Landmannalaugar and Háifoss Tours by 4x4 Minibus
The drive to Landmannalaugar passes some of the best waterfalls in southern Iceland, and most operators blow straight past them. Two do not. BusTravel Iceland stops at Háifoss, Granni and Hjálparfoss on a 13-hour day at $230.02, and Magic Iceland Travel strings together Hjálparfoss, Háifoss, Sigöldufoss and the Sigöldugljúfur canyon over 14 hours at $220. Both give you around four hours in the valley itself. If the vehicle matters more than the stops, the super jeep days are shorter and rougher; and the full list of Landmannalaugar day tours is on the homepage.
Quick answer
Two 4x4 minibus day tours add the Þjórsárdalur waterfalls to Landmannalaugar. BusTravel Iceland runs 13 hours at $230.02 with hotel pickup, the facility fees covered and an easy 1.5 to 2 hour loop, stopping at Háifoss, Granni and Hjálparfoss. Magic Iceland Travel runs 14 hours at $220 with a 5 km hike and a longer stop list. Both give you around four hours in the valley, more ground time than any super jeep day.
Key takeaways
- Best reviewed: BusTravel Iceland, $230.02, 4.8 from 340 travellers, hotel pickup and Landmannalaugar facility fees included
- Cheapest and longest: Magic Iceland Travel, $220 over 14 hours, five highland stops and a 5 km hike with boots required
- Háifoss drops 122 m, with its neighbour Granni over the rim beside it
- Around four hours at the campsite on both, against three on a super jeep day
- Neither includes food or drink; the BusTravel listing also excludes tips
- Weather swaps stops: one July 2026 group lost Háifoss and was taken to Gjáin instead
About the Two Waterfall Days
Longer days than the jeeps, in exchange for four or five stops on the drive that would otherwise be a blur through the window.
The two longest Landmannalaugar day tours on sale. Both leave Reykjavik in the morning and return late
Háifoss at 122 m and its neighbour Granni, plus Hjálparfoss and Sigöldufoss depending on the operator
More ground time than any super jeep day gives you
The easy Lauga loop on the BusTravel day, a 5 km hike on the Magic Iceland one
Per person. Free cancellation up to 24 hours out, nothing paid at booking
It also excludes people with mobility impairments; the other excludes heart problems
Live Dates for the Háifoss Day
Availability for the $230.02 BusTravel Iceland small-group tour, rated 4.8 from 340 travellers, with hotel pickup and the Landmannalaugar facility fees covered by the ticket.
Which Minibus to Book
BusTravel Iceland: hotel pickup, fees covered, the gentler walk
The 13-hour day rates 4.8 from 340 reviews, the strongest sample of the two by a distance. It picks you up at your hotel, carries Wi-Fi, and the Landmannalaugar facility fees are covered by the ticket, which is not true of most tours on this route. The walk is the easy Lauga loop, 1.5 to 2 hours past the rhyolite hills and the obsidian, so you are not committing to a summit.
The waterfall stop is the reason to pick it: Háifoss and Granni fall side by side into the same canyon, and Hjálparfoss sits lower down where the Fossá meets the Þjórsá. The listing also stops at the Hnausapollur crater lake and Frostastaðavatn on the way in.
One consistent note in the reviews is the vehicle. "Very long but enjoyable! Great scenery and photo opportunities provided," wrote one traveller in July 2025, before adding, "Vehicle was very cramped though".
Magic Iceland Travel: cheaper, longer, and a real hike
At $220 for 14 hours this is the cheapest way to get five highland stops in a day, and its itinerary is the fullest of any tour into the valley: Hjálparfoss, the Háifoss canyon, Sigöldufoss, the Hnausapollur crater, the Sigöldugljúfur canyon, a 5 km hike and the hot spring. It rates 4.9, though only from 31 reviews.
It is also the more demanding of the two. The operator states plainly that proper hiking boots are required and excludes people with heart problems as well as mobility impairments. Five kilometres on volcanic ground is not a stroll, and a 14-hour day around it is a long time to be moving.
Neither includes food
The BusTravel listing puts food and drinks and tips in the excluded column; the Magic Iceland one excludes food and drinks. Both stop somewhere you can buy coffee on the way in, but there is nothing to eat in the valley itself. The BusTravel day breaks for ten minutes at the Highland Center at Hrauneyjar, which is the last building of any size on the route.
