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About Tour

Discover the West of Iceland. The spectacular Snæfellsnes peninsula is coated with lava. Treat yourself to landscape out of this world!

Highlights

  • Snaefellsnes Peninsula
  • Village of Arnarstapi
  • View of Snæfellsjökull Glacier
  • Mt. Kirkjufell
  • Borgarnes
  • Ytri-Tunga
  • Djúpalónssandur Black Sand Beach
  • Ólafsvík
  • Búðakirkja Church
  • Miðgjá stone bridge

Snæfellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland was rated the most scenic destination in Europe by Luxury Travel Guide. For a good reason, stunning Snæfellsnes is fast becoming one of the most visited places in Iceland! This place is magical and spellbinding with moss-cloaked lava fields, picturesque mountains, gorgeous black sand beaches, roaring ocean waves, charming little villages, and sea cliffs.

 

Snaefellsnes peninsula - The Best of West Iceland

 

This day trip from Reykjavík will show you the very best of Iceland in a single day.

West Iceland in the Winter destination of 2019

Availability All Year
Duration ~ 11 hours
Departs From Reykjavik
Level Easy Suitable for most people in fair condition.
Minimum age 6 years
Ratio 1:19 Guide to client ratio
Meet on Location No
Pick Up Yes

From

129
Per
Adult(16+)
  • West Iceland - Winter Destination of the Year 2019
  • Expert Guides
  • Small Group Experience
  • Free Wifi
  • No Booking Fees
  • Operated by our trusted partner

What's included

Included

  • Pick-up & drop off from Reykjavík
  • Guided Tour in Mini Bus
  • English Speaking Licensed Adventure Guide
  • Free WiFi on Board Your Bus

What to bring

  • Warm outdoor clothing
  • Waterproof jacket & pants
  • Headwear
  • Gloves

Not Included

  • Meals

Contact us for more Information about this tour

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Itinerary

Information

The epic day begins when we pick you up in Reykjavik. Together we will be heading on a journey of dramatic landscape and endless visual adventures. We'll make a quick stop giving you a chance to snack up for the trip ahead.

On the Snaefellsnes peninsula, we will make our way through the dramatic lava field of Berserkjahraun. According to Viking legends from the pagan times in Iceland, this is the place where two Swedish "berserkers" forged Iceland's first road. Over to the south side of the peninsula through a rural highland pass.

Our first highlight will be one of the best ones, every photographer's dream - the epic "arrowhead" mountain Kirkjufell, on the northern side of Snæfellsnes peninsula. Rising 463 meters out of the sea, this idyllic landmark stands tall above the fishing village. 

After soaking in the view of this unique natural treasure and its beautiful waterfalls, we'll continue along the coast of Snæfellsness.

Our next stop will be the dramatic black pebble beach of Djúpalónssandur, which offers astonishing sea views. Your guide will tell you fascinating stories of shipwrecks that lie on the beach.

Next, we will visit another, even smaller fishing village, Arnarstapi. There are few places as charming as this location, and here we will take a walk on the scenic coastline. While in town, you'll have the opportunity to visit Miðgjá stone bridge, a natural rock arch off the coast.

Just east of Arnastapi, we'll stop to admire Búðakirkja, the 19th-century church, and then head to see some cute seals at Ytri-Tunga.

Before arriving back in the capital, we'll make another shortstop to the town called Borgarnes, where you can get an excellent Icelandic hot dog. Finally, we will drop you off at Reyjavík, allowing the day's magic to sink in.

Pick up is at 08:00 am from your hotel or a selected nearby meeting point in Reykjavík. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes. Your patience is much appreciated.

Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures’s pick-up list.

Reviews

4.9
Based on 20 reviews

Snaefellsnes & Kirkjufell Small Group Tour

1- of 20 reviews

Excellent SNAEFELLSNES & KIRKJUFELL SMALL GROUP TOUR from Reykjavik

Reviewed on August 11, 2021 by Shilpa V Review from Tripadvisor

I booked this trip via Arctic Adventures. And I think they have partnered with a company 'Your Day Tours' for this trip. Our guide was Paura, and she was really great, funny and patient. She will explain everything to you, tell you the history of Iceland, share some stories and even walk down with you to few places. Overall, the trip was really great, and the landscape was a bit different from what you see during Golden Circle and South Coast tour. So if you have time, I encourage you to try this one.

The best way to explore Iceland

Reviewed on March 16, 2020 by Nadhiya From our post-trip system

As a solo traveller, exploring with arctic adventure was an unforgettable experience. The group was given enough time at each stop along with useful tips on where to go to get the best angles for the pictures you will surely take. We were lucky to have a bright and shiny day on our excursion and the guide (I forget his name) took the liberty to make an unscheduled stop so that we could soak it all in. He was also very informative and shared stories from the Sagas introducing the group to hidden people and trolls.

