Iceland Eclipse Deposit Form

Last update: August 17, 2024

Thanks for your interest in our Iceland eclipse tours in August of 2026! We’re no longer taking refundable deposits for eclipse trips. But we are still planning trips! Just e-mail me if you have any questions or problems. Thanks!

Small group van tour

All of these will be small groups in the 15-20 person range, with a driver guide with you for the whole trip, at least until the last day in Reykjavik. As long as there is enough interest in each type of tour, I will work to match up groups with other groups interested in the same style of tour. The options I proposed on the deposit form are:

 Active. Hikes of up to 3 miles, horseback riding, glacier hikes, and maybe some ATV or other fun activities. This tour may cost a bit extra based on the paid tours I would need to add.

There will still be time for relaxing and visiting thermal spas!
 

Less active. Only short hikes, and no horseback riding or glacier hikes. Plenty of thermal spas, and I can add in a few museums if people are interested.

Families with young children. The first travel guidebook I published is called Iceland With Kids, and I plan lots of family trips too! For kids in the 6-12 year-old range we can still build in lots of activities, but with a slower pace to allow kids more time to explore. I also may plan it to spend less time driving in the van each day. This trip will likely also do fewer sit-down meals and more quick food options, but more swimming at a local town thermal pools.

Families with teenagers. This trip may not look so different from the Active trip above, but I will try to match families so your teenagers might have other teenagers to hang out with. Every detail of each group tour will trip will be planned and customized by me, even if I’m not on your van. I will likely be on one of these tours, though it’s not impossible I will be on a cruise ship?

Pricing: $5,700 per person. This includes everything except for your international airfare, and any expenses before or after the trip.

Self Drive Tours

This is primarily what I do for my Iceland travel company when there isn’t an eclipse. I create one-of-a-kind custom itineraries based exactly on what your group is looking for. And of course I would include eclipse viewing. This can make sense if you’re looking for something that I’m not offering with the group tours: Maybe you want to do all of Ring Road, or you have mobility restrictions that would make a bus tour more difficult. This option can also make sense if you have a group of 4-8 people, since you will likely save a significant amount of money. The self-drive option still includes a full lodging plan, a detailed itinerary customized for your group, and even my video course that teaches you how to drive in Iceland. Here’s a rough sample itinerary. Your itinerary will have your car rental reservation, tickets for any tours, and a button to click to navigate to your next destination. (There’s a mobile app so you can save the itinerary to your phone or tablet.) I will offer a limited number of these, somewhere between 20 and 50 groups, based on how much lodging I can secure in prime eclipse areas. This option will work for groups of 1-8 people. Pricing: I will charge a planning fee of $2,500 per group* to create your itinerary. The process starts with a one-on-one phone call so I can understand exactly what you are looking for. Every itinerary I create is one-of-a-kind, and includes a full lodging and touring plan for every day. * This price is valid for groups of up to 6 people, and for a trip up to 1 week. I don’t count your departure day (though I still plan it for you) so a Saturday to Saturday trip counts as 7 days, not 8. The fee is $200 for each additional day of your trip. Groups of 7 or 8 people will have a $500 surcharge. The planning fee allows me to plan your trip as I would plan my own. You would just then pay the actual cost of the rest of your trip (airfare, lodging, tours, rental car, etc.) I won’t try to steer you toward lodging or tours that pay me a commission. Often, Airbnb is the best choice for groups of more than 2 people, and I’ll work to find out the best option for you. I also pass on savings to you when I can. For example, I can offer a 10% discount on a rental car in lieu of taking a commission. This self-drive option can be substantially less expensive for larger groups of 3 or more, and should still save money for a group of 2. If you’re solo, you may do better on a group tour, though the cost difference could be minimal.

A Small Ship Cruise

I’ve personally been on 2 small ship cruises around Iceland, and helped clients go on Iceland cruises as a travel agent. I’ve reached out to the cruise lines that I work with, and some of them are updating their 2026 itineraries to be in the path of the eclipse.

We currently do have one circumnavigation cruise option which will focus on the eclipse. This cruise will visit Iceland and Greenland; it will have an astronomer on board, and it will be in the absolutely ideal location to view the eclipse (weather permitting!) E-mail me for more information about this cruise, and the extras I will include if you book with me.

Pricing: Cruises will be in the $5,000 – $9,000 range per person.

For that price, you get just about everything you need: airport transfers, food, alcohol, WiFi, and the special eclipse programs. You would have the option to pay for other shore excursions, which I can help you arrange. The only other thing you would pay for would be your international airfare, and a hotel in Reykjavik for before the cruise.

Next steps for your Iceland Eclipse Trip

Just e-mail me if you have any questions or problems. Thanks!