Helicopter tour from Reykjavík: which flight to book

If you are flying from Reykjavík, book a flight that lands somewhere, not the short city hop. Twenty minutes over the rooftops of Reykjavík is pleasant, but the city is small and low, and you have seen most of it from the Hallgrímskirkja tower. The flights people talk about afterwards are the ones where the rotors stop on a ridge in steaming geothermal ground or next to a lava field, and you stand there in the quiet for ten minutes.

A plain word about what we sell. We do not currently list the short scheduled flights out of Reykjavík’s domestic airport. What we do list from Reykjavík is two private super-jeep days that end with a helicopter ride home, and a set of glacier flights from Skaftafell in the south-east. This page explains all three so you can choose with your eyes open.

The three kinds of Reykjavík flight

The city hop. Roughly 20 to 30 minutes. You circle the harbour, the old town and the bay, with Esja across the water. It is the cheapest seat in a helicopter, and it is fine if you have never flown in one and simply want to. As sightseeing, it is thin. Reykjavík’s beauty is at street level.

The landing flight. Usually around an hour, flying east over the lava fields to the Hengill geothermal area, with a landing among the steam vents and coloured hills. This is the one we would book. It shows you something you cannot easily reach on foot in the time, and the landing turns a view into a place.

The long flights. Two hours or more, out to glaciers, Þórsmörk or the south coast. They cover a lot of ground and cost accordingly. On a first trip, the same money buys a glacier hike, an ice cave and a good dinner, with change.

Volcano flights over the Reykjanes peninsula sit somewhere between the last two. When there is fresh lava they are the most dramatic thing you can do from Reykjavík. When there is not, you are looking at dark, cooling ground, which is interesting for about five minutes. Check what is active before you pay extra for the word “volcano”. Prices for all of these change often and are set by the operators, so compare on the day rather than trusting an old figure.

What we list from Reykjavík

Private Luxury Golden Circle and Helicopter back to Reykjavík is from €8,462. It is a private super-jeep day around Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, then off-road towards Langjökull, before you fly back to the city by helicopter. It is priced per booking rather than per seat, so the figure is for your group.

Private Luxury Þórsmörk Valley and Helicopter back to Reykjavík is from €6,163 and runs in summer. The jeep takes you past Seljalandsfoss, across the rivers into Þórsmörk between three glaciers, and a helicopter flies you home. The tour description puts the whole day at eight to nine hours, with pickup from 08:30.

Both are honest products for a family or a small group who want one very special day and have the budget. For everyone else they are too much, and we would say so to a friend.

The cheaper helicopter, further away

The most affordable real helicopter flight we sell is Glacier Edge from Skaftafell (No Landing), from €409 for 30 minutes along Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers. It is a better flight than a Reykjavík city hop because the terrain is bigger and closer. The catch is the drive: Skaftafell is about four and a half hours from Reykjavík, so it only works on a south coast or ring-road trip. Our guide to helicopter flights from Skaftafell compares every route there, including the ones with landings.

If the real question is “can I see Iceland from the air on a budget”, there is also SagaVR, from €31. It is a virtual-reality flight of about 18 minutes in central Reykjavík, from age five. It is not a helicopter and does not pretend to be. For a rainy afternoon or a child who is too young to fly, it is a reasonable half hour.

Weather and timing

Helicopters are grounded by low cloud and strong wind far more often than buses are. Pilots also change routes in the air to follow the visibility, so the landing spot in the photographs is a hope, not a promise. Book early in your trip, not on your last afternoon, so a cancelled flight can move to another day.

Our honest take

From Reykjavík, choose a flight with a landing and skip the short city hop. If you are driving the south coast anyway, wait and fly from Skaftafell, where €409 buys half an hour over real glaciers. The private jeep-and-helicopter days at €6,163 and up are excellent for the few people they suit. Do not stretch to them because a helicopter sounds special. A good landing flight is special enough.