05A - The Hot Springs Tour

by Eldhestar · Lagoons & spas · Reykjavík

  • Fine on your own
  • Self-guided

from €235 per person

Next departure: Thu 20 May

  • Duration

    9 hours

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    All year

  • Starts in

    Hveragerdi

  • Pickup

    Hotel pickup included

  • Starts at

    Eldhestar

    Vellir, Ölfus

  • Departs

    09:00

  • Minimum age

    8

  • Cancellation

    Free until 24 hours before

Meeting point, in Eldhestar's words: Please be at our stable at 9:00 in the morning for the tour.

About this experience

Vistas and Volcanoes This day-long tour offers spectacular views featuring the variety of the magnificent Icelandic nature. In Reykjadalur Valley we will experience hot springs and also take a relaxing bath in a warm stream. On our way back to the farm, you can enjoy spectacular panoramas over the surroundings and also the waterfall Djúpagilsfoss. Later on we will have a fantastic view over the village Hveragerði and the Ölfus area, and also all the way down to the coastline, where we might see the Westman Islands, weather permitting. This is a unique opportunity to experience Icelandic nature in all its variety.


Please note: The tour is suitable for all levels of riding experience from beginners to advanced. During booking process, we ask our clients to inform us about their riding experience, which helps us to choose the right horse for everyone. Beginners and experienced riders ride together. We always try to tölt as much as possible, but do not gallop for safety reasons.

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

Included

Pick up and drop off, 5-6 hours riding – 19 km, lunch box, coffee and home baked cake after the tour. We provide helmets and rain gear/winter overalls.

Good to know

Please wear clothes according to weather and solid shoes. We recommend hiking boots. Bring your swim suit and towel.

Summer tour. Departures: May 15 – September 15. Pick-up in Reykjavik every day at 8:00 (Please be waiting at the designated pick up location at 8:00). Return to Reykjavík ca. 17:15 Note that pick up from hotels in Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur and Mosfellsbær is at 7:30 and pick up from Hveragerði and Selfoss is at 8:45. Please double check your booking a day or two before arrival for the pick up location, as they may change without notice. Please note that there are no changing rooms in the valley. This tour is for everyone but participants should be in good physical condition. If the weather does not allow us to go into the mountains, the tour will be changed. Please let us know if there are any dietary needs like if there are allergies or vegetarians.

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 a forecast the operator judges unsafe. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

  1. 1Eldhestar 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 →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper South Coast Adventure in Spanish: Small Group Day Tour from Reykjavik from Nordur Travel Services ehf is €124 — €111 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

Eldhestar · €235Nordur Travel Services ehf · €124
How long it runs9 hours10 hours
Getting thereYou make your own wayPicks you up

On everything we can measure, the Nordur Travel Services ehf tour is the better buy. The €111 is not buying anything we can point to, so unless you want this operator in particular, take the cheaper one.

Who this is not for

  • Children under 8 cannot join this one.

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

Why we list it

Eldhestar is one of 204 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 →

What travellers say about Eldhestar

Read all 1,180 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 4.5/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

  • Aleksandr

    ★★★★★ · 4 months ago

    This review is for the horse tour, not the hotel. Signed up for route 2A as a completely novice rider (0 horsing experience). Had Lena as our guide and she was excellent. The horses were very well behaved and only went fast when you asked them to, and sometimes I had to ask more than once (my horse liked to ignore me). Views were incredible and it was the best introduction to horse riding I could have asked for. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Iceland.

  • R Florio

    ★★★★★ · 3 months ago

    Stayed at the guesthouse and beds were very comfortable. Shared bathrooms-clean and multiple. Nice common room and got to also use and enjoy the hotel hottubs. The restaurant was very good and can accommodate any diet restrictions.

