Iceland Nature-Immersion Luxury Private Tour, including our Beloved Deplar Farm!
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Why You Should Go
It’s no hyperbole to state that Iceland is one of the most truly otherworldly places on Earth! The tiny country’s contrast in nature, topography, and outdoor activities make this an idyllic private tour and trekking destination. Based on the unprecedented rise in Iceland’s tourism, particularly during the peak June – August season, you must book nine months to one year in advance in order to the secure the highest quality guides and accommodations. Though we are big fans of the Laugavegur Trek (among the most beautiful hikes in the world, including luxury camping), this adventure can be quite taxing, and we enjoy a little more comfort and day hikes. Stopovers at luxury lodge Deplar Farm, The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, and Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm offer high-touch comfort coupled with physical activity. If interested, please enjoy reading Zen’s Iceland scouting report here.
Based on the limited number of high-quality accommodations and guides, coupled with the extraordinary tourist demand in this tiny country, Iceland private tour costs are among the highest in the world. During the three-month, peak, summer season (June – August) Iceland hosts nearly 700,000 tourists, despite the country’s total population being only 350,000. Over the past several years, Iceland has experienced an incredible, 25% per year tourist growth!
Best Travel Time: Summer
*All of our comprehensive private tour itineraries are inclusive of all luxury accommodations, private guide/driver throughout, daily meals as specified, INTERNAL flights/rail /private transfers as needed, & all taxes/service fees.
Sample Itinerary
12 Days
Each private luxury tour is custom to the wishes of each client. This itinerary is a sample. Partnering with our long-established relationship with United Airlines, our sister company, TRAVNET, may provide competitive Polaris/Business Class international airfare, along with mileage points conversion.
Day 1
Fly to Reykjavík
Through our sister company, premium air provider TRAVNET, we may assist with your international airfare, as well as with mileage points conversion.
Day 2
Arrive Reykjavík + Private Transfer to Blue Lagoon
Upon arrival at Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavík, you will be privately transferred to The Retreat at Blue Lagoon. The world-renowned Blue Lagoon is heated by geothermal energy and contains skin nurturing mineral salts and silica.
Today, you will experience the “Blue Lagoon Ritual” featuring a silica, algae, and mineral body treatment provided in three connecting rooms. Our family’s four-hour spa experience here was among our most memorable anywhere! Following our ritual and massage, the Retreat’s “Nest” was a fitting space to end with a blissful nap. The Nest provides unique suspended chairs with floor to ceiling windows looking out at the therapeutic water of the Blue Lagoon.
Meals: Lunch
Accommodations: The Retreat at Blue Lagoon
Day 3
Fly Reykjavík/Húsavík + Transfer to Deplar Farm with Lake Mývatn Stopover
Following breakfast, you will be privately transfered to the Reykjavík Domestic Airport for your flight to Húsavík.
Upon arrival in Húsavík, you will begin your half-day private tour with the extraordinary Lake Mývatn baths, where waters can reach a staggering 265°F. A rich pastel blue color, this lake is rich in minerals and void of bad bacteria, due to its chemical makeup. Following lunch at a local café and a trip to the lava fields of Dimmuborgir, you will venture to Námafjall where distinct soil and geology create a truly alien atmosphere! Following your tour, you will be privately transferred to the luxury Deplar Farm!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: Deplar Farm
Day 4 – 6
Deplar Farm
You will have full-days to engage in the incredible activities Deplar Farm offers, from horseback riding, hiking, whale watching, kayaking, and mountain biking.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: Deplar Farm
Day 7
Fly Húsavík/Reykjavík + Transfer to Skálakot with Inside the Volcano Stopover
Following breakfast at Deplar Farm, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Reykjavík.
