The 13 Kayak Trips in Iceland That Survive a Bad Forecast

1.Kayaking on the Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 421 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $170Our pick

Paddle a stable sit-on-top kayak across Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon, passing blue ice and drifting icebergs with guides such as Sebastian, Fernanda, and Daniella. Your 2.5-hour outing includes a dry suit, kayak, paddle, safety briefing, and glacier stories. No kayaking experience is needed, but bring warm layers and extra socks.

“Lovely guide and beautiful activity. We had a great time and learned a lot. Definitely dress warmly.”

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2.Sólheimajökull: Guided Kayaking Tour on the Glacier Lagoon

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 179 reviews · 3 hours · from $170

Join an English-speaking guide such as Sebastian, Fernanda, or Daniela for a three-hour paddle across Sólheimajökull Glacier Lagoon. You will learn basic kayaking, wear a provided dry suit, and steer a sit-on-top kayak around floating icebergs. No experience is needed, but bring warm clothes and spare socks.

“Is was the best experience in Iceland! The guide was energetic and talkative! He helped us take beautiful pictures! Is was a lot of fun even in a rainy day! The glacier is awesome!”

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3.Grundarfjörður: Mt. Kirkjufell Daytime Kayaking Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 170 reviews · 2 hours · from $120

Paddle the calm waters near Grundarfjörður with Vestur Adventures, heading to Seal Skerry for birds, seals, and striking views of Mt. Kirkjufell. Guides including Reda, Greg, Sony, and Kate provide safety help, local stories, dry suits, and photos. You spend about 70 minutes on the water before hot chocolate and cookies on the deck.

“Great experience of kayaking near Mt. Kirkjufell. Reda was really good as guide and informative. He shared a lot of local stories and fun facts during the kayaking time. Kayaking was really easy as we had really nice sunny day with calm waters and suits were perfect for warming you up and keeping you completely dry during september trip. worth the price”

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4.Classic Kayaking Adventure by Mt. Kirkjufell

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 74 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $120

Paddle near Iceland’s famous Kirkjufell for about two hours with Vestur Adventures. Guides such as Kate, Sonny, Lea, and Tino provide dry suits, kayak instruction, local stories, a snack, and hot chocolate afterward. The small group, calm inlet, and chance to see seals or puffins make this a friendly choice for first-time kayakers.

“Our guide Kate was fantastic. She expertly helped us get set up with our wet suites and kayaks. We had decent enough weather in the morning of this tour, and the fact that we were able to thoroughly enjoy our tour was, in great part, because of Kate and her knowledge of the area. Gear provided to us was in a great condition, and while the container out of which the business operates has an unpleasant smell of wet clothes, we had fun drinking hot chocolate with Kate after our little excursion.”

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5.Midnight Sun Kayaking Adventure by Mt. Kirkjufell

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 52 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $155

Paddle Grundarfjörður’s bay beneath the midnight sun, with Kirkjufell rising nearby. Vestur Adventures keeps groups to 11, supplies warm dry suits, and offers gentle instruction for beginners. Guides such as Reda and Greg add local stories, while seals, birds, calm water, and hot chocolate may round out this three-hour evening outing.

“Great suits, ended the tour with dry clothes and big smiles. Fun and accommodating tour guides. For all levels and very relaxing”

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6.Grundarfjörður: Midnight Sun Kayaking Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 29 reviews · 3 hours · from $155

Paddle for about two hours beneath Kirkjufell with local guides such as Sony, Greg, or Reda. You’ll receive a dry suit, safety lesson, and full kayaking gear, then head toward Seal Skerry to look for seals and birds before warming up with a hot drink and biscuits.

“We had an unbelievably wonderful experience! The guides were great, the tour was fun and we even got to see a seal 😍”

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7.Stykkisholmur Sea kayak Day tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · from $99

Set out from Stykkishólmur’s old harbor with a small group of up to six. Your guide, including Stefan, Lucas, or Kristin, teaches basic sea-kayaking before leading you among Breiðafjörður’s islands, seabirds, seals, and the abandoned Thorgeir shipwreck. Dry suits, gear, a warm drink, and water are included.

