We like to use and recommend local tour companies for your Iceland trip. It seems more sustainable, with more of the money you spend staying in the local Icelandic economy. But we also think it makes for a better trip. Midgard Adventures made this perfectly clear during our amazing superjeep day tour we did with them. And not just because of Hekla the dog, but she certainly helped!
Midgard is a family run tour company based in Hvolsvöllur in South Iceland. The tour we went on is their most popular option: A superjeep tour to Þórsmörk in this impressive 14 passenger superjeep:
Behind the jeep above is Midgard basecamp, where you can spend the night or grab some food. (You can also get some coffee or use the bathroom before your tour, the latter of which is highly recommended- there aren’t many bathroom options in the Highlands!)
The basecamp is also where we met Hekla, a dog owned by the 2 main owners of Midgard. She was laying lazily by the front door, welcoming pets and scratches with the aloof demeanor of a dog who gets hundreds of pets and scratches every day. But a few minutes later, she was standing by the door to the superjeep, looking expectantly into the vehicle.
“Oh, ha ha!” I thought. “The dog wants to go with us!” Then, a few minutes after that, she was in the superjeep. “Ha ha! She really thinks she’s going with us! How funny.”
Then the superjeep started moving, with the dog still inside with us, and I still didn’t quite believe that this dog was going with us on our 7 hour superjeep tour.
We drove the 20 or so minutes past Seljalandsfoss waterfall and onto the F road to Þórsmörk. (F roads are mountain roads in Iceland suitable only for 4 wheel drive vehicles and only when they’re open in the summertime. But this particular F road, F249, should never be attempted by a tourist. There are serious river crossings that can and do sweep rental cars away.)
After another half hour of beautiful scenery, we arrived at our first stop. “I don’t normally come to this waterfall,” the guide announced, “but the dog really wanted to stop here.”
“Ha ha!” I thought again.
Later I realized that this was once again the absolute truth. Helka the dog has been on hundreds of these tours. She’s getting older, and doesn’t join the tours much anymore. But the weather today was beautiful, and as soon as we got to the waterfall, she started running around like a puppy. And climbing the trails. She really wanted to come here.
It was a hard hike up to this waterfall, full of tricky hops across rock-filled streams and scrambles up a slippery gravel path. I think this site might be more common on Midgard’s hiking tour of Þórsmörk, and not this superjeep tour with less hiking.
But the waterfall is incredible, and well worth the effort. Here’s the view from behind the waterfall once you finally make it all the way up:
The tour continued for us to see other sites in the Highlands, including Gígjökull glacier, the site of a massive flood during the 2010 eruption of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull:
And a shorter hike to a signing cave at one of the basecamps once we made it to Þórsmörk:
I loved every stop, and so did the dog. This was an amazing tour with an amazing guide. With larger companies, I worry that the guide could be a newly trained employee who might not give you the best experience. But because it’s a family run company, every guide is going to be excellent.
Practical information about Midgard Adventure
- If you want to see Þórsmörk (which you definitely should!) You have a choice of a few different tours:
The 2 day tour is obviously a different type of tour, but it’s an incredible option if you have the time and money. There’s so much to explore in Þórsmörk.
But with the day tours you have the option of the regular day tour or the hiking tour. These both involve a superjeep taking you to Þórsmörk and making stops to let you explore. The hiking tour will just involve longer hikes when you stop. Both tours will be fantastic and memorable; it’s just a question of whether you want to do 3-4 hours of hiking of maybe 1-2. (Our tour ended up closer to 3, but I think that was Hekla the dog’s fault!)
- The only downside I can think of with Midgard is their cancellation policy. If you cancel, even if it’s well before your tour date, you pay a 10% cancellation fee. This is not standard for tour companies in Iceland, and I wish they didn’t charge it. But I think that’s the price of working with Midgard, and I think it’s a price worth paying. (Of course, you won’t pay a penalty if you need to change your booking date or if there are weather issues that impact tour tour.)
- All tours leave from Midgard basecamp in the town of Hvolsvöllur, which offers overnight accommodations and a nice restaurant.
- The day tours include a stop for lunch, and lunch is not included in the price. You can pay to add a lunch, or save money and bring your own food. (There’s a Kronan grocery store a couple of minutes away which opens at 9 AM every day. This is what we did; I brought this soft-sided cooler to keep everything cold.)
I can’t guarantee that Hekla the dog will join your tour. But I’m convinced that the kind of company that takes their family dog on tours is the kind of company that will provide you with a memorable tour in Iceland.
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