Reykjavik's Secrets

Introduction
Iceland Shorts Iceland
Great riding trails with unexpected scenery!

Tölt with us through an exciting landscape made up of pseudocaters, glittering lakes and salmon rivers, with high mountain tops towering over us. Explore secluded black lava trails only accessible on horseback and let your mind wander over endless green moss covered fields of breathtaking landscape. Riding from place to place this is a proper riding tour where you will get to explore the beauty of the incredible remote landscape in Reykjavík´s backyard.

During this ride we start at Álftanes Peninsula with a ride along Bessastaðir (the Icelandic President´s residence) with stunning views of the Reykjavík skyline and Mt. Snæfellsjökull. We ride through Heiðmörk Nature Reserve with its endless arctic birch forests and bizzare lava formations and tölt along the grounds of the famous Landsmót competition site.

Join us on this extraordinary ride with great attention to detail and friendly personal service!

Accomodation

Accommodations
This is a stationary ride so all nights will be spent at the same accommodation.

Description
You will stay at Hotel Kríunes, featuring stunning mountain and lake views in the outskirt of Reykjavik. The hotel is close to the stables.   
The hotel offers comfortable rooms with private bathroom (walk-in shower and toiletries). The room comes with a free access to the hot tub and sauna.
Each room has Air conditioning, a SmartTV and free WiFi.



If you want a more budget-friendly accommodation you can join this riding tour without hotel and book your own accommodation in Reykjavík.

Note that your guide will not be staying at the hotel during the tour.   

Room Occupancy
Triple rooms might be available on request (please inquire).
The single supplement fee is mandatory for single travelers.



Meals
During the ride half board is provided with breakfast and lunch.
Dinner is not included on this tour. 

A Breakfast buffet is served at the hotel every day from 7 am to 10 am.

Lunch is usually eaten on the trail and features a variety of dishes including: sandwiches, hot dogs, lobster soup, lamb BBQ... 
We also provide coffee and cakes at the end of the day, usually home baked or assorted Icelandic cheese etc. 


Dietary Restrictions
It is possible to cater to special diets with advance notice.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding


We usually ride with some spare horses as we ride at least 2 horses every day. We mostly ride at a tölt but also walk, trot and canter.

We operate our horse riding tours in Iceland in cooperation with local partners that are horse people through and through.
They breed their own horses and train them themselves. They operate their tours in their home region where they know each and every mountain, creek and canyon.

Riding Gear
Our tack is very similar to the one used by English style riding. But don´t worry if you come from a Western Riding background, we will assist you and you will get used to the tack in no time. We use safety stirrups on all our saddles and will ask you to wear a helmet at all times. You can bring your own helmet (please disinfect your riding gear) or you can borrow one locally.
Our bridles are very practical, they have clip on reins that you can release so that your horse can have some grass while you enjoy your break! We also provide you with a saddle bag, big enough for your picnic, gloves and a small camera.

Riding with the Herd
One of the things that makes riding tours in Iceland completely different from tours in other countries is the fact that we take lots of spare horses along when we travel. The sight of 40 – 80 horses running free over the mountain trails with the wind in their mane is a view you will not forget – we promise! On each tour you can expect to ride different horses every day. That means that we need at least three to four horses per person. The horses we are not riding run along freely in a herd.
Our partners and their staff will take care of the herd and if you want to, you can help them with the herding. But please note that you should always follow the instructions by the staff. We will go over the safety procedures on the first day of the trip. Riding with the herd is a once- in- a -lifetime experience for every rider!

Riding Experience
You do not need any prior knowledge of Icelandic Horses or the special gait tölt. We will explain our way of riding and will take time and patience to teach you how to ride the tölt. However, you might get more out of a multi-day trip if you know already a little bit about tölting. This is why we offer a pre-tour for our multi-day tours in cooperation with our partners (inquire for more information). We especially recommend this pre-tour for riders that are used to Western Riding. But as already mentioned above, this pre-tour is just a service to make sure you enjoy the tour even more but it is not a requirement. We will take good care of you either way!

Horse Welfare
Horse Welfare is not just a slogan for us. All of our Team Members own horses and ride on a regular basis. Some of us even breed horses. We love horses - in fact they are everything to us! That is why we carefully pick and choose our partners. We visit them on a regular basis – even without prior notice - to make sure that their horses are kept in good conditions all year round. That is also the reason why you will not find many departures in a row for our tours.
We want to make sure that both horses and the human team behind each tour gets a good rest in between departures so that they can deliver 100% service once you arrive.
During a typical year our horses are kept outside 24/7 during summer on usually rather large fields with access to good grazing and fresh water. If they are close to the stable or a paddock we will keep them there for a few hours during the day when we want to ride them in order to have them nearby and dry. Also in some cases to prevent them from eating 24 hours! Obesity can be a problem in Icelandic Horses. During autumn (usually from Mid September to December) we take their shoes off (all horses in Iceland are ridden with shoes) and they are turned onto big autumn fields where they live nearly „half-wild“ in large herds. During this time they are completely „on vacation“, they are not ridden but we visit them regularly to make sure that every horse is doing well. End of December/beginning of January we take the young and competition horses into the stable for training. Then they are kept in stalls but the Icelandic Law for Horse Welfare states clear regulations regarding stall sizes, daily playtime outside, paddock fencing, food... Older fully trained horses, breeding mares, untrained youngster and horses that are not ridden during wintertime like many of our horses that we use for the tours usually stay outside on winter fields in large herds where they are fed with hay and where sufficient water and wind protection is provided, either natural or man made. From May/June all horses again are on summer fields where they stay outside 24/7 feeding on grass. A few exemptions from these rules are made regarding stallions due to their nature.

