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Dates 2024
June: 20 - 23 July: 11 - 14 August: 15 - 18 Other dates upon request. All departures are to be booked as private tours. Type: Walking/Hiking tour with private guide. Duration: 4 days / 4 walking days / 3 nights Level of expertise required: Moderate – walking is 10-16 km per day Area: Around Reykjavik Capital area Accommodation: Double/twin/single rooms with private facilities at cosy Hotel Reykjavik Saga. Single supplement surcharge applies for single rooms. Meals: Breakfast and lunch Min: 2 guests Max: 6 guests Guide: English speaking Please note: Dinner is not included . Guide is not staying at the hotel Price 2024: ISK 435.000.- per person in 1/2 twin room Including: All transport, hiking driver/guide, 3 nights incl brkfst, 4x picnic lunches, entrance fees + towels to Sky Lagoon (incl ritual), Fontana, Blue Lagoon (premium) and Hvammsvík. Please contact us for more information and booking |
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Sagas and Spas – the best of two worlds!
Our Hike and Relax tours are ideal for travellers, who are keen hikers or walkers but prefer to have a nice and quiet evening at a cosy hotel instead of staying with a large group in a basic mountain hut. We walk/hike 10-16 km per day with a private local guide and relax in the wonderful geothermal local spas in each area. The night is spent in a cosy Reykjavík Saga Hotel in downtown Reykjavík, within walking distance to some of Reykjavík´s finest restaurants and cultural sights! With this tour you are really getting the best of both – the incredible arctic nature during the day and the delicious treats of Iceland´s cuisine and the captivating nightlife with live music right around the corner! Our knowledgeable local guide will take you to the hidden, off-the-beaten-track sights that only the locals know about! We invite you to join Exploring Iceland on foot for an unforgettable vacation in a small group on great trails! On this tour we enjoy lovely walks around the natural wonders of South and West Iceland, we learn about the Sagas and History of Iceland and enjoy a different geothermal SPA each night! Þingvellir National park, the volcanic Peninsula Reykjanes with its Blue Lagoon and Iceland´s second highest waterfall Glymur will give you wonderful memories for a lifetime! |
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Day by day itinerary
Day 1: Elliðardalur Valley – Árbær Open Air Museum - Sky Lagoon
We start the day with a walk through lovely Elliðardalur Valley, a beloved green space with small trails along the salmon river Elliðaá, through an arctic birch forest and purple Alaska lupine fields (June and July only). We visit Árbær Open Air Museum and learn about the building art during the centuries, from turfhouses to stately merchant buildings. During the summer months, the Open-Air Museum staff is dressed up in historical clothing and the fields are filled with farm animals – giving you a wonderful insight into the daily life of Icelanders in the past. Today we will enjoy lunch at a local café, either during the hike or at the museum. We end the day with a long soak in the Sky Lagoon!
Walking distance: 10 km
Elevation: 50 m
Day 2: Þingvellir National Park– Fontana SPA
This day will bring us back to the Saga days, when Icelanders travelled across the countryside to meet at Þingvellir, to make and amend the law and to judge and punish the guilty! We will walk along the historical sites, the lawmen´s booths, the lawspeaker´s hill and the gruesome pond where adulteresses lost their life. Learn about the Sagas, the medieval family stories which took place around the time when Þingvellir was at its prime! We enjoy our packed lunch on the site of an abandoned farm right in the heart of the National Park which can only be reached on narrow trails. You will learn about the impressive geology of the area, for example about “the Hreppar plate” which sits in between the continental plates and the volcanic and seismic powers that have shaped the area. The day will conclude in the wonderful warm waters of the Fontana SPA, where you can enjoy a sauna right atop a bubbling hot spring!
Walking distance: 12-15 km
Elevation: 50 m
Day 3: Volcanic Reykjanes Peninsula and Blue Lagoon
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a rugged and geologically active region located in southwestern Iceland. It is part of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is a fascinating area, known for its diverse and striking landscape, featuring volcanic craters, fissures and geothermal areas. Hiking trails will take you through the out worldly landscape where steam and bubbling mud holes lend a mystique feeling to your hike! Today we can choose from different trails, depending on the weather and group´s interest. One of the most known features of this area is of course the Blue Lagoon which will welcome you at the end of our hike for a long and invigorating bath in the green blue geothermal water of this special place!
Walking distance: Approx. 12 km
Elevation: 50 to 100 m, depending on chosen trail
Day 4: Hvalfjörður, Glymur Waterfall and Hvammsvík baths
Our last day will take us to West Iceland, into the beautiful fjord Hvalfjörður with its fascinating historical background when it became an important site for the occupying powers of the Second World war.
