Super jeep tour in Iceland: worth the extra money?

A super jeep is worth the money when it takes you somewhere a bus can’t: across unbridged rivers into Þórsmörk, up the F-roads to Landmannalaugar, onto the gravel and snow at the edge of a glacier. It isn’t worth it when the route is paved and the stops are the same. A super jeep Golden Circle in July is a nicer seat on the same road.

What a super jeep actually is

It’s a big four-wheel drive, often a Toyota Land Cruiser or a large pickup, lifted and fitted with oversized tyres, commonly 38 inches or bigger. The driver can let air out of the tyres for soft snow and sand and pump them back up on the road. That, plus a good snorkel and a driver who crosses the same rivers every week, is what lets it go where a coach or a rental car can’t.

Most tours carry four to twelve people. So you also get a small group, a driver who is also your guide, and stops that bend to the weather. That’s part of what you’re paying for, and it matters more than people expect.

Where it beats a bus

Þórsmörk. The road in crosses glacier rivers that change by the day. Rental cars are not insured for them, and every year some get stuck. The highland buses do run in summer, but only to the huts. Þórsmörk Super Jeep Day Tour from Midgard, from €285, seven hours from Hvolsvöllur, takes you to the hidden corners too: Nauthúsagil ravine and the Gígjökull outlet glacier among them. See our Þórsmörk super jeep or bus guide for the detail.

The highland F-roads. Landmannalaugar is open roughly late June to September, and the tracks around it need proper 4x4s. The Landmannalaugar Highlands Small Group Super Jeep Tour, from €289, carries a maximum of six and adds stops the bus doesn’t make, like the Valley of Tears and Hnausapollur crater. The highland bus is cheaper and fine if you just want to walk and bathe at Landmannalaugar itself.

Glacier approaches. Most ice cave and glacier tours use a super jeep or truck for the last stretch anyway, because nothing else gets there. Katla Ice Cave & Super Jeep from Vík, from €219, is three hours: the drive across the black sand plains to Kötlujökull is half the point.

Winter. In snow, a super jeep keeps going where a minibus turns round. It’s also the one way to get off the main road on a northern lights hunt, away from the other buses at the same car park. It won’t make the sky clear, and nothing will.

Where it doesn’t

The Golden Circle in summer. Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss are all on paved roads with big car parks. A coach does it for under €100. A super jeep only makes sense here if the day adds something the coach can’t: DT 01 Golden Circle & Langjökull Glacier, from €364, heads off-road past Gullfoss towards Langjökull after the classic three. That’s a fair reason. A super jeep that just does the three stops isn’t.

The South Coast. Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara and Vík are right on Road 1. You’ll be on tarmac almost all day.

If you get carsick. Some tracks are rough and slow. Hours of bouncing over lava in the back seat is not everyone’s idea of a holiday. Sit up front if you can and say so when you book.

Private jeeps and what they cost

Private super jeeps are a different price bracket. A Private Super Jeep with driver guide, fits 4 passengers is from €1,236 for the whole vehicle for about nine hours, and you choose the route with the driver. Split four ways that’s around €309 each, which is close to a shared seat. For two people, it’s a lot.

We’d go private for a family or four friends with a clear plan, or anyone who wants to stop for photographs on their own terms. We wouldn’t for a couple on a budget. The shared small-group tours already feel personal.

What to ask before you book

• Does the route actually leave the paved road? If the itinerary is three famous stops on Road 1, you don’t need the jeep.
• How many seats? Six feels like a jeep. Twelve feels like a minibus with big tyres.
• What happens in bad weather? Good operators change the route or cancel and refund. Rivers rise, snow closes tracks, and Iceland’s weather is real.

Our honest take

Book a super jeep for places, not for comfort. Þórsmörk, the highlands in summer and a glacier approach are where the extra €150 or so over a bus buys you something you can’t get another way. In winter it’s also the more reliable way off the main roads.

For the Golden Circle or the South Coast in summer, take the bus or drive, and spend the difference on a glacier walk or an ice cave. If there are four of you, price a private jeep before ruling it out. Split four ways, it can come close to four shared seats.