Fantastic tour

Reviewed on March 03, 2020 by Salma From our post-trip system

Very well planned tour, very flexible tour operator that would stop whenever asked for a quick break yet keeping great track of time Very nice sceneries and locations Worth visiting

Great tour

Reviewed on February 26, 2020 by Jenina Saphara From our post-trip system

The tour was great. Plan for a full day! Each stop was beautiful. Plan for a lot of walking (if you choose to) and bring your camera for some photos that people will swear are photoshopped! The views are just amazing. The small fishing towns you stop in are so quaint and lovely. Grab a cappuccino at the cafe. You can warm up and enjoy the views from inside. Lastly, our driver was a professional! We had some terrible, white out conditions on the way back to our hotels but our driver got us their safe! It was scary! Thank goodness we had him behind the wheel!

Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell Small Group

Reviewed on October 08, 2019 by wycoq Review from Tripadvisor

This is more of a sightseeing tour to stop at different locations. We finished according to the itinerary due to the advantage of small group and everyone were punctual. However we did have to rush at each location.

Snaefellsnes & Kirkjufell Small Group Tour 9/23/19

Reviewed on September 30, 2019 by Caitlin J Review from Tripadvisor

This tour was absolutely amazing! Our guide Jacob was very knowledgeable and gave a ton of information both about the sites and Icelandic culture. He went above and beyond to show us his favorite spots on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, even making a couple of extra stops along the way to take in the incredible sites and weather. This was the best tour we could have asked for!
We also did the add-on Lava cave experience, which was short but very cool! I'd recommend not worrying about trying to take photos or videos within the caves (there is no light inside except your small flashlight, and it is very wet inside the caves), but instead just enjoy the experience. The guides were very enthusiastic and helpful on that tour as well.

Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell Small Group Tour!

Reviewed on August 31, 2019 by Coryn K Review from Tripadvisor

All in all this tour was really great! I'm a big book nerd and knew when we went to Iceland that I absolutely had to go to "the center of the Earth!" We saw so many things that we wanted to in one shot and they plan all the photo opportunities really well! It was a rather independent tour compared to some of the other experiences we had in Iceland, but the views and the experience were totally worth it. I was a little disappointed that the wi-fi on the bus wasn't working because it was a very long day and the bus we were on was new, but there was definitely enough to keep you entertained from just looking out the window! We also opted to add the lava cave excursion and I highly highly recommend that as well!

Great tours!

Reviewed on August 28, 2019 by jeffjeff1 Review from Tripadvisor

We did all of our tours with Arctic Adventures when we were in Iceland. We did the South Coast, Golden Circle, Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and whale watching. All of the tours were great. The guides were amazing.Vikner was our guide for 3 days of tours and he was amazing. Sindri was our guide for the peninsula and he was great as well. Stephan took us through Katla Ice Cave and he was great. He was making jokes all the time and the kids on the tour loved the ride to and from the cave. The only problem we had was logistics. The first day we were at the wrong pickup spot but luckily Vikner picked us up at the spot we were at. Then on the last tour they didn't say what time we would be picked up. It was only because I saw one of the people on our tour in the main area of the hotel that I found out. My wife could never get a hold of the office the entire time and there was miscommunication about where we were staying the last night at. They said 2 days but it ended up being 3.

Snæfellsnes Peninsula tour

Reviewed on June 17, 2019 by Dan Q Review from Tripadvisor

The scenery on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula was stunning, but the logistics of this tour with Extreme Iceland were poorly planned out. We would have 2 hours between bathroom breaks and then need to pay to use gas station toilets. There was confusion about snacks and meals.
Most tours I have done have pre-arranged agreements with local vendors to allow tours to use facilities and clearly plan these out.
Our guide was also very nice, but did not speak much during the tour. We really were hoping for more history and background of the area.
However, the scenery and our walks through it were amazing. Highly recommend to visit this area, but best off through a different vendor.

Amazing sights and great guide

Reviewed on April 23, 2019 by CeeViolet Review from Tripadvisor

Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell Small Group Tour adventure

Despite the bad weather, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Our guide, Aron, showed us some amazing sights. There was never a moment that I didn't feel safe even though there was gust winds forcing the closing of some of the roads. I would not hesitate to recommend this tour.

Amazing sights and great guide

Reviewed on April 23, 2019 by Violet Review from Tripadvisor

Despite the bad weather, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Our guide, Aron, showed us some amazing sights. There was never a moment that I didn't feel safe even though there was gust winds forcing the closing of some of the roads. I would not hesitate to recommend this tour.

Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell Small Group Tour - A perfect introduction to Iceland

Reviewed on March 31, 2019 by RMA174 Review from Tripadvisor

I booked the Arctic Adventures Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell Small Group Tour for my first day in Iceland and it was a perfect start to my holiday.

The tour takes in some truly spectacular sites, including the iconic Mt. Kirkjufell and the beautiful black beach of Djúpalónssandur.

The tour lasted over 11 hours, partly due to some adverse driving conditions, but there were regular stops for food, coffee, toilets etc. and the pace of the tour was perfect so the day didn't feel overly long.

My main reason for visiting Iceland was the opportunities it would offer me as a photographer; with this in mind, I opted not to take the cave tour and was driven to another beautiful beach and given an hour to explore, one of my personal highlights of the day.

Einar, our guide for the day, was the perfect host. He was extremely knowledgeable, teaching us a great deal about the area. He had a great sense of humour and spoke perfect English.

Einar kept offering to answer any questions anyone had, whether they related to the tour itself or to visiting Reykjavík generally, he even wrote a great list of must see places, recommended bars and restaurants for me!

This tour was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Iceland, I recommend it highly. Thank you Arctic Adventures and Einar.

SNAEFELLSNES & KIRKJUFELL SMALL GROUP TOUR

Reviewed on January 08, 2019 by Paige W Review from Tripadvisor

Wow, was this my favorite part of my one week Iceland trip! I went on three tours total, golden circle, south coast, and this Arctic Adventures tour of the Snaefellsnes peninsula. The scenery was absolutely stunning, and the tour guide, Bjork, was fantastic. She told us stories of Icelandic folklore and was overall just very enthusiastic. I also booked bus tickets through Arctic Adventures, and they were very easy to communicate with and responded to emails within a day of asking a question. I definitely recommend using Arctic Adventures, and if anything, go on this small group tour in West Iceland. Even in the middle of winter, we were able to see everything during the limited day light hours!

SNAEFELLSNES & KIRKJUFELL SMALL GROUP TOUR

Reviewed on January 08, 2019 by Paige Review from Tripadvisor

Wow, was this my favorite part of my one week Iceland trip! I went on three tours total, golden circle, south coast, and this Arctic Adventures tour of the Snaefellsnes peninsula. The scenery was absolutely stunning, and the tour guide, Bjork, was fantastic. She told us stories of Icelandic folklore and was overall just very enthusiastic. I also booked bus tickets through Arctic Adventures, and they were very easy to communicate with and responded to emails within a day of asking a question. I definitely recommend using Arctic Adventures, and if anything, go on this small group tour in West Iceland. Even in the middle of winter, we were able to see everything during the limited day light hours!

3 trips

Reviewed on December 31, 2018 by Kay C Review from Tripadvisor

Did 3 trips - Golden circle & secret lagoon, Silfra snorkelling & Snaefellsnes Peninsula & the Vatnshellir Cave.. can fault them would recommend the company 👍👍👍

Magnificent!

Reviewed on August 07, 2018 by laura p Review from Tripadvisor

We did 4 day tours with Arctic Adventures: the Golden Circle afternoon, Blue Ice from Reykjavík, South coast & Jökulsárlón, and Snaefellsnes peninsula. Each tour itinerary was jam-packed, showcasing the natural beauty of Iceland. The guides we had were outstanding, especially Hafsteind(sp?), Kyle and Finn. We learned a lot about Iceland including its geology, language, culture, and animals. The Blue Ice glacier hike and ice climbing excursion was a highlight and should not be missed by anyone up for a little adventure - you will be rewarded with the most breathtaking views. The optional zodiac boat excursion on Jökulsárlón was another memorable experience we would highly recommend. Takk!

A Wonderful Snaefellsnes One-Day Tour

Reviewed on June 23, 2018 by kiwigirlabroad Review from Tripadvisor

After very little sleep, due to a midnight sun excursion with a rival company, I was nearly one of the 4 who never appeared. I'm glad I did make the tour. Our tour guide Norris was an absolute delight and so full of energy, which I was able to feed on to keep going. His wonderful Icelandic tales kept me awake (most of the time). The sights were something else, if Norris didn't have us on a strict schedule I could have easily spent more time explore the peninsular. I was in two minds about which tour to book for my final day in Iceland and I'm pleased this was my choice, it was simply wonderful. Not only was our guide great, everyone on the tour were friendly and chatting away. While I was travelling on my own, I was definitely not on my own.

There is an optional cave tour as part of this tour. You must book this!! It was the highlight of my trip.