Travel Insurance
Individual travel insurance is not included in the tour prices. We urge our guests to purchase relevant travel insurance before visiting Iceland. Guests from Europe should bring their  European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Itinerary


Sample Itinerary - subject to changes

We reserve the right to alter routes, itineraries or timetables should the necessity arise. The estimated duration of tours as indicated by km can change according to road or weather conditions.

Day 1 (Thursday): Álftanes Peninsula & Heiðmörk Nature Reserve
Pick up from your accommodation in the Reykjavík capital area at 10 am. Please be ready in your riding clothes for pick up time. We transfer you to the beautiful Álftanes peninsula, only a short drive from downtown Reykjavík.
After an introduction into the safety issues, tack and gaits of the Icelandic horse we set off for a lovely gentle ride on good tölting tracks along the shoreline (and beach if tide allows) with magnificient views of Snæfellsnesjökull, Mt. Esja, the Reykjavík skyline and striking Bessastaðir, the residence of the Icelandic president. Wonderful birdlife and an amazing scenery accompany us for this first ride.
Afterwards, we enjoy a light lunch at a local café with views of grazing horses. After lunch we take a short drive to the stable area of Hafnafjörður´s riding club Sörli for a ride through narrow tracks, lava and birch forests! Beautiful and again complely different mountain views take us via the Nature Reserve Heiðmörk to Riding club Sprettur, the stable area of Kópavogur village, where we leave our horses before driving you to your accommdation in Reykjavík.
Dinner and evening on your own.
Riding approx. 4-5 hours.   
Meals included: Lunch
Overnight at Hotel in Reykjavík
 
Day 2 (Friday): Lake Rauðavatn & Leirvogur Beach
Pick up from your accommodation at 10 am. Today´s ride will have us exploring the backyards of Reykjavík.  We will start by riding through the breathtaking Heiðmörk Nature Reserve, passing the Reykjavík stables of Fákur Riding club and the grounds for the famous Landsmót competition. We then continue via Lake Rauðavatn and ride along the shore of Leirvogur beach towards Mosfellsbær underneath mighty Mt. Esja. During the day, we will serve you a luxury picnic lunch!
Leaving the horses at Vonarholt farm we enjoy some coffee and cakes Icelandic style before we take you back to your accommodation. 
Riding approx. 4-5 hours
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch
Overnight at Hotel in Reykjavík

Day 3 (Saturday): Around Mt. Mosfell on Saga trails!
Pick up from your accommodation in the capital area at 10 am.  Today we ride around Mt. Mosfell in the charming Mosfellsdalur valley. We are literally travelling on Saga Trails as we ride over the meadows where the famous medieval Viking Warrior Egill Skallgrímsson once live and buried his gold! While Mt. Esja towers over us we tölt through the beautiful area where Icelandic Nobel writer Halldór Laxnes grew up and found his inspiration for his famous novels.
Riding approx. 4-5 hours
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch
Overnight at Hotel in Reykjavík

Day 4 (Sunday): Lake Hafravatn and Elliðavatn
Pick up from your accommodation in the capital area at 10 am for your last ride with us. Riding along the shores of lakes Hafravatn and strikingly beautiful Elliðavatn we cross the spectacular Rauðhólar area. The 5.200 years old remnants of a cluster of firy red Pseudocraters make a wonderful backdrop for our last tölt through Reykjavík´s gorgeous backyard! Here our ride ends at the stables but we are happy to transfer you to your accommodation within the Reykjavík capital area or drop you at the BSÍ busterminal to catch the flybus to Keflavík airport.

Rates and Dates for Reykjavik's Secrets

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting:
Airport: Keflavik Airport
Transfer:

Climate:
                                                Reykjavík area

• 2 pairs of good quality riding trousers. We do not recommend to ride in Jeans even if you are used to do so at home.
• 2-3 pullovers  – ideally woolen but fleece is ok as well. It is best to have one or two thinner ones and one pullover that you can wear in layers (onion layer method).
• Plenty of woolen socks and gloves. Please note that riding gloves must be new. 
• Good high quality thermal underwear (we recommend none-itching Merino wool)
• A good and windproof – ideally waterproof  jacket. We do provide you with heavy duty raingear (jackets and trousers) for days with heavy rain but you might want to bring your own lighter jacket for days with wind and drizzle.
• A thin balaclava or buff to wear underneath the helmet
• Moskito net for the head. 
• Bathing suits