardiovascular exercise (especially hiking!) in weeks prior to the adventure. Keep in mind that you will always have a guide by your side to encourage you, assess your fitness level, and keep everyone safe by changing the route if it is too strenuous or doing an alternate hike due to bad weather.
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:
Bring comfortable clothes appropriate for the season. We suggest checking the weather forecast and being prepared for different conditions—weather is pretty volatile in Iceland even in the summer and especially at higher elevations. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
Group sizes and prices:
Hiking in Iceland can be arranged for private groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Reykjavik, the starting point of the tour, most people fly into Keflavik International Airport. From there, we suggest taking a 40-minute bus ride to the city. There is a line connecting the airport and the city after each arrival.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, your guide will suggest the best time and place to meet for a welcome dinner and trip briefing, usually at your hotel in Reykjavik in the evening of Day 1.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both emergency medical and travel insurance. With medical insurance, if you have an accident or medical emergency on or off the mountain/trail, you’ll avoid paying out of pocket for costly expenses. This covers everything from hospital treatments to emergency air transportation and more.
Travel insurance covers canceled flights, natural disasters and other scenarios that may interrupt your travel plans.
We also expect you to respect local regulations and take measures to protect yourselves, your guides, and the communities you’re traveling to. For more information on travel recommendations and restrictions in Iceland, please refer to Iceland’s foreign travel advice.
If you need assistance selecting the right insurance for your group, let us know and we will be happy to help!
Iceland, the “Land of Fire and Ice”, has forever lived with volcanic activity. Minor and major eruptions have occurred every few years since the island was formed. Some of Iceland’s appeal, aside from sheer natural beauty, surely stems from this very fact.
However, every new eruption, such as the recent Reykjanes Peninsula fissure, will make some travelers, tourists, and adventurers uneasy, especially given the fact that sensationalist media is not immune to misinformation and speculation.
Since we work with a number of expert local guides in Iceland, we thought we’d share their input and fill you in on what’s actually going on.
First of all, air traffic has not been affected. Flights to and from Keflavík International Airport and Reykjavík Domestic Airport are operating as they always do.
Second, the effects of volcanic activity have been localized, with some roads closed, and all services in Iceland are operating as usual. Reykjavik, the capital, is around 40 km (25 miles) away from the volcanic fissure, and life there is as normal as ever.
And third, trips offered by 57hours are taking place much further away, and are thereby even less likely to be affected by the volcanic activity, being perfectly safe for adventurers. Naturally, the authorities (and guides) are monitoring the situation and doing everything possible to keep both local residents and visitors safe and well informed.
In case you have any additional questions or dilemmas, feel free to get in touch with either your guide or 57hours. For more information, please visit:
https://safetravel.is/
https://www.visiticeland.com/article/volcano-info
Or watch the video with Dr. Matthew Roberts from the Icelandic Meteorological Office explaining the recent volcanic activities in Iceland:
https://youtu.be/QA3-BXYuYrw?feature=shared
Deposits
You can secure one of the set dates with a 30% deposit upon booking. The remaining 70% of the trip price is to be paid 90 days prior to departure, at the latest.
Cancellations
Booking fees are non-refundable in all cases. During checkout, however, you can choose one of 57hours’ flexibility options:
Basic
Flexible
Super Flexible
Early Bird booking
Want to be the first one to know when we publish new dates or secure your spot well in advance? Select a future month that suits you best and lock in your early bird spot in time with just a 10% deposit.
As soon as our guides publish new tour dates, you’ll be the first one to know. We’ll hold your spot for 2 weeks until you choose the date that suits you best.
More about how early bird bookings work below:
Orri is a truly wonderful guide. The itinerary was perfect and accommodations great – Orri took care of everything. Wonderful stories while we traveled from place to place. Always felt like we were going to (stunningly beautiful) places off the beaten track. A++ if you want a small group / personalized Iceland experience.