6 Day Around Iceland Winter Minibus Tour Multi-day tour

Our partner: Troll Expeditions

Description

Day 1 - Golden Circle Your tour will start with the very popular Golden circle. You’ll visit all the must see location of this popular route:Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area and Gullfoss waterfall. Optional extra: Horseback Riding Tour. Your hotel is located in the Golden Circle.  

Day 2 - South Coast & Glacier Hike In your next destination, you’ll visit the waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, the unmissable Reynisfjara black sand beach with its basalt columns. Then, add glacier hiking to your booking. Optional extra: Glacier Hiking Tour. Spend the night in the South.  

Day 3 - South Coast & Ice Caves You’ll visit a remarkable blue ice cave with an experienced glacier guide.Next you’ll see the popular Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and the Diamond beach. Optional extra: Ice Cave Tour. Spend the night in the South.  

Day 4 - Eastfjords and night in Egilsstadir Your destination for the day is the remarkable Eastfjords. You’ll pass through Iceland’s largest forest, Hallormsstadaskógur and see lake Lagarfljót, home of a terrifying water monster. You’ll spend the night in a town in the Eastfjords.  

Day 5 - Lake Mývatn Traveling to the North. you’ll visit lake Mývatn with its unique nature baths, which are centered around a large lagoon. Explore lava fields of Dimmuborgir and Námaskard. Optional extra: Myvatn Nature Baths Entrance. Spend the night in Akureyri. 

 Day 6 - North Iceland After visiting the beautiful North and its capital Akureyri you’ll continue with Hauganes, a tiny village where you’ll have an optional Whale Watching. Next you’ll see Hvítserkur, a popular rock formation, “the dragon drinking water”. Optional extra: Beer Baths or Whale Watching Tour. At the end of your journey you’ll arrive in Reykjavík in the evening.

What´s Included

  • Driver guide, pick-up and drop-off from in Reykjavik capital area
  • Small group experience
  • Wi-Fi and Icelandic music on board
  • Accommodation:
    5 nights accommodation with a private bathroom
  • Meals:
    5 Breakfasts
  • Included activities and equipment:
    Whale watching
    Ice cave tour
    3 hours glacier Hike with a certified guide
    Glacier equipment: Helmet, Harness, Crampons, and Ice Axe
    Northern lights sightseeing, if the weather allows
  • Taxes

What to bring

  • Warm and waterproof clothing
  • Camera
  • A sense of adventure
  • Winter hiking shoes
  • Swimsuit and a towel 

Additional information

Customers travelling on their own will receive a single room. Reservations for 2 people will be allocated a double room. For bookings of 3 or more, triple rooms will automatically be allocated. For example, a group of 8 will receive 2 triple rooms and 1 double. If these arrangements do not meet your requirements, please contact the provider.

The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon, and therefore cannot be guaranteed, but this itinerary is designed to maximise your chances to see them if weather allows. Please be advised that there is no specific Northern Lights hunt on this tour, but your guide will notify you if the conditions are favourable and advise you on how to best spot them.

It can happen, in the case of extreme weather, that an activity is cancelled. If your chosen activity is cancelled, we will assist you with rearranging or booking other activities when possible, and any potential price difference will be refunded to you.

Please note that only pick up and drop-off from designated pick up locations in the greater capital area is available, not from Keflavík International Airport. Therefore, we do not recommend attempting to start this tour on your arrival day in Iceland. Arrival time back to Reykjavík at the end of your tour can vary depending on weather and traffic.

It is highly recommended that you do not book your flight home the same night as bad weather or delays could affect your journey. Please be sure to arrange accommodation for this evening and an airport transfer the next day to take you to Keflavík International Airport for your departure.

Note that Icelandic roads and pavements can be slippery in the wintertime. We recommend you bring shoes with slip-resistant soles or ice-grip shoe covers. The covers can be purchased in most supermarkets and gas stations around the country.  

Itinerary

DAY 1
Day 1 - The Golden Circle
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Day 1 - The Golden Circle

The first attraction of this 6-day Iceland tour is the well-known Golden Circle, one of Icelands most popular attraction. First of all you will visit Þingvellir national park where the two tectonic plates, the North American and the Eurasian plate, are moving away from each other. Few places in the world offer a better and clearer view of this massive geographic activity. The biggest natural lake in Iceland is also located at Thingvellir National Park and hosts a great variety of fish and bird life. Thingvellir is also an important place for Icelandic national history. At Thingvellir Icelanders founded their parliament in 930 a.d. where the chieftains had their annual meeting every summer.

From Þingvellir you will drive for a short time to the next attraction which is Geysir geothermal area. There you can see Strokkur hot spring gushing out boiling water every 5 minutes or so.

