Transfer and Other Charges:

Sample itinerary - Subject to changes

Day 1: Arrival
The tour starts in the evening. Tour members who arrive the same day to Iceland should take the flight bus from the airport to the ending busstation BSÍ in Reykjavík. We will greet you at the bus station or at your hotel/ guesthouse in Reykjavik at 17:30 and drive you to our farm Vellir near Hveragerði. There you will be lodged at our new guesthouse. We will get to know each other during the dinner at our Hotel Eldhestar. The day will end with a detailed description of the tour.

Day 2: Hveragerdi – Myrkholt
We go by car to a place near the farm Reykholt in the beautiful area Biskupstúngur. We ride on soft paths until we reach a river, which we cross. We end our tour at the farm Myrkholt, just south of the hot springs at Geysir. 20 km, 4 hrs

Day 3: Myrkholt – Fremstaver
We start the riding from Myrkholt, and our first stop will be at Gullfoss. From Gullfoss we ride into the wilderness, in a black desert of stones and sand. We follow the river Hvítá west until we come to the Mt. Bláfell, 1160 m above sea level, which gives us a beautiful view over Kjölur. We see the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Hofsjökull and the volcano Hekla and, on the right, Mt. Hlödufell and the Langjökull Glacier. We spend the night south of Bláfell in the mountain hut Fremstaver. 35 km, 7 hrs

Day 4: Fremstaver – Árbúdir
We continue east along Bláfell. We cross the Hvítá Rver over a bridge, pass the waterfall Ábóta, and there Kjölur starts. Kjölur is the oldest road between South and North Iceland. It is mostly even and is about 700 m above sea level. We have a view over the Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers and the Kerlingafjöll mountains – Kjölur’s flagship. We follow the Svartá River to Árbúdir, where we spend the night. 40 km, 8 hrs

Day 5: Árbúdir – Hveravellir
The tour starts toward Hvítárnes, a grass-rich area changing its character in the summer when the green flower Fifa turns white and fluffy. We come to the lava field Kjalhraun, which many people think gave Kjölur its name. It looks like the keel of a ship. West of Kjalhraun we ride through a narrow cleft to the valley Thjófadalur (the Valley of Thieves). The valley is circular and hidden behind the mountains. It is one of the few places along Kjölur rich with grass. From the valley, we ride over a little mountain comb called Thröskuldur, and from there, we follow a smooth path to Hveravellir, where we can bathe in the hot springs. 40 km, 8 hrs

Day 6: Hveravellir – Áfangi
Today we have enough time to explore the beautiful nature surrounding Hveravellir before we saddle the horses. Hveravellir is one of the biggest geothermal areas in Iceland. There was an outlaw hideout here in the old days, and south of the area we pass the ruin of the hut of the outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur. We continue north over the river Seydisá and along the mountains Sandkúlufell, Hanskafell and Saudafell, and spend the night in a mountain hut called Áfangi.
28 km, 5-6 hrs

Day 7: Áfangi – Vatnsdalur
We continue north over the Eyvindarstadaheidi Moor. We are now not very far from civilization in North Iceland. We ride with the mountains behind us and the glaciers all around us. On our right we have the big lake Blöndulón, which was created from the power plant by the Blanda River. We continue on soft riding paths and mountain roads and end up in the green valley Vatnsdalur. From there we return by bus to Reykjavik, where the tour ends.

 --Subject to change--

Reykjavík area

Seasons
As its name suggests, Iceland is cold, but not as cold as might be expected; thanks to the passing warm waters of the Gulf Stream, which regulate the climate. Its average mid-winter temperatures are no lower than those in New York City. The city's coastal location does, however, also mean it is prone to wind, and gales are common in winter. Reykjavik is also a very wet city, having on average 213 rainy days out of the year, with spring having slightly more sunny days! The south is the wettest part of the country. Coastal areas tend to experience winter gales and are generally windy.

Icelandic weather is known to be unpredictable and changing several times a day. A beautiful day can suddenly turn windy and rainy (and vice versa). Travelers to Iceland should be prepared for anything and dress in layers.

Winter
The average January temperature is 31°F (-0.5°C). From mid-November until the end of January, in the darkness of winter, the country only experiences a few hours of daylight each day.