  • Sarah Hildebrand

    ★★★★★ · 3 months ago

    Highly recommended for horse riding tours, our horses were very well behaved, the day rides to the hot river and river estuary had amazing variety and views. Our lead guide Nadine was exceptional, full of fun and very informed on the local area and culture and especially good on identifying the many birds we saw. Our second guide Ami was also very helpful and cheerful and helped riders to understand how to ask the horses to go into the tolt gait. We were very comfortable in the hotel and enjoyed the evening meals which were of a high standard. The staff in the hotel were great as well.

  • Patricia García

    ★★★★★ · 3 months ago

    Just finished the tour 9AH and had the time of my life riding beautiful and kind-hearted horses. Everything about these tours is so well thought and planned, from the pick-ups to the horses, organisation and guides. The horses are just amazing and incredibly safe through the difficult terrain. Our guides Anna, Caroline and Signe were all incredible, super knowledgeable and helpful, and Anna's leadership and problem solving skills made us feel comfortable and safe at every moment, we couldn't have asked for better guides. We've made really good friends along the way, enjoyed very nice meals and a hot tub after the long rides. The hotel rooms were comfortable and spacious, with beautiful views of the paddock and ponies. This place is like heaven on earth and everyone is so lovely that it makes you just want to move in there and ride Icelandic ponies every day. My only bit of feedback would be that the restaurant staff could do with handling allergies/intolerances much better. I hope to be back another time, it was super worth it!!

Reviews from Google · updated 21 Oct 2026

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.

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Lagoons & spas — questions people ask

Is the Blue Lagoon worth it or is it too touristy?

It is busy and it is worth it, once. The water is milky blue from silica, the setting in the Reykjanes lava is unlike anywhere else, and it sits twenty minutes from Keflavík Airport, so it fits an arrival or departure day. Book a time slot in advance; it sells out. If crowds bother you, go early morning or after 20:00. The Secret Lagoon or Fontana on the Golden Circle are calmer and cheaper alternatives.

Can I do the Blue Lagoon on the way to or from the airport?

Yes, and it is the best way to use it. Transfers like IceTransfer's Keflavík to Blue Lagoon to Reykjavík (/experience/1036423/) or the reverse (/experience/1036419/) stop at the lagoon for a few hours with your luggage stored. Allow at least three hours at the lagoon and check that your slot lines up with your flight. Note that the Reykjanes eruptions have closed the lagoon at short notice; check its status before travelling.

What is the difference between the Secret Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon?

The Secret Lagoon at Flúðir is a simple, warm geothermal pool with a bubbling hot spring beside it and basic changing rooms. It is on the Golden Circle, so it slots into a sightseeing day (/experience/17050/, /experience/624446/). The Blue Lagoon is a spa: silica masks, swim-up bar, saunas and a price to match. If you want a soak after a day of waterfalls, Secret Lagoon. If you want the spa day, Blue Lagoon.

Do I have to shower naked before a pool in Iceland?

Yes, at every public pool and most lagoons. Swimwear off, wash thoroughly with soap, swimwear on, then into the water. It is a hygiene rule because Icelandic pools use very little chlorine, and it is taken seriously. Changing rooms are single-sex with open showers; some larger lagoons have a few private cubicles. Nobody looks. It feels odd for thirty seconds and then it does not.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Selfoss, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Golden Circle →
  • One checkout, any number of operators

  • Rankings are not for sale

  • 203 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted

  • If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €13 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.

Eldhestar

05D - Riding and Hiking

from €195 per person4.50· 1,180 Google reviews of the operator

about the usual price for hiking & trekking tours

from age 8 · pickup included

9 h · from Selfoss

  • Age 8+
  • Free cancellation 24 h
  • Book the night before
Check dates

Eldhestar

05B - Below the Mountains

from €230 per person4.50· 1,180 Google reviews of the operator

60% above the €144 typical for sightseeing day tours

from age 10 · pickup included

9 h · from Selfoss

  • Age 8+
  • Gear included
  • Free cancellation 24 h
Check dates

from

€235 per person

Book Thu 20 May · €235