How do we get to
Drumbó base camp?
You can either buy a pick up and transfer from us, just click in
the
pick up box in the booking window when you confirm your tour, choose
your accommodation from the drop down list and we will pick you up, no
problem...you can also drive there your self (see below).
Driving Directions:
If you are driving yourself you have to be at the base camp 15 min
before your departure time (either at 9:45 or
13:45 depending on your booking) to check in for your tour.
Driving from Reykjavík to the Drumbó Base camp takes around 90 min,
driving
non stop at the maximum speed rate of 90 km per hour. If you intend to
visit the Golden Circle with all its amazing sites before going river
rafting at 14:00 from Drumbó, you will have leave Reykjavík no later
then
9:00 AM.
There are two ways to reach the Drumbó (Marked DRUMBODDSSTAÐIR on
some maps) Base Camp here are the directions:
Express Route: Drive
road no. 1
east from Reykjavík (the direction of Hveragerði). Once you are passed
Hveragerði take a left turn just before the town of Selfoss up
road
no.
35 (direction Geysir). Drive road no. 35 for approx. 30-40
min until you are past the small town of
Reykholt.
5-10 min later you take a right turn at an Arctic Rafting sign. Drive
the gravel road for approx. 5-10 minutes following the signs all the
way to Drumbó…ter.
Golden Circle Route: Drive road no. 1 north from
Reykjavík, just outside Mosfellsbær suburb take a right turn up road
no. 36 (direction Þingvellir). Drive to Þingvellir National Park and
make a sight seeing stop there. From Þingvellir keep driving road no.
36 for 10 minutes until you make a left turn up road no. 365 (direction
Laugavatn). Drive for 25 minutes until you reach an intersection at the
town of Laugavatn, take a left turn up road no. 37. Drive for 25
minutes until you reach Geysir hot springs; make a stop there for
sightseeing. From Geysir drive towards the highlands on road no. 35
(road no. 37 becomes road no. 35 just before Geysir) for 10 minutes
with out making any turns. Arrive at the Gullfoss Waterfall upper
parking lot and meet your guide.
Click
here
for a map of the way...
How do I book and what information do
you need from me?
There are a few different ways you can book
our trips. First of all you can book almost all our trips right
here on
our website. There is a booking window on each trip page and we
do
recommend that you book and pay for your trip there with some time to
spare as we keep our groups small and frequently sell out.
If the trip
you would like to book is not bookable online then you can call us
directly at our office, the phone number is 00354
562 7000. Another way is to send us an e-mail with an inquiry, our
e-mail
address is info@adventures.is
. What we need to have is your name, how many people are in your party,
where you are staying and some way of contacting you either an e-mail or
a
phone number.
How do I pay?
There are
three ways in which you can pay for the trips that you book with us.
1. You can pay through the internet,
through our
booking
website. This is by far the easiest, safest and fastest way to reserve
and pay for your adventure. If you choose this way
then you
will receive a voucher via e-mail which you will need to print and bring
along on your
trips. If you are going on a multi day trip then you will receive one
voucher
for all of the trips via e-mail and we will make you separate vouchers
for each
of your trips, which will be waiting your arrival in Iceland at our
office at
Laugavegur 11.
2. You can pay via phone, the phone number is +354 562 7000. If you
choose to
pay through phone then your vouchers will be waiting for you when you
come to
Iceland, either at our office at Laugavegur 11 or at your hotel.
3. Sometimes you can pay when you arrive to
start your trip, but this is only possible in special circumstance.
Please Note: However you
pay, you will always get a voucher: REMEMBER TO
BRING YOUR VOUCHER ALONG FOR YOUR
TRIP!
Where is your Reykjavík
Office located and
when are you open?
