Green Tourism Tour in South Iceland
Guided Self drive Tour
Dates 2021
September: 11 - 17 = German speaking departure
September: 18 - 24 = English speaking departure
September: 11 - 17 = German speaking departure
September: 18 - 24 = English speaking departure
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As we all long to travel again in good companionship to foreign countries we still might feel the need for a bit more space and privacy around us. Join us on our new guided self-drive tour where you will be driving in your designated car with your private party in between sites.
Arriving at the site you will be met by our local Exploring Iceland guide who will take the group around the site, explaining the history and nature as we explore on foot. Every day easy guided hikes will be undertaken in wonderful, varying nature – often with a historical background. We will visit the Golden Circle including Þingvellir National Park, waterfall Gullfoss and Geyser Strokkur, explore the volcanic Valley Þjórsárdalur and travel along the charming South Shore of Iceland with its numerous waterfalls, turf houses and amazing glacier views. Enjoy a local food tasting in an airy horse barn and visit a Greenhouse Restaurant to get a glimpse into the life of the local farming community. To make this tour a truly sustainable one we will use electrical cars and will plant birch trees on our farm day outing to compensate our carbon footprint. Our guests get access to a tour-exclusive podcast with wonderful stories about Icelandic history, geology, literature, politics and the daily life of Icelanders. All the cars have bluetooth so our guests can pick from a choice of podcast stories to listen to while they are travelling from site to site to meet their guide! |
Type: Guided Self-drive Tour
Operated by: Exploring Iceland Duration: 7 days / 6 nights Area: South Iceland Accommodation: Icelandair Hotel Reykjavík Natura**** Hotel Geysir**** Meals included: Breakfast Min: 6 guests Max: 12 guests Guide: English or German speaking departures 2021 price per person: 2 persons sharing one car in dbl/twin room: ISK 282.000.- 3 persons sharing one car and triple room: ISK 235.500.- 4 persons sharing one car in dbl/twin rooms: ISK 240.500.- Currency converter Please contact us for more information: 
Your guide on this tour is Meike Eríka Pétursdóttir. She is a Travel consultant, certified Tour Guide and a member of ICE-SAR, the Icelandic Search and Rescue Association. Meike has been travelling the Icelandic highland for twenty years on foot and horseback and lives with her family and lots of animals on a farm in the countryside in South Iceland. Meike is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to Icelandic history and a wonderful storyteller, too! She will lead you on historic trails with a trunk full of interesting, funny and curious stories about the life of Icelanders!
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Detailed itinerary: Day 1: Arrival – optional Blue Lagoon – Reykjavík Welcome to Iceland! Upon arrival pick up your rental car and take a short drive from Keflavík International to your accommodation in Reykjavík. All the cars have a navigation system so it is very easy to find! If you arrive early you might want to make a little detour to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing bath (optional) or take the scenic drive along the shoreline before driving to your hotel. We will provide you with a list of sites to visit by car or on foot in and around downtown Reykjavík. Dinner individually. Accommodation: Icelandair Hotel Natura**** Day 2: Álftanes Adventure – Þingvellir National Park Meet & Greet with your guide Meike at the hotel! We take a short drive in convoy to the beautiful peninsula Álftanes where the Icelandic President has his residency on Bessastaðir seat amid stunning nature. We start with an informal information meeting, telling you about the route, handing out road maps and explaining how to work the podcast with lovely stories about Iceland! Afterwards we start with our first easy walk along the beach with great views to Mt. Esja and Snæfellsjökull Glacier. We have a date with the Icelandic Horse and walk on historical grounds! Our next stop will be at Þingvellir National Park where we will go for two walks. The first one will take us down the valley like rift that has opened up in between the diverging continental plates and to the historical sites where the Parliament was founded in 930. The second walk takes us right into a lovely birch and willow forest to an ancient farm ruin in beautiful settings. During September the colors of the trees and shrubs are incredible ranging from deep orange to dark purple! Check in at our lovely Country Hotel for the next 4 nights right at the Geysir Geothermal area so you visit the spouting geyser Strokkur anytime you want! On the parking site there are charging facilities for your car. Dinner individually at the hotel restaurant with Geyser view or at one of the nearby restaurants. Total walking time today: 3 walks, each approx. 