Get close to nature in the way of old Icelanders on this horseback riding experience from Reykjavik, dependent on transfer option. Hop on a small, sturdy, Icelandic horse, a breed originally brought here by the Vikings, and enjoy a relaxing ride through lava-laden scenery past mountains, lakes, and moors. Your ride is matched to your ability and led by an instructor. Hot drinks, riding equipment, and guidance is included.

Icelandic horseback riding experience from Reykjavik
Ride on a gentle Icelandic horse
Ride through lava fields and moors past mountains and lakes
Choose a beginner, intermediate, or advanced ride
Refuel with coffee, tea or hot chocolate after your ride
Choice of morning or afternoon departure

What's Included

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate
Helmets, rubber boots, rain gear and warm overall

Food and drinks, unless specified
Pre-booked pick-up and drop-off from pick up points in Reykjavik, unless specified with tour option

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Sörlaskeið 26
Sörlaskeið 26, 220 Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
If you are traveling on your own to our stables, please be there at least 30 min. prior to your tour departure.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Pick-up needs to be pre-booked. Please be sure that you've chosen a tour with pick up included if you require to be picked up from your accommodation or a designated bus stop close to your accommodation. Please note the weight limit on our tours is 110kg/240lbs and the age limit is 8 years old.

What To Expect

On arrival, meet your instructor to adivse of your ability level—beginner, intermediate, or experienced.

Get up-close to the Icelandic horses, learning about this gentle breed. Descendants of Viking horses brought here in the 10th century, these sturdy, good-nature steeds are known for their tölt, a four-beat gait that makes riding on rugged terrain smooth and comfortable.

Next, watch a short instructional video, don your provided riding gear, and hop into the saddle. Learn to ease your horse into the tölt, and set out behind your instructor. Soon afterward, having watched you riding, your instructor splits you into three groups—beginners, intermediates, and experienced.

Beginners ride slowly over easy terrain, with intermediate and experienced riders tackling more challenging routes at different paces. Just advise your instructor if you want to go slower or faster.

As you ride, soak in the beautiful scenery. Weave through lava fields and moorland, passing volcanic mountains and lakes.

After your trek, savor coffee, tea, or hot chocolate at the stables.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult
Age limit is 8 years old
Weight limit is 110kg/240lbs
Used riding gear is not allowed on the tour or near the horses
If you arrive in your own car please be at the stables 30 minutes before your tour starts
Due to possible harm to unborn children pregnant women cannot ride on our tours
Not wheelchair accessible

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
All riders must be able to mount the horse by their own strength.
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
In our tours up to two children or youth may travel with each adult, paying full fare
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

They offer warm overalls, boots and a helmet-bring gloves though and warm socks!

The guides in this tour are very good, They will make you comfortable with the horses and help you along the way, This was a great ride,

Reviews

5.0

489 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 489 reviews

A Unique Experience

edward_M, Mar 2023

Great staff! Gentle horses! Excellent for beginners to more experienced riders! From pickup at the hotel to drop off it was a wonderful experience.

Horses were great! Something doesn't add up though...

Dominic_Z, Mar 2023

We had an awesome time! It was a bucketlist item for my wife who is a horse girl. But even I really enjoyed riding those little guys. The staff was great and we had fun. It is really different to ride on such small horses. Back home we would call them ponies but the locals dont like that because it makes the vikings seem sort of small and measly. But it really makes you think. If the vikings were so big and powerful and giant, why did they ride such TINY horses? Curious. It makes sense the horses are small because they live on such a resource scarce island. Not a lot of food available. But wait, why would the vikings be so big if there wasn'ta lot of food availabe on the island. That doesn't make any sense. Along those lines, I noticed a pattern when touring some of the historic viking homes and early Icelandic settlement buildings: small doorways. All of the doorways were short narrow passages. Rather odd for a giant people to build doors they couldn't fit through... Additionally, the vikings were easily subdued by Christian Europe. Its surprising that such a ferocious and giant people were so easily conquered. Must have been a fluke! This viking history sure is interesting. Little tiny ponies, no food on the island, small doorways, yet they were a giant strong race of men. Idk.... I'm not a historian or anything but in this review you can see the picture of me and my wife on the horses. We look like giants on them! And though we are both extremely athletic we are not very large people. But we are supposed to believe the vikings were giant and were riding these ponies. Ohhhhkkaayyy...??? Anyway the horse riding was cool would recomend.

The guide was amazing! It...

Megan_l, Mar 2023

The guide was amazing! It was a last minute decision to do this because something else I had planned for canceled, I had fun and glad I had time for this!

Absolute 10/10

Kennedy_T, Mar 2023

Absolute 10/10! Highly recommend for those who are experienced and inexperienced! The horses are SO well behaved and trained, so if you are nervous, don’t be! They will have two routes you can choose (beginner and advanced) the advanced can also be used by any beginner because the horses are so smart and trained. Also, the tour guides were amazing ladies who always cared about our safety. The perfect amount of time as well! You will be given a safety helmet and a jumpsuit for clothing protection.

