Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Sept. 12, 2023
Hiking Interior Iceland.
Fantastic. But challenging. You need to be organized.
Do your research well in advance.
After this page, check out TMB Complete Guide to the Laugavegur Trail.
I was probably making a mistake going so late in the season. Laugevagur could shut down any time after Sept. 11th due to weather.
All agree that Laugavegur is the best hike in Iceland. It’s fairly close to Reykjavik. There are a number of transportation options to get to the trailheads.
Cost
For me as a tourist, Iceland has been by far the most expensive nation. And I’ve been to over 90 nations.
Bring. Money. $$$$$
You probably don’t need any Icelandic currency as they accept credit card almost everywhere. The notable exception is local buses that only take cash or payment by their own app.
Food & Fuel
Knowing that food is expensive and limited in variety, I brought quite a bit of camping grub with me on the plane.
I bought the rest in Reykjavik. And bought a small canister of very expenisve fuel.
Of course there are hundreds of partial containers at the trailheads, but I didn’t want to risk not having fuel.
Transportation
Deciding on this adventure last minute, I was excited to do it late in the season when there would be fewer hikers. Of course, bad weather is a greater risk.
What I didn’t realize until arrival is that bus service to the trailheads started shutting down Sept. 11, 2023.
Last bus to Landmannalaugar was Sept. 11, 2023.
Buses to Þórsmörk (Thórsmörk) ended Sept. 15, 2023.
There are 3 main bus companies:
I decided to take the Reykjavik Excursions bus to Þórsmörk on Sept 13.
I’d YOYO the Laugavegur — hiking it both ways back to my starting point. Then continue over the Fimmvörðuháls pass to Skógar on the coastal highway. From there it would be easy to find transportation back to Reykjavík.
I’d done Landmannalaugar to Skógar, August 2018, so knew what I was facing.
Navigation
I did carry a paper map as back-up, but mostly used the free Maps.me app offline whenever I wanted to check that I was on track. It’s excellent for Laugevagur and most major hikes worldwide.
The one time I really needed Maps.me was coming in to camp in the dark with headlamp. It’s very easy to get confused when you can’t see the next post in the distance.
Electronics
There’s no access to power on the trail. In order to keep your devices working, bring enough power bank batteries. I brought two 20000mah batteries on my hike.
Be sure to carefully store your electronics in waterproof ways. It’s difficult to keep the rain out.
