What’s On’s Favourite Summer Tours in Iceland

Isn’t summer just the best? In summer, the Icelandic landscape turns bright green and the midnight sun shines bright. Mild weather and long days offer great opportunities for going out of the city looking for adventures (but always keep an eye on the weather forecast and safetravel.is). What do you think of heading to the picture-perfect glacial lake Jökulsárlón or the diverse Snæfellsnes peninsula? Are you looking for an adrenaline rush, then try a buggy adventure tour or even paragliding. Or try something completely different, like snorkelling between two tectonic plates. Whatever it is you are looking for, we are sure you will find it in Iceland. Let us help you by giving our top 5 of summer tours.

Jökulsárlón is a glacial lake in Southeast Iceland (370 kilometres from Reykjavík), formed by meltwater from Vatnajökull, the biggest glacier of Europe. It’s one of the most special places in Iceland, with big icebergs that just broke off the glacier drifting in the lake. Going for a walk on Diamond Beach – so called because of the many ice blocks on it – is highly recommended.

If you want to drive to Jökulsárlón and back to Reykjavík in one day without any other stops, you will be driving for about 10 hours. You can also book a bus tour to Jökulsárlón. These bus tours will take around 14 hours, and since you don’t have to drive yourself, you can take all the beauty of Iceland in during the tour. There are several stops at waterfalls and other highlights along the way.

Increasingly popular in recent years, snorkelling or diving in the Silfra fissure in Þingvellir national park is an amazing experience. The lava-rock filtered glacier water is some of the cleanest in the world, providing amazing visibility. Go explore the underwater world while floating in water that is 2-4 degrees Celsius.

You can either drive to Þingvellir yourself (about 40 minutes), and then meet your guides at the Silfra car park, or book a snorkelling tour with pick up from your accommodation in Reykjavík.

Looking for a thrill? Then go on a buggy ride. A buggy is a fast, sturdy and stable ATV, perfect for everybody who loves the outdoors. Driving a buggy through rough Icelandic terrain, with mud pools, dusty roads and sometimes snow, offers an exciting adventure. Before the tour, you will get special gear and a short training. When going on a buggy tour, you better be ready to get dirty, with water splashing up on the side of the tires and dust being blown around your head. Tours will take you to Mt. Esja, Mt. Hafrafell and Mt. Úlfarsfell, or Hafravatn lake, all close to Reykjavík and offering beautiful views. Buggies are suitable for two persons, and please note that you need a valid driver’s license if you are the driver. A buggy tour will take 1 to 2 hours.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula has some of the most diverse landscapes in Iceland, with waterfalls, caves, black beaches, and most importantly, the internet famous Mt. Kirkjufell. It rapidly gained popularity in recent years, because it has been used as a filming location for several movies and series, like Game of Thrones. However, it has been a tourist attraction for decades, and Mt. Kirkjufell has been one of the most photographed mountains of Iceland for a long time.

It’s easy to go on a Snæfellsnes self-drive since it’s simple to get to by car. Read this article to learn more about a self-drive around Snæfellsnes peninsula. There are also 13-hour bus tours around Snæfellsnes peninsula. On these tours, you can just sit back and relax and be sure to stop at all the highlights, like Djúpalónssandur, Hellnar and Ytri-Tunga.

Paragliding is the ultimate in adrenaline travel. Fly like a bird over the south coast of Iceland. Paragliding tours start from Vík, the southernmost village of mainland Iceland. Here you jump off a mountain to paraglide over the black beach of Reynisfjara. You can also see Vík’s three trolls from above. The story goes that these trolls where just pulling a ship onto shore when the sun came out. They hadn’t noticed the sunrise and were turned into stone on the spot. Paragliding is a fun and exciting activity that will get your adrenaline racing, and a unique opportunity to see waterfalls, glaciers and black beaches from the sky. If you book a paragliding tour, they will take you wherever the best weather conditions are that day.