Skagafjörður: horses and rafting on the Ring Road

Skagafjörður is where to stop on the long drive between Reykjavík and Akureyri. Varmahlíð sits right on the Ring Road, about four and a half hours from Reykjavík and a little over an hour from Akureyri, and most drivers pass straight through it. Don’t. Stop for a ride on an Icelandic horse, which you can do here all year, or for a morning on the river in summer.

This is the horse country of Iceland. Landsmót, the national horse show, has been held here at Vindheimamelar, the farms on the valley floor breed horses, and you will see more of them in the fields than anywhere else on the route. A ride here is not a tourist add-on. It is what the place does.

Horse riding: pick your length

All of these leave from the Hestasport stables at Varmahlíð. There’s no pickup, so you need a car.

• Chasing Waterfalls, from €80. Thirty minutes to the edge of the Brandgil canyon above Reykjafoss. Minimum age five. This is the one to book if you just want to break the drive and sit on a horse.
• The Viking Ride, All in One, from €109. Ninety minutes along the Svartá river, up a hillside track to Reykjafoss, with a chance to try the tölt, the smooth fourth gait only Icelandic horses have. Runs all year. This is the one we would book.
• River Delta, from €255. Three hours out to the glacial river delta of Héraðsvötn, with several river crossings. May to September only, and the stable is clear that it is not for beginners.

Two things to know before you book. Hestasport charges 10% if you cancel, whenever you cancel, so don’t book speculatively. And Icelandic law forbids bringing used riding gear into the country, including leather boots, to protect the horses from disease. Wear your own hiking boots; the stable lends you a helmet and rain gear.

If you are new to riding, read our horse riding guide first. It explains the tölt and what a first ride feels like.

Rafting in summer

Viking Rafting runs from Hafgrímsstaðir, a short drive south of Varmahlíð. Family Rafting is from €160, three and a half hours on the west glacial river. Class 2 rapids, a canyon you can only reach by water, hot cocoa from a riverbank spring, and a cliff jump if the guides think the day allows it. Minimum age six. Everyone gets a full drysuit. It runs from May to September.

There is a much harder class 4 trip on the east river for adults. Our rafting guide compares the two. For most people stopping on a road trip, the west river is the right one.

Turf houses and the 1238 exhibition

About ten minutes north of Varmahlíð is Glaumbær, a turf farmhouse preserved as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries and now part of the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum. It is the best turf farm within easy reach of the Ring Road and takes under an hour. In Sauðárkrókur, 1238: The Battle of Iceland is an interactive exhibition about the civil war of the 13th century, which was fought largely in this valley.

You don’t need a tour for either if you have a car. If you are in Akureyri without one, Star Travel’s private Skagafjörður tour covers both with pickup. It is from €1,822, priced for the vehicle, not per person, so it only makes sense for a family or a group.

Our honest take

If you are driving the Ring Road, plan a stop in Varmahlíð and book the 90-minute Viking Ride at €109. It is the best-value horse ride on the route, it runs in every season, and it costs you two hours of a day you would otherwise spend in the car. Add Glaumbær if you have another hour.

In summer with children over six, raft instead, or stay the night and do both.

Don’t make it a day trip from Akureyri unless you are rafting. An hour each way for a short ride is a poor trade when Akureyri has its own stables. And don’t book the River Delta ride unless you already ride; the stable means it.