Iceland Explorer

• Accommodation: 9 Classic nights (hotels and guesthouses)
• Travel by air-conditioned minibus
• Group normally 5 to 16, plus leader. Minimum age: 16

Summer departures: Iceland is on the northern edge of the temperate zone, meaning it has cool summers. Daytime temperatures in summer can be anything from 10C to 20C (50F to 68F). In mountain areas, be prepared for some days of poor weather with strong winds and rain, but usually the weather is quite pleasant, though cool. There is constant daylight, but not midnight sun, in May, June and July.

Winter departures: On any winter day, you may experience periods of sunshine alternating with short or long showers of snow, sleet or rain. Away from the coast, in most winters, there is good snow cover for much of the season, particularly in the north. Average daytime temperatures in Reykjavik are between 0C and -5C (32F and 23F). In the interior, it can be several degrees colder with significant wind chill. Visibility of the Northern Lights depends on a combination of solar activity and clear skies. The two can combine to produce a visible display any time between late August and April.

This trip is graded Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Journeys: Much of this trip is touring by small bus, with plenty of stops. Iceland is bigger than many people expect, so there are some significant distances to travel. Overall, the trip covers around 1,550mi (2,500km) with an average of five hours per day travelling by bus. Days are long and busy with travel or site visits.

Driving times: The transfer times stated in the itinerary, which are based on summer conditions, should be used as a guide only. If road conditions are difficult in winter, the times will be longer. We can reduce the impact of bad road conditions with earlier starts and shorter stops.

Travel: We use a comfortable bus, ruggedly built to Icelandic standards and able to cope with most terrain types. Most roads we travel on this trip are paved, providing a reasonably smooth ride.

Walking: Many site explorations are completed on foot, often on uneven ground. There are sometimes steep and slippery slopes to reach the sites, plus steps and stiles. Some sites have walkways; however, many do not. In winter, ice on the ground can be common; if required, snow grips are provided to fit over regular shoes.

Choosing your dates: Daylight hours vary enormously throughout the year. Here’s what to expect.

In winter, we depart before sunrise (though this isn’t a particularly early start) to maximise the daylight, meaning we see sunrise every day.

May, June and the first half of July, we experience 24-hour daylight, before a few hours of darkness around midnight (and the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights) returns.

From October to April, the roads can be closed with little or no notice due to ice or snow. Even if some roads are open, our tour leader may not deem them safe enough for driving (particularly the road from Egilsstadir to Myvatn via Dettifoss), in which case they take an alternative route. Itinerary alterations due to adverse weather are at the discretion of the tour leader, who always prioritises health and safety over all else.