Our office
is at Laugavegur 11, the main shopping street in Reykjavík. There you
can get
all the information that you need, be it about the trips that you want
to go to
or just general information about Reykjavík. You can also book and pay
for
various day trips. Over the summer season (June-August) we are open from
08:00-21:00 Monday-Saturday and 10:00-18:00 on Sundays. All other times
of year
we are open 10:00-18:00 Mondays-Fridays, 11:00-16:00 Saturdays and
closed on
Sundays. But you can reach on our emergency cell phone line:
+354-898-0410.
What currency do you accept?
We only accept the Icelandic króna. Our website presents prices is ISK
and in EURO, the EURO price is obtained by converting it with the
currency exchange rate of the Icelandic Federal Bank. If you would like
to calculate the price of our tours in some other currency you can do so
here.
What is the Golden Circle?
The Golden Circle is a name for the very popular sight seeing route that
connects Reykjavík with Þingvellir National Park, Geysir Hot Springs
and Gullfoss Waterfall. We offer several Golden Circle trips that
combine sightseeing with some of our adventure tours. Check out the
Golden
Grand Slam (which includes river rafting), the
Golden
Glacier Ride (which includes a snowmobile trip on Langjökull) and
the
U-Drive
Golden (which includes river rafting and a super jeep self drive
trip)
Do you do private departures?
Yes we arrange private departures on the Hvítá River, please contact our
office for further information:
Info@adventures.is
What are the facilities at the Drumbó Base Camp?
The Drumbó Base Camp has a reception, bar, restaurant, sauna, hot tubs,
showers, changing rooms and a great veranda to sip a cold beer after
your adventure. The Drumbó is pretty much the perfect rafting base... : )
How far is Drumbó Base Camp from Reykjavík?
98 kilometers in South Iceland.
How far is Hafgrímsstaðir Base Camp from Reykjavík?
350 kilometers in North Iceland.
How far is Skaftafell and the Glacier Guides sales office from
Reykjavík?
330 kilometers on the Icleand South Coast.
How do Arctic Adventures, Arctic Rafting, the Glacier Guides and
Reykjavík Backpackers connect?
We are one family of companies that work together and share facilities
(f.ex. we all have the same office in Reykjavík). We also share guides,
vehicles and equipment in order to run an organized and professional
operation. All of these companies are run by guides and adventures and
owned by guides and adventurers.
How long have you been in business?
We have been in rafting on the Hvítá river since 1983 which makes us one
of the longest running rafting operations in Europe. Since the late
1990s we have been adding more and more activities to our selection. So
we are NOT a travel agency, we are an adventure operator, owned by
guides and world travelers and run by guides and adventurers.
What is the minimum age for a participant on a your tours?
Each one of our tours have unique characteristics and different age
limits, how ever you can generally assume that kids 10 years and older,
with shoe size 35 EURO or larger can participate in our tours more easy
going tours. On demanding tours we generally have a age limit of 18
years. On motorized activity tours participants that want to drive
(f.ex. snowmobiles) you will need to be at least 17 years old and hold a
valid driving license. Younger kids and those that would not like to
drive can in most cases sit at the back of the quad or snowmobile. Here
below you can see a few examples of our age limits.
On the River Fun Tour: Kids 12 years old and older can raft the whole
river if accompanied by a
guardian. Kids between 10 and 12 can raft half way, for half price.
On the Wonderful West the minimum age is 10 years if accompanied by a
guardian.
On the River Ride the minimum age is 18 years.
On the Beast of the East the minimum age is 18 years.
Do I have to know how to swim to go on river rafting?
Yes, absolutely, each paddler on a rafting boat has to know how to swim.
Can I drink alcohol before or during your tours?
No absolutely not. The consumption of alcohol makes you more prone to
hypothermia and makes you to unpredictable mistakes (as you probably
know : ). It is therefore strictly prohibited, if we suspect that
participants are intoxicated we will prohibit them from joining the
tour.
What do I have to bring with me for my tour?
Each tour is different and you will need to bring different things. How
ever there are certain things that you always have to bring with you.
