Iceland is a North Atlantic island and a part of Europe. It lies about 800 km northwest of Scotland and 970 km west of Norway. It´s northern coast is just below the Arctic Circle.
Fun fact: From London, Reykjavík and Athens have the same distance.
There is neither Lyft nor Uber, but we have taxis (call 588 5522 or have your lobby book one) and the local bus (Strætó). Strætó has buses in Reykjavík and Akureyri and even between towns! Strætó uses an app you can find on your app store.
Fun Fact: Strætó inside Akureyri is free of charge
Absolutely not! Our tab water is very clean and tastes good. We recommend bringing a reusable bottle – you can fill it up at any tab, free of charge.
In the summer, light clothing is often all you need – but always be prepared for both cold and wet weather, all times of the year. The weather can be extremely changeable and tricky to foresee. Icelanders often say, “If you don´t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.” The local trick to staying warm and prepared for all weather is layers of clothes. In the wintertime, you will need warm shoes and socks!
Fun fact: A favourite pastime is year-round outdoor swimming in countless geothermally heated pools and lagoons, with a typical temperature of 25-28°C. Bring your swimsuit!
When layering your clothes correctly you are much more likely to stay warm and can remove some layers without getting too cold.
What you need:
A base layer – preferably lightweight wool or fleece
A middle layer – A warm sweater, good trousers. Jeans get VERY cold and if they get wet in the winter, they will freeze.
An outer layer – A waterproof parka and trousers
Don’t forget – Good shoes, warm socks, gloves and a warm hat
There are always Taxi’s located outside the airport.
A cheaper option would be traveling by bus from the airport to Reykjavik City Center – They leave every 30 minutes.
Not at all! Frequent flights operate to Iceland from Europe´s and North America main cities and many gateways are served daily. Flight times from Europe are two to four hours.
Not a fan of flying but want to make a quick stop? Many cruise-ships dock at Iceland for one or two days at a time.
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Iceland isn´t as cold as it sounds. As a matter of fact, Greenland is colder!
Temperatures are moderate year-round. Average July temperatures are around 10°C and the north and east are often the warmest parts in the summer. Snow is not the norm and only settles intermittently in the south but tends to stay longer in the north.
Fine winter skiing areas are found on higher ground outside many towns, however.
Fun fact: Average January temperatures in Reykjavík, at around zero, are higher than those in New York.
Quite Nordic personality, exceptionally friendly, highly educated, sophisticated, attractive, honest and very modern (oh! and humble). Their ancestors were predominantly Norwegian, although some came from the British Isles. They have a lot in common with their Scandinavian friends in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. The languages even sound similar!
Fun fact: There are no Innuits in Iceland.
Most Icelanders speak fluent English. In fact, they welcome the opportunity – so never be shy about approaching an Icelander.
All major credit cards are accepted. We do not however accept payments with Diners Club Cards or American Express Cards.
The local staff at restaurants and stores are happy to help you out with the cash, however.
The Icelandic króna (ISK). All major currencies can be exchanged at the airport, banks and currency exchanges. Visa and MasterCard are accepted almost everywhere. ATMs are generally not hard to find.
Some places accept Euros, but it is not common. ISK or credit cards are always a safer bet.
Summer visitors who arrive to a bright midnight sky and ask when it gets dark in Iceland are sometimes told “in the middle of August.” The sun barely sets in the summer and it´s light round-the-clock in the north at the peak of summer. In mid-winter, expect only about four to five hours of daylight a day.
Iceland´s electrical standards are European (50Hz, 240 volts) so many North American electrical devices will require converters. Plugs are generally two-pin, so devices brought in from the UK and North America will require adapters.
Most European cell phones work on Iceland´s GSM network; North American ones use a different standard. Mobiles work in towns and on virtually all main travel routes.
Another option would be to buy a sim-card and get an Icelandic number for your stay.
Fun fact: You can access Wi-Fi on your phone virtually at every restaurant, coffee shop, library and bar!
There are bathrooms all over, no worries – our guides plan accordingly.
Not at all! As a matter of fact, we encourage you to have it with you on your phone to prevent trash in the environment.
We do not operate on cars specifically designed for wheelchairs. If the chair is foldable and you feel comfortable getting in and out of the car without it, you should have no problem joining our tours.
Absolutely – simply talk with your guide beforehand.
We do not offer pickup on day tours. Our day tours have fixed departure point visible on our tour website and your ticket. On shore excursions from Cruise ship have a departure point from the harbor. We offer pickup on our private tours, from your accommodation or preselected pickup location.
There is neither Lyft nor Uber, but we have taxis (call 588 5522 or have your lobby book one) and the local bus (Strætó). Strætó has buses in Reykjavík and Akureyri and even between towns! Strætó uses an app you can find on your app store.
Fun Fact: Strætó inside Akureyri is free of charge
Absolutely not! Our tab water is very clean and tastes good. We recommend bringing a reusable bottle – you can fill it up at any tab, free of charge.