Weather rewrites the waterfall list, and that is fine
Highland stops get swapped when the road or the wind says so, and both operators do it. One traveller on the Magic Iceland day wrote in July 2026: "We weren't able to go to Haifoss due to weather, but the guide took us to Gjain instead and it was stellar." Gjáin is a small green gorge full of springs and falls in the same valley, and it is a fair trade. If a specific waterfall is the whole reason you are booking, be aware it is the first thing to go.
The Two Waterfall Minibuses
Same valley, same hot spring, different stop lists and different amounts of walking.
from $230.02 
from $220 Stops, Walking and What Is Covered
| Tour | Price | Length | Book | Walking | Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BusTravel Iceland small group | $230.02 | 13 hours | 1.5 to 2 hour Lauga loop | Hotel pickup, Wi-Fi, facility fees | |
| Magic Iceland 4x4 minibus | $220 | 14 hours | 5 km hike, boots required | Transport and all listed stops |
Háifoss, Granni and Hjálparfoss
The three falls the BusTravel day stops at, filmed on the same route the minibus takes in.
What You Stop For on the Way In
Háifoss and Granni, 122 metres into one canyon
Háifoss drops 122 m off the edge of the Þjórsárdalur plateau, one of the tallest falls in Iceland, and Granni comes over the rim a few metres to its left. Granni means neighbour, which is exactly what it looks like from the viewpoint. You stand on the canyon lip rather than at the base, so the whole drop is visible at once, with the Fossá river winding away below.
The track in is rough and the viewpoint is unfenced in places. This is one of the stops where the guide will tell you where the edge actually is, and it is worth hearing.
Hjálparfoss, the twin cascade
Lower down the same valley, Hjálparfoss comes through a gap in old lava as two streams that meet in one pool, framed by columnar basalt. The name means help's falls: this was the first green, grazeable ground travellers reached after crossing the black desert of Sprengisandur, and it was a relief to find. It is a five-minute walk from the car park and the shortest stop of the day.
Hnausapollur and Frostastaðavatn, the coloured water
Closer to the valley, both minibuses stop above crater lakes. Hnausapollur, also called Bláhylur, is an explosion crater holding turquoise water inside red scoria walls, right off F208 before the campsite turn. Frostastaðavatn sits ten minutes north of the campsite in a bowl of rhyolite, and on a still day the mountains double in it.
The BusTravel itinerary allows ten minutes at each. That is a photo stop, not a walk, and on a windy day you will spend most of it holding the door.
- Hnausapollur (Bláhylur): explosion crater, turquoise lake, red walls
- Frostastaðavatn: rhyolite bowl, mirror water on a calm morning
- Highland Center Hrauneyjar: the ten-minute coffee break and the last toilets before the F-roads
- Sigöldufoss: a ten-metre fall on the Tungnaá, on the Magic Iceland route
- Sigöldugljúfur: the canyon of waterfalls, also on the Magic Iceland route
How the 13-Hour Day Runs
The BusTravel Iceland segment times, as the operator publishes them.
-
Meeting
Tour Bus Stop 12, Höfðatorg
On Þórunnartún in central Reykjavik, with hotel pickup beforehand. Be at the stop rather than expecting the bus to find you.
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1:45
Out of the lowlands
105 minutes east and inland, past farmland and the shoulder of Hekla, before the road starts climbing.
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2:15
Highland Center Hrauneyjar
A ten-minute break at the last building of any size on the route. Coffee, toilets, and the point where the landscape turns to gravel.
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2:55
Hnausapollur
Ten-minute photo stop above the turquoise crater lake, straight off F208.
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3:25
Frostastaðavatn
Another ten minutes at the lake in its rhyolite bowl, ten minutes short of the campsite.
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3:45
Landmannalaugar, four hours
The guided Lauga loop takes 1.5 to 2 hours past the rhyolite hills and obsidian, which leaves time for the hot spring afterwards without rushing either.
-
7:45
Out through Fjallabak
Back down the F-roads with the waterfall stops on the return leg, then the long run to the coast road.
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13:00
Reykjavik
Drop-off back at the hotel. Thirteen hours after the pickup, and most of the group is asleep by the last hour.
Before You Book
Who these tours turn away
The two listings draw the line in different places, and the Magic Iceland one is the stricter of the two on health.
