Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson

by History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum · Sightseeing day tours · Reykjavík

Fine on your own
Suits older travellers
Works in the rain
Good with teenagers

from €21.29 per person

Next departure: Thu 22 Oct

Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson — History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum

Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson, photo 2

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Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson, photo 5

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Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson, photo 7

Experience the Settlement Period Farm of Eirik the Red and Leif Eiriksson, photo 8

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10 photos from History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
1 hour
Difficulty
Easy
Season
All year
Starts in
Búðardalur
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Guide
Guided in English, Icelandic
Departs
10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30 …
Cancellation
Cancellation terms are set by the operator — ask us before you book and we will confirm them in writing.

About this experience

Iceland is famous for its Viking heritage, but there are not many places where can see what everyday life for those first settlers of Iceland felt like.

At Eiríksstaðir, we combine the fascinating realities of daily life on the edge of the known-world at the time with the thrilling exploits of the family that built the original back in the 900s.

Our guides welcome you inside our fully furnished replica, which stands beside the ruined original. You will experience the Sagas as they were originally told, but also see, touch, and smell the atmosphere where people lived over a thousand years ago.

You will learn about the surprising ways that women contributed to the running of the family and farm, as well as all about the ingenious ways that people came up with to survive out here in a land without many of the resources of their homelands.

Description from the operator, History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Cancellation for this tour

Cancellation terms are set by the operator — ask us before you book and we will confirm them in writing. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Reykjavík Luggage Storage in BSI Bus Terminal from BagBee is €12 — €9 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum · €21	BagBee · €12
Changing your mind	Not stated	Free until 2 h before

On everything we can measure, the BagBee tour is the better buy. The €9 is not buying anything we can point to, so unless you want this operator in particular, take the cheaper one.

Why we list it

History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum 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 History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum

Read all 863 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.

Thana S
★★★★ · 3 months ago
A worthwhile stop if you are interested in Viking history. The reconstructed longhouse gives you a good sense of what life was like during the Viking Age, and the storytelling session was engaging and very informative. The staff were friendly and welcoming, making the visit even more enjoyable. There is also a lovely gift shop with a good range of Viking themed souvenirs and local products. We ended up buying quite a few items. Overall a great experience that combines history, storytelling and a warm welcome.
Cat Herrera
★★★★★ · a month ago
This site was so incredible we came back for seconds! This is something you wanna add to your "don't miss" list for sure! Our first visit was so peaceful, informative, and immersive. It is easy to find, and easily one of the most interesting sites in all of Iceland. We came back a second time for the blót that was held on the day of the solar eclipse, hosted by a female gothi of the Asatru temple in Iceland (norse pagan religion) which was a truly cherished experience for us. The ticket center and gift shop had many handmade items and historical replicas instead of a bunch of magnets and keychains. The price is well worth the experience and everyone there was very knowledgeable and happy to answer all of our questions. ✨ Pro tip! If you come in historical garb, you get free entry! We packed ours but didn't know about this at the time and were happy to pay, but next time I will definitely visit in my viking era clothing!
Yue Wang
★★★★★ · 5 months ago
One of the best cultural experiences we’ve had in Iceland, with great humoured and immersive storytelling with deep insight into the lives of Icelandic people and the settlement adventures. We loved our guide! Don’t miss it! It’s one of my favourite parts of visiting Iceland ☺️ and you can feel the ingenuity of the medieval builders and weavers through the turf house replica. The store has a lot of cute souvenirs like the turf house embroidery kit 💛 and you will be supporting their ongoing experimental archeology research!
Elizabeth Wickland
★★★★★ · 3 months ago
This was a fantastic stop on our trip! The gift shop sold yarn from the sheep on the property, dyed with plants on the property, and the Viking in the longhouse wasn’t just a paid actor, but an archeologist who went so far in offering an authentic experience as to grow the fibers, weave the fabric, and make the Viking attire he was wearing. All around, this was a great experience and a really interesting place to visit. It is absolutely worth the price of admission.

Reviews from Google · updated 21 Oct 2026

Read before you book

Viking sites in Iceland: Viking World or Eiríksstaðir?Viking World near Keflavík is the easy one at €25. Eiríksstaðir in the west is the better story but a long drive. Which to pick and what each costs.

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.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

Places to stay near Borgarfjörður, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site. Ourhotels is our sister company — the same people, a different business — so we list it first and say so.

All hotels in West Iceland →

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from

€21.29 per person

History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum's own price. 3% off the whole trip when you book two or more tours together, in one checkout.

Your date

The next departure we can see — change it if this tour is for another day.

Pick a date to check departures.

Departs10:0010:3011:0011:3012:0012:3013:0013:3014:0014:3015:0015:3016:00

Borgarfjörður: light 08:37–17:44, 9 h 7 min of daylight.

· Cancellation terms are set by the operator — ask us before you book and we will confirm them in writing.
✓ Instant confirmation by email
✓ If History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum cancels for weather or safety: a full refund, or another date
✓ Card — Apple Pay or Google Pay where your device offers it — through Stripe; the charge is made in Icelandic krónur
✓ Price promise: History up close - Eiríksstadir living history museum's own price, or we refund the difference
✓ One checkout, even with tours from several operators
✓ Vetted operator — the six checks every operator passes

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €1 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.