In the summer, light clothing is often all you need – but always be prepared for both cold and wet weather, all times of the year. The weather can be extremely changeable and tricky to foresee. Icelanders often say, “If you don´t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.” The local trick to staying warm and prepared for all weather is layers of clothes. In the wintertime, you will need warm shoes and socks!
Fun fact: A favourite pastime is year-round outdoor swimming in countless geothermally heated pools and lagoons, with a typical temperature of 25-28°C. Bring your swimsuit!
When layering your clothes correctly you are much more likely to stay warm and can remove some layers without getting too cold.
What you need:
A base layer – preferably lightweight wool or fleece
A middle layer – A warm sweater, good trousers. Jeans get VERY cold and if they get wet in the winter, they will freeze.
An outer layer – A waterproof parka and trousers
Don’t forget – Good shoes, warm socks, gloves and a warm hat
We might cancel your tour if the weather and/or road conditions get dangerous for you and our staff. We put safety first and will come up with alternate solutions if cancellations occur.
Some of our tours venture to the highlands and the weather up there may be very different.
We send out all tour information to the email used in the booking. If you booked through another booking agent, we will contact them.
We will pick you up at your accommodation or other predefined location. You select the Pick-up location upon booking your tour.
No worries, it is a private tour. If you know you will be running late, please contact us as soon as possible. We can either postpone the tour or change the schedule, depending how late you are.
We leave our departure location at the scheduled departure time. If you are not there we will unfortunately leave you behind. No refunds are available if you do not show up on your booked tour.
If we cancel the tour, you will receive an email and offered to reschedule. If rescheduling does not work out, we refund the booking.
Yes, please bring your ticket, you can either have it on your phone/tablet or print it out. Make sure the QR barcode is visible and readable.
We operate only on mini buses with 19 people max per car.
We might need to travel together with more cars, but you will never be accompanied by more than 18 fellow travellers on the bus itself.
Tourism in Iceland is young and there is no custom for donating tips nor is it mandatory or expected but greatly appreciated if you wish to show your appreciation in that way.
Fun fact: Your waiters and taxi drivers do not expect tips either.
No, we require all tours to be paid upon booking.
Absolutely not! Our tab water is very clean and tastes good. We recommend bringing a reusable bottle – you can fill it up at any tab, free of charge.
In the summer, light clothing is often all you need – but always be prepared for both cold and wet weather, all times of the year. The weather can be extremely changeable and tricky to foresee. Icelanders often say, “If you don´t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.” The local trick to staying warm and prepared for all weather is layers of clothes. In the wintertime, you will need warm shoes and socks!
Fun fact: A favourite pastime is year-round outdoor swimming in countless geothermally heated pools and lagoons, with a typical temperature of 25-28°C. Bring your swimsuit!
The tours from port are customized around cruise time frame so if your cruise docks late your guide will wait for you and the guide will also make sure to bring you back to the cruise in time.
The guide will be waiting for you at the port with a Saga Travel GeoIceland sign.
If you booked a tour from port, your tour is customized only for cruise ship passengers so your guide will wait for you.
You will receive a full refund if your cruise cannot dock.
If we cancel the tour, you will receive an email and offered to reschedule. If rescheduling does not work out, we refund the booking.
Yes, please bring your ticket, you can either have it on your phone/tablet or print it out. Make sure the QR barcode is visible and readable.
No worries! Our tours that depart from the harbor are scheduled for cruise ship passengers only and customized to the according time frame given. We guarantee that the tour arrives back before the ship departure from dock. See our specially organized Cruise Ship tours here.
The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and beyond our control. They are visible in Iceland from September through April, but visibility is subject to Northern Lights activity and cloud coverage. We cannot guarantee sightings even if the tour is operated. If your tour guide confirms that no Northern Lights were seen we invite you on a complimentary retry tour with us, also on a small bus!
Our experts keep a close eye on the weather forecast, cloud coverage and light activity. Some days it may be obvious early on that there is no chance to catch the lights – or a great chance!
Other days can be harder to predict but we do our best to inform you as soon as possible.
We send out all tour information to the email used in the booking. If you booked through another booking agent, we will contact them.
If there are no lights on the day tour you can rebook another tour with a 50% discount, not valid for private departures. A discount code will be sent upon request via email.
We operate every night between September and March. The northern lights are a natural phenomenon and subject to various factors, such as cloud coverage. We operate as long there are seats booked on the tour. We do not operate unless reservations are made. Reservation is thus necessary.
Normally we do not cancel the northern lights tours. The tour is only cancelled if the weather conditions do not allow a departure. Instead we allow customers to cancel the tour with a full refund until 5 hours prior to departure. You can also change departure date with out costs. We recommend that our customers take a good look at the Northern Lights forecast at www.auroraforecast.is to assess the changes of seeing the Northern Lights.
If we cancel the tour, you will receive an email and offered to reschedule. If rescheduling does not work out, we refund the booking.