Remember this is ICEland and for you to have a pleasant experience here
in the High North it is vital that you bring good outdoor clothing. No
one should come to Iceland (it does no matter if you are coming in
summer or winter) with out a good water and wind proof jacket and pants,
good, sturdy, waterproof hiking shoes, a warm hat that breaks the wind,
good warm gloves, good warm woolen or other thermal undergarments. In
Iceland there is no such thing a bad weather, just bad equipment and not
the right clothing.
For rafting in South Iceland you have to bring; your swimming
wear (or a change of underclothing) to
wear under your rafting pants, a warm fleece or a wool sweater to wear
under your rafting jacket (it will get wet) and a towel to dry of after
your trip. Every thing else we will provide.
Click
here to see the equipment we will provide for you on your rafting trip.
For rafting in North Iceland you have to bring:
Warm,
lightweight, layered clothing-made of synthetic materials, fleece, or
wool (no cotton if possible), warm woolen socks, any necessary
medications (asthma inhalers, etc.), a change of dry clothes for after
the river.
Can white water rafts sink?
The rafts that we use are made of very strong, specially made rubber and
each boat is split up into several compartments. This means that on the
rare occasion a boat is punctured all odds are that just one
compartment is leaking, so rafts do not generally sink.
Can I bring my camera on the raft / on my snorkeling trip / sea
kayak trip?
Well on all our waterbased adventure trips like river rafting,
snorkeling in Silfra, sea kayaking, white water canoeing, you can bring
it if you like, but if it is not waterproof then it
will 100% get ruined. You can buy disposable waterproof cameras at the
Drumbó Base Camp and in our Reykjavík Office at the Cintamani Center.
Sometimes we have a staff photographer on the trips
that sells his photos after the tour, but that is not guaranteed.
When can I bring my camera along?
On all our trips that are NOT waterbased you can bring you camera along,
and you should definitely bring one since Iceland is positively full of
amazing, scenic views!
Do I get a life jacked on river rafting trips / sea kayaking trips
(personal floating device)?
Yes we provide a PFD for every one.
Is there a guide in each rafting boat?
Yes there is a specially trained and certified river guide in each one
of our boats.
Here is short briefing on safety and insurance:
Ensuring the safety of all our participants is our first and foremost
priority. However, due to the nature of rafting as an outdoor and
adventure activity, we are subject to the same environmental risks as in
any wild natural environment. Should you wish to participate in one of
our rafting trips, we ask you to be prepared to sign a contract with us
stipulating that you are fit to participate in such activities and
assume all risks inherent in doing so.
Do I need a insurance before going on one of your trips?
We recommend that you have personal health insurance coverage when
participating in adventure activities in Iceland, we actually recommend
that when ever and where ever you travel you take out a good travel
insurance..as world travelers our selves it has saved us money and
aggravation many times..
What is a safety briefing?
Before puting on the river or starting any of our trips, rafting
participants will receive a safety
briefing highlighting the safe and proper use of equipment, the role of
guides and safety kayakers (where applicable) on the river, and the
significant risks and hazards involved in their particular trip. It will
also cover potentially forseeable scenerios that may arise and explain
how participants should react in such circumstances. Our guides will
also outline their expectations of participants on the river (i.e.
active participation in paddling and following commands, listening to
the instructions of the guides and safety kayakers, etc.), and address
any specific questions or concerns that may arise during this time.
Any medical conditions or personal health concerns that may jeopardize
your well-being or affect your ability to meet the physical demands of
rafting must be clearly communicated to the trip leader upon arrival at
our rafting base. Any medications you may require for minor medical
conditions (asthma inhalers, etc.), should be kept on your person and
brought with you on the trip. It is important that you notify your guide
about such medications and their whereabouts before setting off on the
river.
If I am travelling solo, can I book a trip or is there always a
minimum of 2 people?
There is a minimum of 2 people for most of our
trips, we usually run the trips on the guaranteed departure dates. If
you are interested in some trips and are travelling solo we can put you
on waiting list and contact you if more people book the trip.