Buggy or ATV in Iceland: which should you book?
ATV if you want to ride and steer yourself; buggy if you want a seat, a roll cage and room for a passenger. Both need a full driving licence to drive.
The short version
- An ATV (quad) is ridden like a motorbike, one or two people astride; a buggy is a small car with seats, belts and a roll cage.
- Every driver needs a full, valid driving licence, and the minimum driving age is 17. Passengers can be as young as five to eight, depending on the tour.
- Some buggy tours price per vehicle, so four people in one buggy can pay less each than two on ATVs.
- Neither is off-road driving. Both follow gravel tracks, which is the law in Iceland.
Pick an ATV if you want to feel the ride: you sit astride, lean into the bends and get the wind and mud. Pick a buggy if you’d rather sit in a seat with a belt and a roll cage, bring a nervous passenger, or share the cost among three or four people. The scenery is the same. The licence rule is the same. The price works differently, and that’s where most people get it wrong.
The actual difference
An ATV, or quad bike, has handlebars and a saddle. You steer with your arms and shift your weight. Two people can share one, the passenger sitting behind the driver. It’s more physical, colder in the wind and more fun if you like motorbikes.
A buggy (operators also call them UTVs or side-by-sides) is a small open car. Steering wheel, pedals, seats side by side, seatbelts, a roll cage above you. Some take two people, some take four. It’s easier for people who’ve never ridden anything with handlebars, and easier to chat in. You’ll still get dusty or wet.
Both are automatic on the tours we list. Both follow a guide in a line.
Licence and age
This is the same on every tour in this guide. The driver must hold a full, valid car licence, and the minimum age to drive is 17. Learner permits don’t count. Southcoast Adventure says tractor and motorcycle licences don’t count either. Bring the physical card, not a photo of it.
Passengers can be younger. The Grindavík tours take passengers from six. The Snæfellsjökull buggy takes children from eight, and there’s a 140 kg weight limit per person. If you have a child under the minimum age, neither option works.
How the prices really compare
ATV prices are per person, with a cheaper rate if two share one machine and a surcharge to ride alone. The Lava Beach 2-hour ATV tour near Grindavík is from €182, two hours on lava tracks down to a black sand beach.
The same operator’s Lava Beach 2 hour Buggy Tour is from €350, but that’s per buggy, not per person, and a buggy seats up to four. At the operator’s own ISK rates, four adults in one buggy come to roughly €140 each. So for a family or a group of four, the buggy is the cheaper way to do the same trip. For one person alone, it’s close to twice the ATV.
Other buggy tours price per person like an ATV. On the South Coast, the 2.5-hour Buggy Adventure Ride from Southcoast Adventure is from €211 in a shared two-seat buggy, with waterfalls, sand plains around Dímon and a viewpoint over Seljalandsfoss. Read the pricing categories before you book: “shared” and “single” mean very different totals.
Where to go
- Reykjanes, near Grindavík. Lava fields and black sand close to the airport, so it fits a first or last day. Grindavík itself has been through repeated eruptions since 2023. Check on the day that the area is open.
- South Coast, near Hvolsvöllur. Gravel roads, rivers and waterfall stops. Good if you’re already driving Road 1.
- Snæfellsnes. Both types at the foot of the glacier. The ATV Tour at Snæfellsjökull, from €145, climbs gravel tracks towards the ice and past a crater. The Buggy tours around Snæfellsjökull, from €196, runs mountain roads, lava fields and beaches from Arnarstapi.
For tours closer to Reykjavík, and the Westfjords one at Drangsnes, see ATV tours: Reykjavík or Drangsnes.
What it’s like on the day
You’ll get overalls, a helmet and gloves. Wear warm layers underneath, not cotton, and proper shoes. It’s colder on a moving machine than standing still, even in July. On an ATV your hands take the wind; on a buggy your face takes the dust, which is why some operators hand out a balaclava.
Tours don’t leave the tracks. Driving off marked roads is illegal in Iceland and the guides are strict about it. If you’re picturing jumps over dunes, this isn’t that.
Our honest take
For two adults who both drive and like a bit of speed, book ATVs. You each get your own machine or share one cheaply, and it’s the livelier ride.
For a family, a group of four, or anyone nervous, book a buggy, and pick a tour that prices per vehicle. You’ll get belts, a roof bar and one bill that’s smaller than it looks.
If you’re alone, the ATV is almost always cheaper. And if nobody in your group has a full licence, don’t book either: you’ll be turned away at the base, and the guide can’t change that.
