Private horse riding in Iceland: price and what you get

A private horse ride in Iceland costs about €227 for an hour and €402 for two hours, for the whole booking. The shared version is around €115 a head. So private only beats shared when you are three or more, or when you want a slower pace than a group will give you. If you are a confident rider travelling alone, join a group.

What “private” means here

Private means your party and the guide, no strangers. The price is for the booking, not per rider. Check the page before you pay, because the listed figure is the adult starting price and the party size is chosen at checkout.

In practice you get a guide who matches the pace to the slowest rider. That matters for families and for people who have never sat on a horse. It matters much less for experienced riders, who usually want the shared tours that cover more ground.

The three private options we sell

The Private Horseback Riding Tour from Íshestar (from €227, 1 hour) runs from their stables in Hafnarfjörður, about 20 minutes from Reykjavík. Helmets, rubber boots and rain gear are included. The weight limit is 110 kg (240 lbs). Be at the stable 30 minutes before. Transfer is not included.

The 1 Hour Private Ride at Icee (from €314, listed as 2 hours with handling time) is in the Reykjadalur valley at Hveragerði. You help groom and tack up first, and finish with hot chocolate, coffee and kleinur, the Icelandic twisted doughnuts. Children from age 8 are welcome, and there is an indoor arena. The 2 Hour Private Ride at Icee (from €402, 3 hours in total) is the same setup with a longer route. Both are non-refundable once booked, so be sure of your date.

Shared rides cost much less

The Lava Tour from Íshestar (from €115, 2 hours) rides through lava fields outside Reykjavík in a group. That is about half the price of the one-hour private ride, for twice the time. In the north, Date the Icelandic Horse at Hestasport (from €88, 45 minutes) is a short, cheap taster in Varmahlíð, on the road between Akureyri and Reykjavík. It runs all year.

If you want to compare stables rather than formats, our horse riding near Reykjavík guide covers that.

When private is worth it

Private makes sense for a family with a young rider, for a nervous first-timer, and for a group of four where the cost drops below the shared price per head. Four people on the two-hour Icee ride pay about €100 each, which is cheaper than the shared lava ride and gets you a slower route.

It is poor value for one or two experienced riders. You pay for exclusivity you do not use.

What to know first

• Pick the stable for the location, not the name. Hveragerði is about 40 minutes from Reykjavík; Hafnarfjörður is about 20.
• Riding gear brought from abroad must be washed or disinfected before arrival. Used leather may not enter the country.
• Wear warm layers, not jeans. The wind off the lava is colder than the city.
• Icelandic horses are small and sturdy. They are not ponies, and the weight limits are real.

Our honest take

Book a shared ride unless you are four or more, travelling with a child under 10, or you have never been on a horse. Then book private, because the slower pace is the thing you are paying for.

For most couples, the €115 shared lava tour is the better buy. If you want a private ride and have a car, the Icee two-hour option in Hveragerði is the most relaxed of the three, but the non-refundable terms are the downside. The Íshestar private hour is the easier one to reach from Reykjavík, and an hour is plenty if you have not ridden before.