DAY 1

We start with an early morning hotel pick-up before we blaze out of town to the East heading over the geothermal moor of Hellisheidi and down to the greenhouse town of Hveragerdi, which marks the beginning of the agricultural area on the south shore. On we go past Mt. Ingólfsfjall, through the town of Selfoss, where we start to catch the views of Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the highlands.

A stop to stretch our legs at Seljalandsfoss waterfall where a walk behind the falls provides a refreshing cold mist on a warm day. Now we leave the main road and head onto the 4x4 designated mountain trail into Thor’s Valley. On the way, we stop at Gígjökull a glacier outlet from Eyjafjallajökull and Stakkholtsgjá slot canyon to explore its hidden waterfall and amazing rock formations.

Be prepared for some additional excitement as you will have to cross over a few unbridged glacial rivers, reduce tire pressure for a smoother ride and better grip before we enter into the heart of Þórsmörk valley at the foot of Mýrdalsjökull glacier and Katla volcano.  Þórsmörk is magical place, green and lush with Icelandic birch growing wildly up to the tree line where it switches to steep mountain sides and glaciers. Once in the valley we have time for some awesome hiking or a bit more adventure driving on the rough tracks and through the rivers. (L, D)

Overnight in Mountain Hotel with outdoor Hot Tubs.

DAY 2

We will start to make our way out of Þórsmörk, scenic stops will be made on the way. The challenge for the day is to drive up to the glacier Eyjafjallajökull which sits on top of the volcano made famous for its disruption of air travel over the Atlantic in 2020. And we are not just going to stop and see it, we are going to try to drive as close as possible to the top. How far we can go depends on the weather and conditions on the glacier.

After the glacier experience, we head back to Reykjavík giving ourselves some extra time for exploration and exciting driving before we get back to the city in the late afternoon. (B, L)