“We did our kayak tour with Stefan. He was exceptional. First, the set up in briefing were outstanding. We were given equipment without difficulty and Stephen had a great introductory class and how to kayak. He took us out on the water aRead more”

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8.Guided kayak tour in Siglufjörður / Siglufjordur.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · from $97

Meet Sigló Sea in Siglufjörður for a 2.5-hour guided kayak trip through the fjord. Your guide teaches paddling basics, fits you with a drysuit and safety gear, then leads you past a shipwreck, the Evanger avalanche site, and Selvíkurnef lighthouse while explaining local geology, culture, and history.

“This was an amazing experience. Our guides were so interesting and informative and had all the gear necessary to outfit us and keep us safe. Our family had a terrific time!”

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9.Guided Sit on Top Kayak Tour near Akureyri

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $79Best value

Meet guide Norris at Bakkaflöt for a two-hour sit-on-top kayak trip down the gentle Svartá River. You’ll paddle through North Iceland scenery, watch for horses and wildlife, use provided safety gear, and finish with access to hot tubs and a small swimming pool. The tour runs in English at 6:00 pm.

“27th July 2023. Great oportunity to experience icleandic nature. It is much more than admiring the river, you become the part of it. Do not worry, it is not deep. And you do not need much experience in kayaking because the wonderful guide Norris explains everything and check all the time how everyone is doing.”

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10.Stykkishólmur: 2-Hour Sea Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 18 reviews · from $96

Paddle from central Stykkishólmur with an English or Icelandic-speaking guide on a two-hour sea kayak trip for up to eight people. You will visit Landey, see the Thorgeir wreck, thread between remote islands, and watch for seabirds and white-tailed eagles. Dry suits and kayaking gear are supplied, but bring spare clothes.

“Interesting and different from the usual, the guide did not give us much explanation on how to paddle and so we had some problems. Unfortunately, being French his English is incomprehensible at times... we saw a few sea birds and little more.”

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11.Siglufjörður / Siglufjordur: Guided kayak tour.

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 9 reviews · 2.5 hours · from $107

Join Sigló Sea for a 2.5-hour kayak tour of Siglufjörður. Your English-speaking guide fits you with a drysuit, teaches basic control and rescue skills, then leads a relaxed paddle past a shipwreck, the Evanger avalanche site, and Selvíkurnef lighthouse. Small groups are limited to six, and wildlife sightings can include birds and seals.

“Het kajakken was heel leuk en relaxed. De gids was aardig en kon ons veel over het plaatsje vertellen. Prachtig plaatsje, geweldige uitzichten”

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12.Private: Guided kayak tour in Siglufjörður / Siglufjordur.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Set out from Sigló Sea HQ in Siglufjörður for a private 2.5-hour kayak tour led in English by a professional guide. You’ll learn the basics, practice under guidance, then paddle past a shipwreck, the Evanger avalanche site, and Selvíkurnef lighthouse while hearing about local nature, culture, and history.

“What a great experience. We can’t say enough about Tom, his communication, his management of our rainy trip and the relationships he has developed w/ the local community. We had an incredible experience. Despite the weather we enjoyed our paddling around the harbor in Siglo. We had no issues w/ the gear and were provided w/ both a warm fleece, gloves and an outer dry suit that kept us warm and dry. We stopped at a local cafe on the way back with limitless fish soup and local bread which everyone loved and ate until we were bursting. We had no issues whatsoever and would recommend this trip without any…”

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13.Icelandic Kayak Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $103

Set out from Bakkaflöt on a sit-on-top kayak trip along the calm Svartá River. You’ll receive gear, a short safety lesson, and a 15-minute ride upriver before paddling through fjords and gentle streams. English-speaking guides lead the way, and hot tubs await afterward. Bring a swimsuit, towel, and thermal underwear.

“Engagerade och proffsiga guider. Nära naturen resa. Lagom utmanade tur för en ganska ovan paddlare.”

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