Upon arrival, you will be transferred to Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm, stopping along the way for an Inside the Volcano tour! Your journey will take you to the mountain ridge between the rivers Krossá, Þröngá, and Markarfljót. A valley enclosed by the glaciers, this landscape is a stark and rare beauty with green moss, fern, and Birchwood. You will then continue to the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano, navigating across a lava field before descending 400 feet down into its crater.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm
Day 8
Golden Circle Private Tour
The Golden Circle features three of the country’s most popular locations in Southwest Iceland: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall. Steeped in history and folklore, Þingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Farther down the circle is the Geysir Geothermal Area within the Haukadalur Valley, where vents and chimneys within the ground let out steam, visible from miles away. Gullfoss, which means “golden falls”, powerfully flows over a three-step staircase before plunging down 105 feet in two stages, into a crevice. Visitors are allowed to get as close as they brave in order to feel the power of Gullfoss.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm
Day 9
South Shore Private Tour + Glacier Walk
Your tour will begin with the Lava & Earthquake Center, featuring an interactive, high-touch exhibit that educates you on how the island of Iceland was formed over millions of years, before continuing on a Sólheimajökull Glacier Hike. An approximately seven-mile-long outlet glacier, Sólheimajökull is slowly advancing towards the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. At base camp, your glacier guide will make sure you are properly attired with crampons, ice axes, and harnesses before setting out on your hike, where you will learn to distinguish all the different features of this glacier, such as water cauldrons, crevasses, ridges, and waterways. We feel these are the most interesting, fun hikes in the Southern Iceland region.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm
Day 10
The Beautiful Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon + Skógafoss Hike
Named one of the “most beautiful canyons in the world”, Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon is 328 feet deep and 1.4 miles long, with the Fjaðrá River, fed by glacier meltwater, running through it. The top of the canyon can be hiked along a trail that leads from the parking lot. This relatively short hike affords fantastic panoramic views of the canyon, along with its breathtaking waterfalls. Hiking the canyon should take about two hours. The canyon’s various shades of verdant, green colors make this one of our favorite sights in Iceland.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm
Day 11
Private Transfer to Reykjavík with ATV Ride & Half-Day Private Island Excursion
On your way back to Reykjavík, you will have the option to enjoy a fun, ATV quad bike ride; a thorough safety review and assistance with the proper gear to wear for this experience will be provided. Afterward, you will have the unique opportunity to visit a private island, owned by proprietor Hakoń, who used to spend his summers here when he was growing up and now is turning this land into a sustainable and eco-friendly space.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodations: The Retreat at Blue Lagoon (or various, quality, 4-star hotel options convenient for city shopping)
Day 12
Reykjavik Private Tour + Fly Keflavík/Home
Before being transferred to Keflavík International Airport for your return flight home, you will have the chance for some Icelandic shopping. If interested, you may choose to wake up early for a whale watching adventure this morning!
Meals: Breakfast
Greenland Extension
Hotels
The Blue Lagoon is the only 5-star luxury hotel in Reykjavik and offers a private, otherworldly Iceland experience. Situated on a man-made geothermal hot spring like no other, this property offers the ultimate solution to overcrowded lagoons: completely private access! The silica and chalcedony minerals cause the water to turn a milky, ethereal blue and is one of the most popular attractions in all of Iceland. The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon has taken this ultra-lux hotel to a whole new level of pampering. The 62-suite hotel/spa/resort features terraces overlooking the lagoon (!), floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, and Moss, their signature Michelin-recommended restaurant, onsite.
The Retreat Spa is built into 800-year-old lava flows and features steam rooms and therapeutic “bathing chambers” carved directly into the rock. Our family’s four-hour spa experience here was among our most memorable anywhere! Included is the “Blue Lagoon Ritual” featuring a silica, algae, and mineral body treatment provided in three connecting rooms. Following our ritual and massage, the Retreat’s “Nest” was a fitting space to end with a blissful nap. The Nest provides unique suspended chairs with floor to ceiling windows looking out at the therapeutic water of the Blue Lagoon. Kudos to the Retreat’s mastermind, Grimur Saemundson! This truly is a remarkable place.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is the only 5-star luxury hotel in Reykjavik and offers a private, otherworldly Iceland experience. Situated on a man-made geothermal hot spring like no other, this property offers the ultimate solution to overcrowded lagoons: completely private access! The silica and chalcedony minerals cause the water to turn a milky, ethereal blue and is one of the most popular attractions in all of Iceland. The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon has taken this ultra-lux hotel to a whole new level of pampering. The 62-suite hotel/spa/resort features terraces overlooking the lagoon (!), floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, and Moss, their signature Michelin-recommended restaurant, onsite.
The Retreat Spa is built into 800-year-old lava flows and features steam rooms and therapeutic “bathing chambers” carved directly into the rock. Our family’s four-hour spa experience here was among our most memorable anywhere! Included is the “Blue Lagoon Ritual” featuring a silica, algae, and mineral body treatment provided in three connecting rooms. Following our ritual and massage, the Retreat’s “Nest” was a fitting space to end with a blissful nap. The Nest provides unique suspended chairs with floor to ceiling windows looking out at the therapeutic water of the Blue Lagoon. Kudos to the Retreat’s mastermind, Grimur Saemundson! This truly is a remarkable place.
