

Whether you are a beginner or expert, old or young, these friendly horses, with their alert and willing nature are indeed a pleasure to ride in their natural surroundings.
We pick you up at your hotel or guesthouse in Reykjavik and drive to the farm located only 20 minutes from Reykjavik. At the farm you will get all basic gear, such as helmets, boots and rain clothes (snowsuits in wintertime). We gather information about how much you have been riding and choose the proper horse to match your experience. The tour lasts around two hours (one and a half in the winter season) and places you on a trek through either the lush valley the farm is located in, the riverbank route crossing the stream many times on our way towards the ocean or our all time favorite, our summer trail into the hillside behind the farm to Tröllafoss waterfall, where the trolls bathe at midnight on a full moon.
After the tour we´ll drop you off at your pickup location.
Details on Laxnes Special:
Operated: Daily Season: All year
Departures: Tour departs at 10:00 and 14:00
Arrival: 30 minutes prior to departure
Pickup: Pickup in Reykjavik starts at 9:00 and 13:00
Dropoff: Dropoff in Reykjavik is typcally around 12:30-12:45 and 16:30-16:45
Duration: Riding is 1,5 – 2 hours depending on season.
Total duration with pickup is ca. 3,5 – 4 hours
Yes, while the riding part is only ever cancelled due to extreme weather, conditions at sea are sometimes such that whale watching can be unsafe or just plain choppy, making everyone seasick. If that’s the case you’ll be notified and given a choice:
- Doing the part that’s not cancelled and either moving the cancelled tour to a later date or get a refund for said tour
- Moving the whole tour to a later date
- Canceling the combo and receive a full refund
No, our timetable only allows us to pickup in Reykjavik center or nearby hotels. If you are staying in nearby towns, the capital area has pretty good public transport and we could meet up in Reykjavik.
Please note that this excludes Mosfellsbær, where the farm is located. We can pick you up anywhere in that area.
Our online booking system, Bokun, is a very reliable system which automatically reserves your seats from a pool of availability for each tour. Once you’ve completed your reservation you should receive an email from the system with a ticket showing your tour date and information on pickup location and time, or if you choose to travel to the farm yourself, in which case the ticket shows what time to arrive. If you do not receive an email very soon, check your junk mail folder or contact us in case the email address was input incorrectly.
When booking a combo tour, the system automatically books the tour with each operator respectively. Our partners have been operating these tours with us for years, some decades, resulting in smooth transitions between companies.
No, it’s optional but every now and then we have trouble finding our clients during pickup and a quick text message is often better than e-mailing as you’ll typically see it sooner. The driver has limited time to wait so it can make a difference.
Please note that we will only call you in rare cases during pickup when the driver is unable to send a text or email and knows you’re in the area. We do our very best to find our clients and the easiest way to solve booking errors is fast communication.
City regulations require us to use bus stops in certain areas, mainly in the City Center and nearby locations
If your residence isn’t in the menu it’s likely either new or falls under a no-pickup zone. The bus stops are numbered in our dropdown menu and the locations can be found here: Bus stops
You can also pick To be determined and contact the farm through info@laxnes.is and we’ll then let you know where we can pick you up.
We can never guarantee sightings as we are working with wild nature and animals. We always do our best to provide a great service which includes taking you out on sea to explore the nature and its wonders out on Faxaflói Bay.
If your tour does not sight a whale, we offer you another ticket for free that is valid indefinitely.
All whale watching tours are weather dependent, and may be subject to cancellations. The captains will make their decisions based on many years of experience and always keeping in mind passenger safety and comfort.
We can reschedule you for another day, but please call us to make sure we have availability next time you want to try.
In case of cancellations due to unfavorable weather conditions and you are not able to reschedule, you will receive a full refund (note: if you are using your “free ticket to try again” this does not apply)
If you´re not using pickup service for the whale watching (and/or horseback riding) all our tours depart from Reykjavik´s Old Harbour (location) and the departure time is indicated on your voucher/confirmation. We ask that all our passengers arrive at least 20 minutes prior to departure for check in and boarding (recommended time is 30 minutes to be safe).
Icelandic horses are not vaccinated and are therefore susceptible to infectious agents from abroad. Visitors are asked to adopt strict biosecurity measures! Importing the following equipment is strictly prohibited:
- Used riding equipment, such as saddles, bridles, nosebands, pads, rugs, whips, etc.
- Used riding gloves
Cleaning and disinfection:
- Used riding clothes and boots should be washed in a washing machine or dry cleaned prior to entering the country
- Used riding clothes and boots that cannot be placed in a washing machine or dry cleaned should be washed and disinfected as follows:
- Rinse thoroughly with detergent
- Dry
- Spray with 1% VirkonS® (10g per liter of water)
- Store for at least 5 days prior to bringing the clothes into contact with horses in Iceland
More information can be found at MAST’s website.