Horse riding around Vík

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Horse riding around Vík means black sand under the hooves. One stable sits in the village itself, and its rides follow Víkurfjara, the beach in front of the houses, with the Reynisdrangar sea stacks standing off the end of the Reynisfjall headland. Visit South Iceland lists riding on this beach as one of the things to do in Vík. Saddle Stories runs longer rides from the countryside to the west, towards the coastline near Reynisfjara and inland along a river to the Írafoss waterfall.

Every ride uses Icelandic horses and sets a weight limit of 100 kg. The rest differs more than you might expect: the minimum age, the length in the saddle and how clearly the meeting point is described.

The stable in the village

Vik Horse Adventure keeps its horses at Smiðjuvegur 6. You reach the stable through the Orkan petrol station, opposite Hotel Kría, so you can walk there from most of the village. The ride lasts an hour and takes at most ten riders along the beach. Most of it is at walking pace. Riders who feel secure get the chance to try tölt, the smooth four-beat gait that Icelandic horses are known for.

The minimum age is 10 and pregnant women cannot ride. A helmet is provided, shoes are not, so come in sturdy boots you do not mind getting sandy. In summer the operator mentions a chance of puffins flying overhead, since the birds nest in the cliffs nearby. This is the ride for anyone with limited time in Vík or no riding background, and it fits easily before or after an afternoon at the Lava Show in the village.

Out to the coast near Reynisfjara

The three-hour ride from Saddle Stories crosses rivers and open fields before it reaches the coastline near Reynisfjara, where about an hour is spent at a viewpoint. A licensed guide who speaks English leads the group, and the safety equipment is included. After booking you send your age, weight and riding experience, and the operator is clear that anyone over 100 kg will be refused without a refund. The minimum age is 10.

The meeting point is the weak spot of this listing. The tour page gives only a short code instead of an address, while another listing of the same ride mentions transport from Vík. Read the booking confirmation carefully and contact the operator if the start is still unclear. Reviews of this ride describe calm, well-trained horses and long empty stretches of beach, and they include winter dates as well as summer ones.

Riding on horseback does not change the rules at Reynisfjara itself. The waves there are unpredictable and have killed several visitors, and warning signs at the beach access mark the zones you may enter. Our page on Reynisfjara explains the system.

Írafoss and the farms under the Eyjafjöll

The ride to Írafoss starts at a countryside farm west of Skógar, below the Eyjafjöll mountains, roughly 45 km from Vík by road. For two hours you follow the Írá river to the waterfall and come back past farms with sheep and cattle. It accepts children from 7, which makes it the only ride in this area open to younger children, and guides speak English and Icelandic. Pregnant women and riders over 100 kg cannot join.

Because the farm lies closer to Skógar than to Vík, the ride fits a day on the western part of the coast. Combine it with the waterfall and museum described on our Skógafoss and Skógar page rather than driving back and forth. This is a newer listing from the same operator as the Reynisfjara ride, so check the description again shortly before you book.

Bringing your own riding gear

Iceland protects its horses strictly from imported disease, and the rules surprise many riders. The food and veterinary authority MAST bans the import of used saddles, bridles, nosebands, pads, rugs and whips, and used riding gloves are not allowed either. Used riding clothes and boots have to be machine washed or dry cleaned before you enter the country.

Anything that cannot be washed, such as a helmet or leather boots, must be cleaned with detergent, dried, sprayed with a 2 percent Virkon S solution and then stored for at least five days before it comes near an Icelandic horse. For a ride of one to three hours the simpler route is to use the helmet the operator provides and wear clean outdoor clothes.

Weather and daylight

None of the rides lists a fixed season, so availability in a given month depends on the operator's calendar. The weather is the bigger factor. The Icelandic Met Office station in Vík recorded an average of about 2,400 mm of rain a year in the 1990s, far more than in North Iceland, and monthly mean temperatures stay around 1 to 2 °C from December to March and reach about 11 °C in July and August. Waterproof trousers and a jacket are worth bringing in any month; our what to wear page goes through the layers.

Light changes the planning more than temperature. On 21 December the sun rises at 10:59 and sets at 15:29 in Vík, so a winter ride has to fit into a short window around midday. In June the sun stays up for more than 20 hours, and evening rides finish in full light.

Riders who want to go further along the coast should know that horses may cross the Dyrhólaey nature reserve under its rules, though they may not graze freely there. The headland and its seasonal closures are covered on our Dyrhólaey page.