Iceland: Game of Thrones and Interstellar, Seven Days

Overview

Beyond the Wall and out to an icy planet

Iceland is where Game of Thrones went when it needed the lands beyond the Wall, and where Christopher Nolan found a frozen planet for Interstellar. This tour loops through both. You start on the Snaefellsnes peninsula at Kirkjufell, the Arrowhead Mountain, and spend a night in Stykkishólmur, the harbor town that played Greenland in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Then you walk the Almannagja gorge at Thingvellir, the road to the Bloody Gate, and head east along the south coast, past Skógafoss and Dyrhólaey, to Reynisfjara, the beach of Eastwatch.

On the fifth day you put on crampons for a 3-hour glacier walk near Skaftafell with a certified glacier guide, look across at Svínafellsjökull, the Interstellar glacier, and spend the late afternoon at Jökulsárlón, the iceberg lagoon from two James Bond films. Sigrun Helgadottir, our Iceland tour leader, plans each day around the weather and the light, and changes the order when the wind or the road reports say so.

Itinerary

Iceland film tour: day by day

A 16-seat minibus with a professional Icelandic driver for the whole loop, about 870 miles over the week, with stops at least every 90 minutes. Ticketed times shift with the season; your final timetable comes two weeks before departure.

Day 1ReykjavikArrive in Iceland

• Our driver meets you at Keflavik airport for the 45-minute transfer to Reykjavik, past the lava fields of the Reykjanes peninsula.
• Check in from 3 p.m.; bags can be left earlier, and the city center is a short walk away.
• At 6 p.m. Sigrun meets the group for a walk up to Hallgrimskirkja and down to the old harbor.
• Welcome dinner in the old town.

Meals: dinner

Day 2SnaefellsnesKirkjufell and the Walter Mitty town

• Drive north through the Hvalfjordur tunnel and Borgarnes to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, about 2 hours 30 minutes, with a coffee stop.
• The south coast of the peninsula: the black church at Budir and the sea cliffs at Arnarstapi.
• Kirkjufell and the Kirkjufellsfoss falls at Grundarfjörður, the Arrowhead Mountain beyond the Wall.
• Evening in Stykkishólmur: the main street from Walter Mitty, the harbor and a walk up Sugandisey island.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 3ThingvellirThe road to the Bloody Gate

• Drive south and inland to Thingvellir National Park, about 3 hours, with a lunch stop on the way.
• Walk down the Almannagja gorge, the road to the Eyrie in season four, to the Oxararfoss waterfall, with Sigrun explaining the rift and the old parliament site.
• Continue to the south coast, about 1 hour 15 minutes, for the night near Hella.
• Dinner at the hotel, with a view of Hekla volcano on a clear evening.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 4The south coastWaterfalls, Dyrhólaey and Eastwatch

• Morning at Seljalandsfoss, where a path runs behind the falling water, and Skógafoss, 200 feet high, with a climb to the top for those who want it.
• Dyrhólaey headland and its great sea arch, with the long view east to Reynisfjara.
• Reynisfjara, the Eastwatch beach, with the safety briefing first and the warning lights checked before we walk down.
• Night in Vík; dinner in the village.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 5SkaftafellA glacier walk, the Interstellar ice and Jökulsárlón

• Drive east across the Eldhraun lava field and the black sands to Skaftafell, about 2 hours.
• A 3-hour glacier walk with a certified glacier guide from a licensed local company, who provides crampons, helmet and harness; the guiding company picks the outlet glacier on the day.
• Svínafellsjökull, the frozen planet of Interstellar, seen from a safe distance.
• Late afternoon at Jökulsárlón ice lagoon and the black beach across the road, where icebergs wash up; night near Skaftafell.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 6ReykjavikBack along the south coast

• A slow drive west to Reykjavik, about 5 hours of driving, with stops at the moss-covered lava of Eldhraun, a farm cafe for lunch and any waterfall the group missed.
• Free evening in Reykjavik; Sigrun suggests a pool or a fish restaurant near the harbor.
• Optional farewell drink together in the old town.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Day 7ReykjavikDeparture

• Breakfast and checkout.
• Transfer to Keflavik airport, 45 minutes, timed to your flight; most flights to the US leave in the late afternoon.
• Staying longer? We can book extra nights in Reykjavik or a visit to a geothermal spa on the way to the airport.

Meals: breakfast

On screen

Films and series on the Iceland film tour

The productions behind the stops on this tour, where they filmed and what you see there today.

Filming spots change over time: storefronts get new owners, sets are rebuilt and some interiors were shot on stages elsewhere, so your tour leader tells you on the day what is still there.

Hotels

Hotels on the Iceland film tour

6 nights, rooms with private bathroom, breakfast every morning. We name the class and the area; the exact hotel, or a similar one, is confirmed with your booking.

What is included

What the Iceland film tour price includes

Meals: daily breakfast, 2 lunches, 5 dinners. The price is per person sharing a double or twin room. Flights to the start of the tour and home are not included.

• 11 things in the price
• 6 hotel nights
• Daily breakfast, 2 lunches, 5 dinners
• 7 productions on the film list

Dates and prices

Iceland film tour departures and prices

Price per person sharing a double room. Single room: +$890.

• $250 deposit

  Confirms your booking after the free 72-hour hold. The balance is due 60 days before departure. See the booking terms.

• Guaranteed means it runs

  A guaranteed departure goes ahead whatever the final numbers.

• No surcharges

  The price you book is the price you pay. No fuel surcharges after booking.

• Free date change

  Move to another date of this tour up to 30 days before departure, once, at no fee.

Before you book

Straight talk about the Iceland film tour

What the days are really like, so there are no surprises.

• Pace and walking

  Moderate, 3 of 5. Daily walks of 1 to 3 miles on gravel paths and sand, some of them in strong wind, plus a 3-hour guided glacier walk in crampons on uneven ice.

• What can change

  Filming, events and closures can move a stop or close an interior on the day. Your leader swaps in another location nearby and tells you why.

• Inside or outside

  Museums, studio tours and open businesses you enter as a visitor. Working businesses that ask for quiet, and every private home, are seen from the public street or not at all.

• Getting there

  Flights are not included. Plan to land in Reykjavik by mid afternoon on day 1 and to fly home from Reykjavik after lunch on the last day.

Practical information

Before you go on the Iceland film tour

Your travel pack, with ticket times and hotel addresses, arrives two weeks before departure. Weather, airports and the best months are on the Iceland page.

• Weather

  Summer days run 50 to 60 F, and the wind makes it feel colder. In April and October expect 35 to 45 F and the chance of snow on high roads.

• What to pack

  A windproof and waterproof jacket and trousers, a warm hat and gloves even in July, and broken-in hiking boots with ankle support for the glacier walk.

• Glacier walk rules

  The glacier guide decides who goes on the ice and where. Children under the company's minimum age, and anyone without suitable boots, may be turned away; the guiding company can rent boots.

• Money

  Iceland uses the Icelandic krona, but cards and phones work everywhere, even at remote toilets. You will rarely need cash.

• Light

  In June it never gets fully dark, so bring a sleep mask. From late August the nights are dark enough for the northern lights.

Tour FAQ

Iceland film tour: questions and answers

More answers on the FAQ page and in how to book.