Reindeer in Iceland: where to see them
Wild reindeer live only in East Iceland. You are most likely to see them near the Ring Road in winter; in summer they are in the highlands and the sure thing is a park.
The short version
- Iceland's reindeer are wild, not herded, and live only in the east: roughly from Vopnafjörður down to the Höfn area.
- Winter, roughly November to April, is when they come down to the lowlands and are most often seen from the road.
- In summer they are up in the highlands around Snæfell and hard to find without local knowledge.
- The only certain sighting is the Reindeer Park near Egilsstaðir: four rescued reindeer, €15 admission.
If you want to see a reindeer in Iceland, go east, and ideally go in winter. The herds live only in East Iceland, and between about November and April they come down from the highlands to graze near the coast, where people driving the Ring Road between Höfn and the Eastfjords often see them from the car. In summer they move up into the interior and you can go a week without seeing one. The only sighting you can count on is a small park near Egilsstaðir.
Why only the east
Reindeer are not native. They were brought over from Norway in the late 18th century, with the idea of herding them the way the Sámi do. It never took. The animals released in the south and north died out, and only the eastern ones survived. Today there are a few thousand, all wild, all in the east. Nobody owns them, nobody herds them, and the state sets a hunting quota each year to keep the numbers level. The hunt runs in late summer, which is part of why the herds keep their distance then.
That means reindeer are not something you will see on the Golden Circle, on Snæfellsnes, in the Westfjords or around Mývatn. If a tour outside the east mentions them, it means a farm animal, a museum or a plate.
Winter: the best chance, from the road
When snow covers the highlands the herds come down to the lowland valleys and the coastal strip. Common places to see them are the stretch of Ring Road around Djúpivogur, Álftafjörður and Lón east of Höfn, and the valleys around Egilsstaðir. You see them grazing on the verge or crossing the road in a line. Slow down. They are brown and grey on brown and grey ground, they don’t look where they are going, and hitting one does real damage to a car.
There is no reindeer tour as such. What we sell in the east in winter is mostly glacier and ice-cave tours from Höfn, and the drive to and from them is where the sighting happens. Nobody can promise it. It is a good bet, not a sure one.
Summer: up in the highlands
From about May the herds move inland, to the high moorland around Snæfell, the tallest mountain outside the glaciers. Calves are born in May and June. You can drive roads near their summer grounds, but they are big, open and empty, and the animals do not stand by the track.
The one summer tour we list that goes into reindeer country is North Tides’ Heinabergslón Kayak and Hike, from €217 for six hours near Höfn. After the kayak you land at the foot of Hafrafell, a mountain with no road access, where the guide will tell you reindeer come to graze. It is a kayak and a hike first, though, not a wildlife trip. Book it for the icebergs.
The Reindeer Park near Egilsstaðir
The Reindeer Park in Fellabær, just across the river from Egilsstaðir, is €15 for admission. It has four reindeer, each one abandoned as a calf and raised by hand. You can feed them with food the staff give you, and the guides tell you each animal’s story. It takes half an hour. Children love it. Adults who wanted wild animals on a hillside may find it a bit small. Opening is seasonal, so check the calendar before you drive.
From a cruise ship in Seyðisfjörður
If your ship stops in Seyðisfjörður, Magic Iceland Travel runs two six-hour tours that both include the Reindeer Park. Puffins, Reindeer and Eastfjords is from €188 and adds the puffin platform at Borgarfjörður eystri, which has puffins from roughly late April to August. Stuðlagil Canyon and Reindeer is also from €188 and goes to the basalt canyon, a longer and more dramatic drive. Both are timed to have you back an hour before the ship leaves. Be clear what the “reindeer” in the title means: the park, not a wild herd.
Our honest take
Don’t plan a trip around reindeer. Plan a trip to the east, or to Höfn in winter, and drive slowly on the Ring Road; that is how most people see them. If a sighting really matters, for a child for example, the €15 Reindeer Park is the honest answer, and it takes half an hour.
From a ship in summer, take the Puffins, Reindeer and Eastfjords tour in June or July, when the puffins are there, and the Stuðlagil one in August or September, when they have gone. Either way the reindeer are the side dish.
