Iceland tour operators recommendation?

[kerryincork]

Hi all

 

We are off to Iceland in June and I am researching tours.

 

We are budget conscious so not interested in private tours. I would hire a car and drive myself if I wanted to do it privately.

 

Looking for guided tours.

a tour group that I am interested in has a combo tour where they will meet the ship on each day the ship is in port and return you at the end of the day. Tour company is called FAB Tours (an Icelandic company). The tour costs approximately €350 p.p.

 

Has anyone used this company before?

 

It's doing the three big trips Golden Circle, hot springs, waterfalls.

 

The tours I have seen advertised by Icelandic tour companies is anywhere between €60 to €150 for day tours depending and a lot more for private tours.

 

These prices are about half the cost of ship. Also we will be in Iceland for a total of four days so not concerned about missing ship.

 

Will probably just Potter around Rykiavic on last day.

 

Any other reasonable priced tours people can recommend.

[ljandgb]

Over on the TA Iceland forum, the general consensus is that any local agency is reliable.  If you can find any reviews on TA, that would help.  The difference in cost between local providers will probably be made in the size of the vehicle - large tour bus vs smaller van.  We always arrange our own tours.  It's almost criminal how much more the ship will charge for excursions of similar or fewer activities.  

 

Not sure where you mean exactly by "hot springs, waterfalls" as those are all over.  Get to the south coast if you can.  It's amazing.  With 4 days, you could consider a 2 day tour to Jokulsarlon, though that would be pricier as it includes lodging along the way.  

[kerryincork]

Thanks for the reply

[dronnygirl]

We toured with FAB in July and they were brilliant. We did Golden Circle from Reykyavik which is a full day, they then took us a drive around Reykjavik on the way back. We then had a rest day in Isafjord and just walked round the town as we thought 3 full day trips may be tiring. We then toured with  FAB in Akureyri, this was our favourite. We were taken to lots of interesting places and to see the Myvayn baths. We were given a choice to spend time bathing or have a quick lunch and move on to see more places. We all decided to move on and saw some great sights.  We were a party of 8 in a small bus which worked really well. The guides were very informative and I would really recommend  this company

[Turtles06]

We were on a cruise this summer that spent nearly a week in Iceland.  You will find that the "private" tour operators mostly don't operate truly "private" tours as on the European continent  (altho you could pay big bucks for that if you wanted one).  What they mostly do is have mini-buses that hold about 16-19 people.  They arrange those tours to sync with the schedules of the cruise ships.  You can book directly with them, no need to arrange a bunch of folks from your Roll Call and have to be the point person.

 

I can't say enough good things about GeoIceland -- we used them for a tour of the South Coast out of Reykjavik, and they were fabulous.  One of the best guides we've ever had.  Others also used them for a Golden Circle tour and had an excellent day.  We set things up well in advance, and they were easy to deal with.  Their travel partner in the northern part of Iceland is Saga Travel, and Saga handled a lot of the admin stuff.  I should also mention that our ship was delayed a day into Reykjavik because of a huge storm,  and Saga/GeoIceland didn't miss a beat over this -- they notified everyone booked with them by email that they were moving our tours back a day to accommodate the delayed arrival. 

 

You should check their prices (and you might want to look at reviews of Saga Travel if you are going to be in the north).

 

Also -- it sounds like you may be spending two days in Reykjavik.  If so, I would urge you to consider allocating the first day to a South Coast tour.  I thought it was far more spectacular than the Golden Circle.   I'd also seriously consider not spending a day in Reykjavik, either.  Do the Golden Circle on the second day (through your ship if you have any concerns about missing your departure).

[kerryincork]

Thanks for the feedback

[DogLover]

We did a wonderful tour to see a Lava tunnel this past June. We booked directly and it included pick up/drop off at the ship. It's out of Reykjavik and total time about 3 hours. Cost currently is 11,400ISK which is $95USD or $84Euro. I felt it was an incredible value given the experience, but I'm not sure I'd call it a "budget option." Here's the link:

https://thelavatunnel.is/

[Nitemare]

The "Iceland questions" thread here has tons of tour and tour company recommendations.  Well worth 15-20 minutes of your time to see the options

Edited January 26, 2019 by Nitemare