- BusTravel: not suitable for children under 8 or people with mobility impairments
- Magic Iceland: not suitable for people with mobility impairments or heart problems
- Magic Iceland states that proper hiking boots are required, not recommended
- BusTravel describes its walk as moderate and asks you to be capable of it
- Both run only in summer, while the F-roads are open
What to bring
A 13 or 14-hour day with no shop at the far end asks for a bit more packing than a city tour.
- Hiking boots, required outright on the Magic Iceland day
- Swimwear and a towel for the hot spring, worn underneath to save changing on the boardwalk
- Waterproof jacket and over-trousers, warm layers, hat and gloves
- Food, drink and water for the whole day: neither tour feeds you
- A camera, because the waterfall stops are ten minutes each and you will not get a second pass
- Cash or card for a 1,100 ISK shower if you want one after the spring
Is a 14-hour day too long?
It depends on what you have already seen. If Landmannalaugar is your only trip into the highlands, the extra two hours over a super jeep day buy four or five genuine stops rather than more driving, and the reviews reflect that: people who book these days rate the waterfalls as highly as the valley.
If you have already driven Þjórsárdalur on your own, you are paying for scenery you have seen, and driving the route yourself may suit you better. In that case the shorter super jeep departures, or the 8-hour day out of Hella, make better use of the time.
Where the Waterfalls Sit
Questions About the Waterfall Tours
How tall is Háifoss and where is it?
Háifoss drops 122 m off the plateau edge in Þjórsárdalur, in southern Iceland, on the Fossá river. It is one of the tallest waterfalls in the country and it shares its canyon with Granni, whose name means neighbour, coming over the rim just to the side. You view it from the lip rather than the base, so the whole fall is visible at once. The access track is rough, which is why it appears on 4x4 itineraries rather than coach tours.
Do both tours definitely stop at Háifoss?
Both list it, and both will drop it if the weather or the track says so. Highland stops are the first thing an operator trades away, and the replacement is usually good: one group that lost Háifoss in July 2026 was taken to Gjáin instead and rated the day five stars. If seeing one specific waterfall is the point of your booking, treat it as likely rather than guaranteed.
Which is better, the 13-hour or the 14-hour tour?
The 13-hour BusTravel day for a first visit: hotel pickup, the Landmannalaugar facility fees covered, an easy 1.5 to 2 hour loop, and a rating of 4.8 built on 340 reviews. The 14-hour Magic Iceland day if you want more stops and a proper 5 km hike, at $10 less, on a rating of 4.9 from only 31 reviews. The bigger review sample is the safer read on a route where the weather decides half the day.
How much time do you get at Landmannalaugar itself?
About four hours on both, which is more ground time than any super jeep day. On the BusTravel itinerary that breaks down as a 1.5 to 2 hour guided loop plus enough left over for the hot spring without hurrying. It is still not enough for the full 9.7 km circuit over Bláhnúkur and Brennisteinsalda, which takes 4 to 6 hours on its own.
Is the Landmannalaugar facility fee included?
On the BusTravel day, yes: the listing names the Landmannalaugar facility fees among the inclusions. The Magic Iceland listing does not mention them either way. The fee itself is small, and a shower in the block costs 1,100 ISK on top, so carry a card. Guided tours also handle the parking reservation, which self-drivers have to book through parka.is for arrivals between 09:00 and 16:00 in high season.
Do I need hiking boots for the minibus tours?
Yes on the Magic Iceland day, where the operator states outright that proper hiking boots are required for the 5 km hike. On the BusTravel day, hiking shoes are on the what-to-bring list and the walk is described as moderate. Either way, trainers are the wrong footwear here: the Lauga loop crosses 550-year-old obsidian with edges that cut, and the paths hold water for days after rain. What to bring has the rest of the kit.
What Recent Passengers Wrote
If you want to see a side of Iceland that most visitors never experience, this is the tour to book. The landscapes were unlike anything I've ever seen, from the colorful mountains of Landmannalaugar to breathtaking waterfalls and […]
Landmannalaugar & Háifoss Waterfall Tour was the best tour out of all the tours we did in Iceland. Our Tour Guide Ottar was polite and quite helpful. He shared all the information and details precisely and also accompanied us all […]
We had a fantastic experience on this tour! Our guide, Roman, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate. He shared many interesting facts throughout the day and also took us to a beautiful hidden spot away from the cro […]
Quotes reproduced from the GetYourGuide listings for these two tours, as written, shortened with an ellipsis where marked.