Next up is Gullfoss waterfall (The Golden Falls), one of Iceland's most iconic waterfalls that has a drop of 32 meters over two tocky tiers. On a sunny day, you can see the glacier Langjökull in the distance and enjoy a rainbow in the mist of the waterfall.

If you wish to make this day even more adventurous then you have the option of adding a horseback riding tour at the time of booking.

After a good day of sightseeing you will spend the night in the Golden Circle area or more South near Hella village. Throughout this tour you will mostly be staying at country hotels that provide good opportunities of witnessing the northern lights if the weather allows.  

DAY 2
Day 2 - South Coast, Waterfalls and Glacier Hike
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Day 2 - South Coast, Waterfalls and Glacier Hike

Your second day includes the beautiful South Coast of Iceland. This day you will pass farmlands, rivers and picturesque waterfalls. 

Along the day you will have the waves of the Atlantic ocean on your right side. There will be plenty stops for taking photographs and explore the amazing scenery. 

To make this day even more adventurous you can add on a glacier hiking tour. This glacier hike gives you amazing scenery through crevasses and jagged ridges, incredible surroundings around the glacier and get up close with the blue ice. 

The last stop of the day will be Reynisfjara beach where you can breath the ocean air while exploring the extraordinary basalt stacks. 

The accommodation of day 2 will be in or close to the town of Vík.  

DAY 3
Day 3 - Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon & Ice Caving
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Day 3 - Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon & Ice Caving

This day will very likely be one of the highlights of your trip. You will travel further east along the South Coast, through the desert of Skeiðarársandur, passing another national park, Skaftafell. Further east you will stop at Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of the most iconic locations in Iceland. In Jökulsárlón you will see big and small icebergs breaking off from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier floating in the lagoon. If you look really well you might spots some seals that live in the lagoon.

On this day you will have the unique opportunity of exploring ice caves inside on of Icelands glaciers. If you are visiting between November and March you will visit an ice cave in Vatnajökull glacier. If you're visiting at other time of the year you will visit an ice cave in Mýrdalsjökull.

This night is spent in the area of Vatnajökull glacier.  

DAY 4
Day 4 - The Eastfjords
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Day 4 - The Eastfjords

Today, you will continue further east towards the East Fjords of Iceland. The East Fjords are one of the most spectacular and untouched regions in Iceland. In this area you will feel the peace and tranquillity from the nature around you. While driving around this area you might spot some wild reindeers.

There are loads of interesting stops on this day as you head further east such as Hallormsstaðaskógur, Lagarfljót lake, the charming fjords of the East and the small fishing villages.

The night will be spent in the Eastfjords area.  

DAY 5
Day 5 - Lake Myvatn, Dimmuborgir Fortress and Namaskard Pass
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Day 5 - Lake Myvatn, Dimmuborgir Fortress and Namaskard Pass

After breakfast on day 5 you will head north towards Lake Mývatn and the nearby geothermal area. You will visit Dimmuborgir (Dark Castles) an area that is known for its strange rock formations, some look like a dark fort but others may look like a church.

Next stop is Námaskarð, a geothermal area with bubbling mud pools. Icelanders often place dough of bread and bury it in the ground allowing it to bake overnight.

An optional stop for this day is the Mývatn nature baths, a relaxing spa with warm, minreal-rich geothermal water, often called the Blue Lagoon of the North.

The last stop of the day before heading to the overnight accommodation in Akureyri is Goðafoss waterfall. Goðafoss is very rich with beauty and history. When driving to Akureyri you will pass Víkurskarð mountain pass you can take in the beautiful suuroundings of Eyjafjörður fjord. 

DAY 6
Day 6 - Exploring North Iceland
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Day 6 - Exploring North Iceland

This is the last day of your 6-day trip around Iceland. Today you will travel from the capital of the north to the capital in the south, Reykjavík with a few stops on the way.

First you will head out to Hauganes, that is the home of only about 140 people, it's really charming and peaceful village. You can spend some time strolling around the black sand beach or walk on the harbour. For this area you can add on the activity to go whale watching where you have the opportunity of seeing Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Harbour Porpoise and White Beaked Dolphins. These species are the most commonly spotted in this area.

If you prefer relaxation then you can add a visit to Bjórböðin Beer Spa, there you have the chance to soak in warm beer said to be really good for your hair and skin. While bathing in warm beer you can get a cold one in your hand.  

From Hauganes you will head to Hvítserkur, a unique looking rock. Some see it as a dragon, others see it as an elephant drinking from the surrounding water. 

After that you will head to Reykjavík, when in Reykjavík it's up to you how you want to spend your time there, you could visit the city's museums, go on a whale watching tour, go shopping in downtown Reykjavík for example. 

We do not recommend flying from Iceland in the evening of the last day in case of any delays due to weather.