The fjord is known for its beautiful setting and green mountain ranges and of course for Glymur, Iceland´s second highest Waterfall, boasting a height of almost 200 m. Along the trail to Glymur waterfall, there will be several easy river crossings and some short steep trails, but wonderful viewpoints over the ocean and surrounding mountain ranges. At the end of the day, we will enjoy a bath in the new Hvammsvík Sea baths, relaxing in warm pools nestled into the shoreline!
Walking distance: Approx. 15 km
Elevation: 200 m
Exploring Iceland reserves the right to alter routes, itineraries or timetables should the necessity arise. The estimated duration of tours as indicated by km or timing can change according to road or weather conditions.
We start the day with a walk through lovely Elliðardalur Valley, a beloved green space with small trails along the salmon river Elliðaá, through an arctic birch forest and purple Alaska lupine fields (June and July only). We visit Árbær Open Air Museum and learn about the building art during the centuries, from turfhouses to stately merchant buildings. During the summer months, the Open-Air Museum staff is dressed up in historical clothing and the fields are filled with farm animals – giving you a wonderful insight into the daily life of Icelanders in the past. Today we will enjoy lunch at a local café, either during the hike or at the museum. We end the day with a long soak in the Sky Lagoon!
Walking distance: 10 km
Elevation: 50 m
Day 2: Þingvellir National Park– Fontana SPA
This day will bring us back to the Saga days, when Icelanders travelled across the countryside to meet at Þingvellir, to make and amend the law and to judge and punish the guilty! We will walk along the historical sites, the lawmen´s booths, the lawspeaker´s hill and the gruesome pond where adulteresses lost their life. Learn about the Sagas, the medieval family stories which took place around the time when Þingvellir was at its prime! We enjoy our packed lunch on the site of an abandoned farm right in the heart of the National Park which can only be reached on narrow trails. You will learn about the impressive geology of the area, for example about “the Hreppar plate” which sits in between the continental plates and the volcanic and seismic powers that have shaped the area. The day will conclude in the wonderful warm waters of the Fontana SPA, where you can enjoy a sauna right atop a bubbling hot spring!
Walking distance: 12-15 km
Elevation: 50 m
Day 3: Volcanic Reykjanes Peninsula and Blue Lagoon
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a rugged and geologically active region located in southwestern Iceland. It is part of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is a fascinating area, known for its diverse and striking landscape, featuring volcanic craters, fissures and geothermal areas. Hiking trails will take you through the out worldly landscape where steam and bubbling mud holes lend a mystique feeling to your hike! Today we can choose from different trails, depending on the weather and group´s interest. One of the most known features of this area is of course the Blue Lagoon which will welcome you at the end of our hike for a long and invigorating bath in the green blue geothermal water of this special place!
Walking distance: Approx. 12 km
Elevation: 50 to 100 m, depending on chosen trail
Day 4: Hvalfjörður, Glymur Waterfall and Hvammsvík baths
Our last day will take us to West Iceland, into the beautiful fjord Hvalfjörður with its fascinating historical background when it became an important site for the occupying powers of the Second World war.
The fjord is known for its beautiful setting and green mountain ranges and of course for Glymur, Iceland´s second highest Waterfall, boasting a height of almost 200 m. Along the trail to Glymur waterfall, there will be several easy river crossings and some short steep trails, but wonderful viewpoints over the ocean and surrounding mountain ranges. At the end of the day, we will enjoy a bath in the new Hvammsvík Sea baths, relaxing in warm pools nestled into the shoreline!
Walking distance: Approx. 15 km
Elevation: 200 m
Exploring Iceland reserves the right to alter routes, itineraries or timetables should the necessity arise. The estimated duration of tours as indicated by km or timing can change according to road or weather conditions.
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Hótel Reykjavík Saga features a fitness centre, garden, a terrace and restaurant in Reykjavík. With free WiFi, this 4-star hotel offers room service and a 24-hour front desk. The property is less than 1 km from Hallgrímskirkja Church, and within 1.1 km of the city centre. The units at the hotel come with a seating area, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a safety deposit box and a private bathroom with a shower, a hairdryer and slippers. At Hótel Reykjavík Saga all rooms come with bed linen and towels. Guests at the accommodation can enjoy a buffet or a continental breakfast. Hótel Reykjavík Saga offers a sauna. |
Úlfar
Our guide on all Sagas & Spa departures is Úlfar Snær. Úlfar Snær is a professional tourist guide (Iceland Tourist Guide Association) and teacher of Icelandic studies. He loves the outdoors and spends all his free time hiking and mountain biking in Iceland´s amazing nature. To these tours he also brings a vast knowledge of literature, history, and Icelandic culture. As an avid traveller himself, Úlfar understands that exploring a new destination is about both the nature and the culture defining the Icelandic nation. Without a doubt, he will give you fascinating insights into the Icelandic way of living in the past and modern world.
