It´s March and we´re going to zoom in on activities that one can enjoy in the area of Eyjafjordur (close to Akureyri) all year round.
We´re starting with horse-back riding possibilities.
I personally know stables, a few minutes drive from Dalvík - which is around 30 mins drive from Akureyri, so I´ll start with the western side of the fjord, where those stables are. Eventhough the stables are rather big, concerning the sizes of nearby towns, there´s only one company that has been running horseback riding business there. Simbi is the owner and has been working with horses for many many years and if I remember well, he´s to be found in stables almost every day, including the weekends. He knows his job really well and you can bet that the experience you will get, if you decide to ride with him, will be truly local. On top of this, the area for riding is a beatiful valley with many interesting sagas, including a lovely wooden church.
Now, details about the service:
Please note, that they still don´t have their own web-page yet.
Company name: TVISTUR Horse rental
Offer:
1-hour tour: 4.000 ISK per person
1,5-hour tour: 5.000 ISK per person
2-hour tour: 7.000 ISK per person
3-hour tour: 8.500 ISK per person
Contact:
00354 - 861-9631 SIMBI
00354 - 616-9629 ELLA
How to get there: From Dalvík, after you have left the town, take the first turn to the right (sign: Svarfaðardalur). Follow the road for a few minutes, until you see big stables on your left called HRINGSHOLT.
On the eastern side of the fjord, around 30 mins drive from Akureyri, there is a bigger company, with 25 years of experience called POLAR HESTAR. They´re situated at a farm where they have around 100 horses and more than double as many sheep. Beautiful and friendly couple Stefan and Juliane are the ones running the company and here is their offer with really well prepared longer tours (lasting a few days):
Company name: POLAR HESTAR
Offer:
1-hour tour: 3.500 ISK per person
2-hour tour: 5.500 ISK per person
When it comes to longer tours that Pólarhestar are experts in, 'Farm holidays tour', lasting 8 days and 7 nights costs 800 EUR and is available out of the high season (from April to middle of May and middle of September to middle of October).
There are actually 3 other kinds of longer tours to choose from and they are to be found here
Contact:
00354 - 463 3179 Stefan and Juliane
email: polarhestar@polarhestar.is
How to get there: From Akureyri you drive direction east (Myvatn/ Egilsstaðir) on road no 1. After about 15 minutes you turn to the left into road no 83 ( Laufás/ Grenivík). You follow this road for again about 15 minutes, passing the famous turf houses of Laufás and the church. Cross the river Fnjóská and turn once again to the left direction Grenivík. After a few minutes you will find the farm on your right. It is marked with big letters PÓLAR HESTAR.
That´s it for today from both sides of the fjord. Do let us know and leave a comment here, once your riding tour is over. Should you be having troubles getting in touch with the companies, do write to me:
lenka.uhrova@gmail.com
And last but not least, an interesting link full of impressions from travels in the North written by artists who spent some time exploring North Iceland.
I travelled to Iceland from Canada in January, and stayed in Eyjafjordur during February and March; I loved the area. I spent only a day in Dalvik, and it was incredibly snowy and windy, so not the best day for outdoor riding! However, I ended up having a wonderful horseback riding lesson at an indoor arena with Simbi as my teacher. Simbi is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to horses and he obviously enjoys his profession; I highly recommend the experience!
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