I planning to come back to Iceland because there is so much more to do and see. I will most definitely be booking with Extreme Iceland again, possibly one of their 6-7 day tours.

Nice small size tours with personable guides, highly recommended!

Reviewed on June 16, 2018 by yukorn Review from Tripadvisor

I did 3 one-day-tours with them, Golden circle, Snaefellsnes Peninsula, and South Coast. It was easy to book online. I needed their assistance in choosing the pick up location being unfamiliar with the city. Pick up turned out to be very easy.
All the tours had gorgeous sceneries, good exercise (be ready to walk at lot, some hilly roads at times!), and very friendly and funny tour guides. I like the small size of the groups for you'll be able to ask the guide questions about the land.

I fell in love with Iceland, and expect to return sometime in the near future. Good to know there is one company I know I can rely on for those tours!

Excellent Tour/Rescue Mission on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula!

Reviewed on June 12, 2018 by Christopher S Review from Tripadvisor

Despite the cloudy weather, our tour of Snaefellsnes was a wonderful experience I will not soon forget. Our guide, Johan, did an excellent job keeping the bus ride interesting as we made our way towards our destination. Although it was overcast for the majority of the day, we were able to poke through the cloud layer on the way back and were presented with a remarkable view of the surrounding mountains and lava fields. We also went on a lava tube cave tour, which was equally outstanding. We were also able to see seals on the beach, as well as stop for some breathtaking views of cliffs at the seaside. The highlight of the tour, however, was something not found on the itinerary. While we were making our return trip to Reykjavik, our bus encountered a couple who had run their car off the road and were stuck in a ditch. Johan, without hesitation, stopped the bus and got out to assist. After roughly 15 minutes of everyone struggling to push the car out of the ditch, a passing motorist was able to scrounge up a tow cable and Johan was able to rescue the car by towing it out with the tour bus. The couple thanked us, went off on their way, and we were all left with a truly memorable experience. I would highly recommend this tour, especially so if you are prone to facing car troubles.

Journey to the centre of the earth -Snaefellsnes peninsula

Reviewed on April 24, 2018 by LoveCamden Review from Tripadvisor

A truly wonderful tour to the beautiful Snaefellsnes area. Our guide Björk looked after us with great enthusiasm and knowledgeable. She ensured everyone was comfortable and said, feel like home. We had plenty of food and toilet breaks as well. The tour takes you through the area of wilderness and the scenery is beautiful. We also went down a lava cave -Vatnshellir, this is something not to miss. Our cave guide Gummy , was fab. I am so glad I booked this tour and the cave tour, as it was probably one of my highlights to Iceland. We visited all the stops as mentioned in the programme, and Björk gave us enough time to enjoy each stop. The group was also a good size. It felt like an outing with friends, even if we didn’t know each other from the beginning.

FAQ

This is a great question. We ask all participants to be ready from the start of the pickup time indicated. This is because you may well be the first pick up of the day. Please be at your assigned location at the start time that you chose when booking the tour.

Here you should wait for your guide.

Have your email and phone number listed with us so we can contact you if we run into any trouble finding you.

View our pick-up locations in Reykjavík.

Before and during activities on the multi-day tours consumption of alcohol is prohibited. If we suspect that a participant is intoxicated, we will prohibit them from joining the activity.

After the activities of the day are finished, you are welcome to have a drink and relax.

Yes, we do. Langjökull Ice Cave is a magical experience, the tour has no minimum age and is a wonderful option for the whole family. Whale Watching with our partner company Elding has been a favourite with families traveling with young children, these guys have a great success rate in seeing whales (upwards of 98% in the summertime).

Another option would be the Landmannalaugar Safari on this tour you get to explore parts of the Icelandic highlands and bathe in natural hot springs. Most of our super jeep tours are also suitable for children over the age of 6 years old. If you would like a nice and relaxing experience we would also recommend the Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon tour.

Your safety is our number one priority! Keeping this in mind, Arctic Adventures reserves the right to adjust the itinerary and/or take different routes depending on conditions. Please read more information in our cancellation policy.

Yes, there is a specially trained and certified guide on each of our tours. The only exception to this is for our self-drive tours.

All of our tours are guided in English.

No, for all your questions and concerns you would need to contact our customer service.

The standard in Iceland is 230V and 50Hz and we use F-type power sockets and plugs, so you might have to bring an adaptor if you are visiting from UK, USA, Canada or other countries using a different voltage, Hz or plugs.

Our tours are split into four different categories that help participants to understand what to expect from the tour. The categories are Easy, Moderate, Challenging and Demanding. Each tour is rated making it easier to find tours that suit you.

For further information about the difficulty ratings and descriptions.

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