Private Thorsmork Valley Day Tour by Super Jeep from Reykjavik

by VAREN Iceland · Super jeeps · private · Glacier hiking · Reykjavík

Private Thorsmork Valley Day Tour by Super Jeep from Reykjavik — VAREN Iceland

Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at VAREN Iceland's own price and take our commission from them, not from you. What you get here is one checkout across operators, one confirmation, and one place to change or cancel it. If you ever find it cheaper on their own site, tell us and we will match it or explain why we cannot.

More photos of Private Thorsmork Valley Day Tour by Super Jeep from Reykjavik

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13 photos from VAREN Iceland. Tap any one for the full-size original.

  • Duration

    10 hours

  • Difficulty

    Moderate

  • Season

    May – Sep

  • Starts in

    Hvolsvöllur

  • Meeting

    Hotel pickup available

  • Languages

    EN

  • Departs

    08:00

  • Cancellation

    Free until 24h before

About this experience

Þórsmörk, the Valley of Thor, is one of Iceland's most spectacular and hard to reach places - a sheltered green valley of birch woods and braided rivers, hidden deep in the southern highlands between three glaciers. It is guarded by unbridged glacial rivers, which is exactly why so few people see it. On this private day tour you reach it the only way you can, in an Arctic Trucks Land Rover Defender Super Jeep built and equipped for this terrain, with the valley to yourselves.

The day starts on the South Coast. At Seljalandsfoss you can walk behind the curtain of falling water, and a short stroll away you step into Gljúfrabúi, a waterfall half hidden inside a mossy canyon. From there the road turns to gravel and the adventure begins - your Super Jeep leaves the ring road and fords glacial rivers on the F249 track, the drive that gives Þórsmörk its sense of true wilderness. Along the way you stop at Gjgjökull, a glacier tongue spilling from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, its landscape reshaped by the 2010 eruption.

Inside the reserve you hike into Stakkholtsgja, a canyon so narrow the sky becomes a thin strip above you, and one that Game of Thrones fans may recognise from the series. A small stream runs along the floor, and the trail follows it inward between mossy walls a hundred metres high.

At Básar you have the valley itself - birch woods, glacier views on three sides, and time to eat your packed lunch and walk at whatever pace suits you. 

Because this is the highlands, nature sets the rules. The river crossings, the order of stops and how far into the canyon you get all depend on water levels and weather on the day, and the route is always chosen with your safety first. That is the deal with the interior, and it is part of what makes Þórsmörk worth the journey.

Your guide meets you at your accommodation in the Reykjavik area, and helps you load any gear. Bottled water is available on request throughout the day.

Description from the operator, VAREN Iceland. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

  1. Pickup in the Reykjavik area
  2. Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
  3. Gljúfrabúi Waterfall
  4. F249 Track - Glacial River Crossings
  5. Gigjökull Glacier
  6. Stakkholtsgja Canyon
  7. Básar - Þórsmörk Valley
  8. Drop-off in the Reykjavik area

Included

  • Private Arctic Trucks Land Rover Defender Super Jeep with an English-speaking driver-guide
  • Pickup and drop-off at your accommodation in the Reykjavik area
  • All highland driving, river crossings and listed stops, conditions permitting
  • Bottled water on request

Not included

  • Food and drinks - bring your own packed lunch and snacks
  • Gratuities

Good to know

  • Waterproof and windproof jacket and trousers
  • Warm layers
  • Sturdy walking or hiking shoes
  • Hat, gloves and sunglasses
  • Camera
  • Food, drinks and snacks for the day
  • This is a seasonal tour and runs only while the F249 highland road to Þórsmörk is open, roughly mid-June to late September.
  • Getting there means fording glacial rivers whose depth changes with weather and glacial melt - the route, the crossings and the stops are decided on the day, always with safety first.
  • Weather and road conditions may change or skip stops, and on rare days the road closes completely.
  • If the road is closed and the tour cannot run, we reschedule it or refund you in full.
  • Full day of around 10 hours, with pickup near 08:00.
  • The Super Jeep sits high - you should be able to climb in and out and walk on uneven ground.
  • Family friendly - tell us the ages of any children in advance so we can arrange suitable seating.
  • Private tour, run exclusively for your own party.

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is closed roads — the Road Administration shuts the mountain roads before the operator has to decide anything. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

  1. 1VAREN Iceland decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
  2. 2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
  3. 3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Sold out on your date?

Seats come back — a cancellation, or the operator adding a vehicle. Tell us the date and we will check once a day and email you if one opens. One email, then we delete the address; nothing else is ever sent to it.

Who this is not for

  • Priced per vehicle, so it is poor value for one or two people and good value for four or more sharing.
  • Not available in winter; the operator runs it roughly May to September.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

VAREN Iceland is one of 154 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

Read before you book

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

No reviews yet from our travellers on this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Super jeeps — questions people ask

What is a super jeep?

A four-wheel-drive truck or van rebuilt for Iceland: raised suspension, huge low-pressure tyres and a snorkel, so it can cross rivers, drive on snow and climb glacier tracks that stop a rental car. Groups are small, usually eight to sixteen people. Super jeeps are how you reach Landmannalaugar in the highlands, ice caves under Mýrdalsjökull and dark northern-lights spots off the main roads. They are pricier than a coach, and rougher.

Is a super jeep northern lights tour better than a bus?

Slightly, for two reasons. A super jeep can leave the tarmac and find darker, more sheltered spots, and with ten people rather than fifty you spend less time waiting at stops. Arctic Adventures' Northern Lights Explorer (/experience/209/) and Northern Lights by 4x4 (/experience/1088067/) are the standard options. The sky is the same either way; a jeep does not make clouds part. If budget matters, a small-group minibus gets you most of the benefit.

When can you take a super jeep to Landmannalaugar?

Late June to September, once the highland roads open. The Landmannalaugar Safari (/experience/341/) is a twelve-hour day from Reykjavík with river crossings, a short hike and a soak in the natural hot river. The rest of the year the road is closed to everything except specially licensed winter expeditions. The dates the F-roads open vary each year with the snow, so if you are booking for June, expect a possible reschedule.

Is a super jeep tour comfortable?

Comfortable enough on the tarmac, bumpy on the rough stuff. That is the point. Expect to be thrown about on lava tracks and river beds, and to sit in a bench seat for several hours. People prone to motion sickness should sit in front and take a tablet. The trade-off is access: you see places coaches cannot go, with a driver-guide who talks to you rather than over a microphone.

  • One checkout, any number of operators

  • Rankings are not for sale

  • 153 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted

  • If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Everything here goes into the same basket and the same single payment, however many operators it comes from.

from

€1,970 per vehicle

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