They were fantastic with...

SeungWoo_K, Mar 2023

They were fantastic with complete beginners like us! I'd recommend it anytime for anyone who's never been riding before and wants to try it.

Everything was perfect,...

Eszter_P, Mar 2023

Everything was perfect, the weather, my horse, i loved every single minute of it. I would definitely recommend this experience for everyone who loves horses.

Great morning ride

Julie_S, Mar 2023

We enjoyed riding the Icelandic horses in below freezing weather. The guides made it fun by allowing us to split into a fast group and a slow group. In the fast group, we got to trot with our horses. They have good gear to keep you warm. Just make sure you have warm gloves and socks.

Fab experience, well...

Julie_B, Mar 2023

Fab experience, well worth a visit. Knowledgeable staff who tell you about the history of the Icelandic horses

Must try!

nancypurser, Mar 2023

The horses are amazing, so comfortable to ride and very well taken care of. The scenery is fantastic and the guides are friendly and knowledgeable.

Lovely horses and people!

Susanna_W, Feb 2023

Beautiful horses, lovely people. The horses were very well cared for and I loved learning about them from the guides- the information was really interesting. Blessa (apologies as I know I'll have spelt) her name wrong) is a lovely horse and it was an honour to meet her. Great pick up options too, even easy for a solo rider who has never travelled alone. Thank you! :)

Fun, Organized, Kind

Madison_K, Feb 2023

I absolutely LOVED this tour from the second I was picked up to the second I was dropped back off. Everyone I interacted with was so nice and knew so much about the horses and made the whole tour smooth. Despite it being cold and rainy I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time because I was just having such a great time. When you arrive at the stables there is complimentary coffee and hot chocolate while you watch a safety video and then they help you find the correct helmet; they also have riding boots, rain jackets, and rain pants for customers to use if needed. I couldn’t recommend this tour enough

Best part of our vacation!

Mary_H, Feb 2023

Every aspect of the experience was well thought out and safe. Our group was divided by experience level and our seasoned riders and first timers has a wonderful time. Tabby was a delight and so enthusiastic. We loved the entire process and would highly recommend this to others traveling to Iceland.

An experience to remember

Sally_D, Feb 2023

Well organised from start to finish. It was a cold, wet day but there was plenty of clothing available to keep us comfortable. The staff were all great. As were the horses!

Great ride!

Michelle_s, Feb 2023

Very informative information about the Icelandic horses - the guides were very helpful and eager to make sure we all had a great experience.

Incredible experience

Lauren_P, Feb 2023

The communication from this company was fantastic. They rang us the day before we was meant to do the excursion and asked if we had any flexibility as there was a storm coming in and they didn’t want us to miss out We can honestly say the whole experience from start to finish was 10/10. They provided all equipment including overalls, helmets and boots which were good quality. The staff are clearly passionate about what they do and were keen to chat about the horses, they knew each one by name, staggering considering there are over 160 horses at the stables The scenery was beautiful and we got some good pictures. Half way through we got to break off into slow and fast rides, we chose the fast ride despite having no experience and it was so fun. Would thoroughly recommend this excursion to anyone! 5*

Awesome experience

MaryEllen_M, Feb 2023

What an awesome experience! We opted for pickup which went smoothly. Instructional video was helpful. Staff made sure we were all dressed correctly (they have overalls/boots available). The guides were fantastic. I had some trouble getting up on the horse (I guess I'm not as limber at 65 as I was when younger!) but the staff helped me without making me feel bad which I appreciated. Once on my lovely horse Rasmus things were great. Loved the scenery and didn't mind the snow/wind. Loved going at the faster gait. This will be one of my fondest memories and I highly recommend it.

Wonderful Experience!

Olivia_W, Jan 2023

This was one of the best parts of our trip. The horses were amazing and the guides couldn’t have been nicer. A must-do!

Drink in Iceland on a Mighty Viking Horse!

Shannon_K, Jan 2023

I can't recommend Íshestar's horseback tour enough! The horses (*NOT* ponies!) are absolutely adorable and so friendly, and the riding center staff take care to ensure you're safe and comfortable. Our tour was on a pretty cold January day, so I dressed warmly, but we were provided with coverall snowsuits to be sure we stayed nice and warm on the journey (plus helmets for safety). My friend had lost her gloves in the intense wind the previous day and didn't have a chance to pick up a new pair before the tour, but fortunately the stable had a whole "lost and found" box of them to choose from. Even in the winter, the lava field landscape was stunning with great views of the mountains. Great way to spend an afternoon in Iceland!

Guides were great and...

Amie_M, Jan 2023

Guides were great and made everyone feel safe and welcome Horses are really well looked after Tea and coffee at the end was a bonus

Horse riding

dolores_a, Jan 2023

Fantastic guide, the whole experience was well organised, would highly recommend. Also one of the less expensive trips in iceland

...

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Icelandic Horseback Riding Tour from Reykjavik

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