Summer
The summer temperatures in Reykjavík range from 41°F (5°C) at night to as high as 77°F (25°C) during the day.  During the summer months there is almost continuous daylight; early spring and late autumn feature long twilights.

 
The Northern Lights are often visible in autumn and early winter.

We provide the following:
·         Safety helmets
·         Rainwear
·         During the wintertime we also provide winter overalls
·         Rubber boots

You should bring:
•Warm clothes in layers (long underwear, woolen socks, scarf, gloves, woolen sweater or fleece, wind- and waterproof jacket). Eldhestar provides good rain gear. Please have in mind that you might experience “T-shirt weather” as well as temperatures close to 0°C, especially on Wilderness tours!
•Thin hat to wear under the helmet, “buff” is well suited. You can buy a “buff” at Eldhestar.
•Sleeping bag. We recommend a small pillow and a bed sheet if you use your sleeping bag as a blanket. A sleeping bag is not needed for tours with all nights at Hotel or Guesthouse Eldhestar.
•A small waist bag (not a backpack!) for using when riding. (Backpacks are bumpy when you are riding and may hurt you if you fall off).
•Swimwear and towel.
•Riding pants (If you don’t have riding pants, any seamless tight garment will do), for long tours you should bring two pants suitable for riding.
•Riding or hiking boots which should be comfortable with a thick sole for walking over rocks. Hiking boots are fine if they are not too broad for the stirrups. High riding boots might get uncomfortable, rubber boots are not necessary.
•Sun lotion
•Sun glasses (also for long tours to protect eyes from dust).
•Fly net (can be purchased at Eldhestar).
•Band-aids and second skin plasters for chaffing.
•Some comfortable clothes and shoes (slippers) for using in the evening, after the riding. Normal street clothes are not necessary except for your stay in Reykjavik the last night.
•Your travel insurance card/information.

Please note: Please do not use large and bulky suitcases as we have limited space in the trailer. If you need more luggage for travelling in Iceland before / after the tour you are welcome to store it at Hotel Eldhestar during the tour.

Cameras:  
We recommend to bring a small camera that can be taken in a pocket, a waist/hip bag or in the saddle bag.
Large camera equipment we can not allow on the horses for security reasons. Tours are operated with a free running herd - at speed of tölt or trot for most of the day. We take breaks to relax the horses and then it is possible to take pictures. While on the horse taking pictures is rather difficult since the horses are constantly moving. Because of the herd instinct it is not possible to stop an individual horse, they all will follow each other.
You can leave larger Digital SLR with your luggage at the farm or put it in their luggage that will be transferred to the new accommodation. 

It is not yet legally mandatory that riders need to wear riding helmets. Nevertheless we strongly recommend clients wear one. Clients will be experiencing a new breed of horses in new terrain, involving gravel, stones and rocks. Therefore it is in the clients best interest to take precautions. If they feel they do not want to wear a helmet after the first few days it is up to them. However, some insurance companies in Europe refuse to pay in case of an accident if the client has not been wearing a riding helmet. We provide helmets here in Iceland which clients are welcome to use but if you want to bring your own it is fine with us. If you bring your own it has to be sterilized before bringing it into Iceland.

Regarding the sterilization: What can be washed in a washing machine at medium temperature or dry cleaned is fine (even riding trousers). But what can not be washed or dry-cleaned or is a full leather garment needs to be sterilized.
You should be ready for all kinds of weather as it can change very quickly. We provide you with good rain-clothes, a riding helmet and at winter time a thermo overall, gloves and rubber boots. 
Luggage that is not needed on the tour can be left at the office and recovered at the end of the tour.

Caution: Used boots, riding wear, saddlebags etc. must be disinfected before arrival to Iceland. That is because infectious diseases can easily be brought into the country, which pose a great danger for the horses. Riding wear is normally washed and shoes and cleaned with iodine or some other fluid disinfectant. All used leather articles are prohibited.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Passports

Passport valid for at least three months beyond length of stay required by all except:

(a) 1. nationals of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden who are only required to produce national identity cards issued by the competent authorities in their countries of origin.

Passport Note

Iceland is a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.



Visas

Not required by all nationals of referred to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days.

2. EU nationals staying longer than 90 days will need to apply for a residence permit from the directorate of immigration in Iceland.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).

Visa Note

A stay in another Schengen-Zone country counts as the same as a stay in Iceland.