1-2 hours. Accommodation: Hotel Geysir**** Day 3: Geysers & Waterfalls We start the day by walking over the geothermal field near the hotel, learning about Geysers, geothermal heating and a royal visit! We take a short drive to the deep canyon made by the “White” river Hvítá. We leave the cars and set out on a hike along the canyon all the way to the Golden Waterfall Gullfoss. Here we give you plenty of time to for picture taking before we head back to the cars. Arriving at the cars you can either join your guide Meike for another powerful walk in Haukadalur forest and learn about the influential Haukdælingar family or drive to one of the nearby geothermal bathing springs for a more relaxing afternoon! Dinner individually. Total walking time: 2 walks, each about 2 hours. Optional: Visit to Fontana Spa/Secret Lagoon. Day 4: Þjórsárdalur Valley – Planting trees Today we plan a visit to the past as we go exploring in the volcanic Valley Þjórsárdalur. We visit the reconstruction of a settlement farm that went under ashes in 1104 in a volcanic eruption of Mt. Hekla and visit beautiful Hjálparfoss Waterfall. We go for a walk in the lovely forest Skriðufellskogur and pay our respects to a Mountain King while learning about the reforestation challenges in Iceland. We visit the private farm animal sanctuary at the home of our guide Meike and will be planting trees to compensate for the carbon footprint of our tour. All equipment and trees provided! If you want to we can go for a short walk on a beautiful trail on the farm! Dinner individually. Total walking time: 1-2 walks, about 4 hours in total. Day 5: Food & Fun –Horse Show - Traditional food tasting – Farm Visit For the past days we have been burning energy on our energetic walks so we deserve being a bit spoiled with food today as we visit the absolutely charming Greenhouse Restaurant Friðheimar and learn about growing vegetables with the help of Geothermal energy. We will have lunch at the restaurant and enjoy a horse show where we learn about the virtues that make the Icelandic Horse such a National Treasure! We make short visit to Faxi Waterfall and have a look at the Sheep gathering paddock and the Salmon ladder nearby. Our next stop takes us to Kjóastaðir Farm where we get a traditional Icelandic Food tasting in their lofty barn and learn about sheep farming today and in the old days. Dinner individually. Optional: After the farm visit you can join a horse back riding tour right from the farm. It is suitable for beginners as well. Day 6: South Shore Adventure – Reykjavík After breakfast and check out we set off to new adventures along the South Shore. Our first stop will be at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, where we will be literally walking behind a waterfall. A short drive takes us to another waterfall Skógafoss and to our walk starting from a lovely Heritage Turf house Museum. We visit the Black Lava beach Reynisfjara with its beautiful Basalt columns before returning to Reykjavík for our last night. Total walking time: 2 walks, total of approx. 3-4 hours. Accommodation: Icelandair Hotel Natura**** Day 7: Departure or onwards travel on your own Depending on your time of departure you may have time to visit the Blue Lagoon (optional) on your way to the airport or to do some individual shopping or sightseeing in Reykjavík. Please note: Check-in at the airport is recommended 2,5 hours prior to departure and you should allocate about 75 minutes in total for the drive and returning the car at the airport. Exploring Iceland reserves the right to alter routes, itineraries or timetables should the necessity arise. The estimated duration of hiking tours as indicated timing can change according to weather conditions. Please note that the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and sightings can not be guaranteed. Short time Forecast: http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/ The charging of the electrical cars is the responsibility of the driver. The cars are suited for these routes but please note that external factors such as wind, cold and the excess usage of electricity (heat, radio etc.) can impact the battery. |
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