Iceland’s Sprengisandur Adventure Ride

Day 1 - Arrival

The tour starts in the evening. Tour members who arrive the same day in Iceland should take the “Flybus” from the airport to the final bus station BSÍ in Reykjavík. We will greet you at the bus station or at your hotel/guesthouse in Reykjavik between 17:30- 18:00 and drive you to our farm Vellir near Hveragerði.

There you will be lodged at at our Guesthouse. We will get to know each other during dinner at our Hotel. The day will end with a detailed description of the tour (sometimes this occurs in the morning).

Day 2 - Hveragerdi – Fellsmúli – Hólaskógur

From Hveragerdi, in the Ölfus municipality, we drive to the farm Fellsmúli near the Mt. Hekla volcano. The riding tour starts there, and we follow soft paths through a birch forest, to the old farm Skarfanes. Most of the day we ride along the banks of the mighty river Thjórsá (the longest river in Iceland).

On our way to Tröllkonuhlaup, we pass the waterfall Thjófafoss and the striking mountain Búrfell, which was once home to giants and trolls. From there, we drive to the hut Hólaskógur where we spend the night.

Riding time and distance: 25 km, 5 hours.

Day 3: Hólaskógur – Hrauneyjarfoss – Hólaskógur

We continue north-east of the Thjórsá River. The landscape changes steadily into the wilderness. The horses will spend the night in a meadow close Hrauneyjar, near one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in Iceland. Tonight we will spend the night in a hut at Hólaskógur.

Riding time and distance: 35 km, 7 hours

Day 4: Hrauneyjarfoss – Versalir

Today we start early to ride a long distance from Hrauneyjarfoss Falls to Versalir, a resting place at the beginning of Sprengisandur, known from the song “Á Sprengisandur” (Ridum, ridum…). On this route, we see many mountains and the glaciers Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull.

We spend the night in a large, comfortable mountain hut.

Riding time and distance: 50-60 km, 9 hours.

Day 5: Versalir – Nýi Dalur

On this day we also cover a long distance on our way North. The landscape is similar to that of the previous day, but we approach the glaciers and ride between them. East of us we can see Mt. Arnarfell, a green mountain which is known to be the center of Iceland.

At this point, we enter Sprengisandur. We pass the dwellings of some of the most famous Icelandic outlaws, for example, that of Fjalla-Eyvindur.

We spend the night in a big mountain hut in Nýi-Dalur.

Riding time and distance: 60 km, 10 hours.

Day 6: Nýi-Dalur – Laugafell

On our way from Nýi Dalur, we ride on big sand dunes. We have spectacular views of the landscape of North Iceland - it all begins to open before us, and we leave the three biggest glaciers in Iceland behind.

We spend the night in the Laugafell mountain hut where we can bathe in a hot spring.

Riding time and distance: 45 km, 8 hours.

Day 7: Laugafell - Hólsgerði in Eyjafjörður.

We ride from Laugafell in the direction of Eyjafjördur Fjord, where the green natural surroundings, lush with bushes and some woods, start to dominate the landscape more.

We start to glimpse a most beautiful view over Eyjafjördur and Akureyri.

The tour ends at the farm Hólsgerði in Eyjafjörður. From there we will be driven to Akureyri Airport and fly back to Reykjavik. Our planned arrival there is around 18:00 p.m.

Riding time and distance: 35 km, 6 hrs.

Please note that dinner on the last evening is not included. Also, there are a few stretches on the trail where riders need to hand walk their horses.