Rides in Reykjavík

Rides in Reykjavík exist because Iceland's interior is closed to ordinary cars. The F-roads open only in summer, ford unbridged rivers and legally require a proper 4x4 — which is why super-jeep tours run on tyres a metre tall, deflated to almost nothing so they float over sand and snow. A day in one gets you to Landmannalaugar or onto Langjökull glacier, places a rental car cannot legally reach.

Quad tours in Reykjavík are the short version and start twenty minutes from town: an hour or two over the lava fields and black beaches around Mount Esja or Reykjanes, on ground that looks like nothing else because nothing grows on it. No experience needed, machines are automatic, and full suits are provided — the wind here does the work that rain does elsewhere.

Horse riding is the one to take seriously. The Icelandic horse has a fifth gait, the tölt, which is fast and completely smooth, and the breed has been closed to imports since the year 982 — a horse that leaves Iceland can never return. One- and two-hour rides run year-round from stables fifteen minutes out, beginners included. Snowmobiling on Langjökull runs May to September on the ice cap. Off-road tours in Reykjavík operate all year, but winter changes everything: shorter days, real weather, and a guide who will cancel without arguing about it.