Located in the country’s remote, northern Troll Peninsula, the 2016-opened (AMAN-esque!) Deplar Farm has quickly become Iceland’s most sought-after luxury adventure lodge. Kudos to Chad Pike of the Blackstone Group for creating one of the most idyllic adventure-rich lodges we have experienced anywhere! The turf-roofed barns at Deplar’s entrance area belie the lodge’s luxury accommodations inside. With just 12 suites, Deplar offers an all-inclusive adventure travel experience, including many idyllic hikes, mountain biking, whale watching, horse-back riding (on those unique, small “Viking” horses), et.al. The many high-touch amenities include a sleek spa with an indoor/outdoor saltwater pool, well-equipped gym, kid’s game room, and outstanding farm-to-table dining. We particularly enjoyed the surreal I-SOPOD Flotation Tank! With all the seafood here being locally caught, this is certainly a fish-lovers dream. Two outdoor, guided activities are included each day, though Heli-adventure excursions are an extra charge. Please note that Deplar Farm has amongst the highest quality naturalist guides in the country. Our most enjoyable half-day excursion from Deplar was our short boat ride and hike up Drangey Island, led by “GQ-esque” outdoor guide extraordinaire, Helgi Viggossan. The hike along the island’s steep cliffs is rewarded by nearly a million nesting seabirds, including thousands of Puffins!
Deplar Farm
Located in the country’s remote, northern Troll Peninsula, the 2016-opened (AMAN-esque!) Deplar Farm has quickly become Iceland’s most sought-after luxury adventure lodge. Kudos to Chad Pike of the Blackstone Group for creating one of the most idyllic adventure-rich lodges we have experienced anywhere! The turf-roofed barns at Deplar’s entrance area belie the lodge’s luxury accommodations inside. With just 12 suites, Deplar offers an all-inclusive adventure travel experience, including many idyllic hikes, mountain biking, whale watching, horse-back riding (on those unique, small “Viking” horses), et.al. The many high-touch amenities include a sleek spa with an indoor-outdoor saltwater pool, well-equipped gym, kid’s game room, and outstanding farm-to-table dining. We particularly enjoyed the surreal I-SOPOD Flotation Tank! With all the seafood here being locally caught, this is certainly a fish-lovers dream. Two outdoor guided activities are included each day, though Heli-adventure excursions are an extra charge. Please note that Deplar Farm has amongst the highest quality naturalist guides in the country. Our most enjoyable half-day excursion from Deplar was our short boat ride and hike up Drangey Island, led by “GQ-esque” outdoor guide extraordinaire, Helgi Viggossan. The hike along the island’s steep cliffs is rewarded by nearly a million nesting seabirds, including thousands of Puffins!
Our favorite boutique property on Iceland’s South Shore, the small, 14-room, Art Deco-inspired Skálakot Manor is surrounded by picturesque scenery and the peacefulness of the countryside, adjacent to the verdant Icelandic highlands. Compared to the other hotel options in the area, please note that though a stay at Skálakot requires more driving time to the various stopovers in the Golden Circle, we feel the quality and beauty of the area is unmatched. Proprietors Mumi and Johanna are part of a family who has spent seven generations taking care of the farm and horse breeding business. With 160 Icelandic horses, there are many to choose from for beautiful horseback rides around the surrounding areas. Though the accommodations here are not as striking and expansive as Deplar Farm in the north, the simple, elegant rooms include modern amenities and provide a unique Icelandic countryside experience. The service here is personal, friendly, and after the first night, you will feel part of Mumi and Johanna’s family. Enjoy the farm’s loveable, horse-herding dogs!
Skálakot Manor Hotel & Horse Farm
Our favorite boutique property on Iceland’s South Shore, the small, 14-room, Art Deco-inspired Skálakot Manor is surrounded by picturesque scenery and the peacefulness of the countryside, adjacent to the verdant Icelandic highlands. Skálakot sits on a stunning piece of land that is home to majestic Icelandic horses, with views of the Westman Islands in the North Atlantic from your balcony. The interiors are equally as stunning. Careful design choices have been made to elevate a traditional farm landscape into a setting suited for ultimate luxury and relaxation, with dramatic chandeliers and in-room claw tubs.
Compared to the other hotel options in the area, please note that though a stay at Skálakot requires more driving time to the various stopovers in the Golden Circle, we feel the quality and beauty of the area is unmatched. Proprietors Mumi and Johanna are part of a family who has spent seven generations taking care of the farm and horse breeding business. With 160 Icelandic horses, there are many to choose from for beautiful horseback rides around the surrounding areas. Though the accommodations here are not as striking and expansive as Deplar Farm in the north, the simple, elegant rooms include modern amenities and provide a unique Icelandic countryside experience. The service here is personal, friendly, and after the first night, you will feel part of Mumi and Johanna’s family. Enjoy the farm’s loveable, horse-herding dogs!
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Location
Overview
Temperature |
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Highs: Mid 50’s |
Lows: Mid 30’s |
Area |
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103,000 SQ KM |
39,769 SQ MILES |
Capital |
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Reykjavík |
Population |
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328,000 |
Language |
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Icelandic |
Currency |
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Icelandic Krona |