The Laugavegur Trail, a 32.4-mile trail through Iceland’s South Highlands, can be hiked as a self-guided camping trip. Here are some tips on preparing for it!
Doing the Laugavegur Trail as a self-guided camping trip was our introduction to backpacking in Iceland.
And what a journey it was! Wild weather, river crossings, fantastic vistas, and a feeling of adventure beyond what we've experienced before.
That said, the more preparation you can do for this hike, the better. The Laugavegur Trail is over 30 miles, and is often combined with the Fimmvörðuhals Trail for a 50-mile journey.
Here's what to know before you go, including thoughts taking the Laugavegur Trail as a self-guided or guided hike.
Campsites Vs Huts on the Laugavegur Trail
The Laugavegur Trail is a European-style backpacking trail, meaning there are huts for rooming along the trail.
The huts are hostel-style, so they pack a lot of people into small buildings. The huts provide shelter from the temperamental Icelandic weather, and most have showers and kitchens.
The Laugavegur Trail is inside a nature preserve, and wild camping is not allowed, meaning you can’t just find a nice spot on the trail and pitch your tent. Instead, you have to camp at the hut campgrounds.
That means if you get tired and the next hut isn’t for two more miles, you have to keep going. The good news is, we found the huts to be comfortably spaced out and the distances very manageable.
This was my first hut-to-hut backpacking trip, and I found it really nice because you’ve got access to established restrooms (usually with flush toilets). Campers can also pay to use the showers (when available). A few huts even have restaurants!
Campgrounds do not require reservations, but huts do. Campgrounds charge a fee per person. In 2024 it was 2800 ISK per person (about $20 USD), plus 333 ISK per tent (about $2.40 USD). Check the current camping prices here.
You pay upon arrival at the hut. Credit cards are accepted. Look for the warden hut (the building with the i symbol) to pay.
Laugavegur Trail: Self-Guided Hiking vs Guided Tour
Various companies offer guided hiking tours. These are useful if you’re nervous about the trail, if you want to stay in huts but they’re full, or if you don’t want to carry as much gear.
We opted for a self-guided hike of the Laugavegur Trail, where we booked our own transportation to and from the trail. We also went at our own pace instead of using a guide.
A guided tour is obviously much more expensive than a self-guided one. That said, I don’t recommend a Laugavegur Trail self-guided camping trip unless you’re very comfortable pitching tents in high winds and are an experienced backpacker.
To get familiar with what the route is like, see my trail guide for Laugavegur.
How Many Days Should I Plan for a Self-Guided Laugavegur Hike?
The Laugavegur Trail is typically hiked in three or four days.
We hiked in four days, with nights at Hrafntinnusker, Álftavatn, Emstrur and Thórsmörk (Húsadalur, Volcano Huts). That gave us hiking days that felt very manageable for us, even in bad weather (around 7 to 10 miles per day).
We met other self-guided hikers on the Laugavegur Trail that did it in three days. They either skipped Hrafntinnusker and hiked all the way to Álftavatn on day 1, then stayed at Emstrur and Thórsmörk, or they stayed at Hrafntinnusker, Hvanngil and Thórsmörk. We thought about doing one of these routes instead, but were too tired for a 14+ mile hiking day.
Because of the distance between huts, it would be difficult to hike this trail over a longer time period, unless you're staying put and taking a zero day (a rest day).
When planning, try to build in some leeway in case you find yourself more exhausted than you anticipated. Hiking in Iceland's weather can be both physically and emotionally draining!
If you plan to add on the Fimmvörðuhals Trail, it can be hiked in either one (extraordinarily long and difficult) day, or two days. We hiked it in two days, so we were on the trail for six days, five nights total.
If you've got the time and energy, there are also day hikes in the Thórsmörk area that you could do mid-journey. We skipped those on this trip.
Should I Hike South-Bound (SoBo) or North-Bound (NoBo)?
The trail officially runs from north to south (SoBo). If you’re booking rooms in huts, they require you to hike SoBo.
If you’re camping, you can go either direction. We hiked SoBo, and there were a few sections that I wouldn’t have wanted to do in reverse because of the steep terrain.
In particular, there was a short extremely steep section a few miles past the Hrafntinnusker hut where I was glad to be going uphill (steep downhill makes me nervous), and the fairly steep downhill trek into Álftavatn would’ve been quite the struggle if done in reverse.
Also, if you hike SoBo, you start with easy river crossings and they get progressively harder. If you do it in reverse (NoBo), you start with the hardest river crossing near Thórsmörk and then the crossings get progressively easier.
Transportation To and From the Trailheads
This is a point-to-point trail, not a loop.
The trail begins at Landmannalaugar, the first hut and campground. To reach the trailhead, you travel on one of Iceland’s F roads. Traveling there requires a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle capable of river crossings and a permit.
Most hikers pre-book a tour bus to the trailhead. We used Reykjavik Excursions for our bus ride. Others we know used Trex. It’s a little unclear — I couldn’t tell if they were actually the same company.
Side note: this is an extremely bumpy ride. If you get motion sickness, try to sit towards the front and maybe take something to prevent it. (I took Dramamine and brought ginger lozenges, but talk to your doctor if you’re not sure what to bring.)
The Laugavegur Trail officially ends in Thórsmörk, where you’ll have two different hut locations for bus pickup, either Langidalur or Húsadalur (Volcano Huts). There are extra amenities at Volcano Huts, such as glamping tents, a sauna and a restaurant, so if you’re ready for some pampering it’s a nice option.
You can pre-book a bus back to Reykjavik from either campground. (Again, I recommend Reykjavik Excursions.)
There’s also the nearby Básar campground (at the start of the Fimmvörðuhals Trail), which doesn’t have bus pickup (that I saw) but wouldn’t be a hard walk for a bus pickup at one of the other locations.
If you continue your self-guided trip further than Laugavegur, onto the Fimmvörðuhals Trail, you CAN book a tour bus (such as Reykjavik Excursions) from the end of the trail at Skógar, but the bus leaves early (usually 10:15 a.m.) and pauses in another city for about six hours, arriving in Reykjavik in the evening around 9:30 p.m. Not ideal.
We opted to take the city bus back from Skógar to Reykjavik instead. You can’t pre-book it, and there’s only one bus (so that did make me nervous), but there was plenty of room on the bus when we boarded (and it was during peak season).
Just maybe plan on arriving for the bus a bit early to ensure that there’s a spot, and to make sure you’re there in case it arrives a few minutes early.
If you opt for the city bus, take the Stræetó bus 51 from Skógar back to Reykjavik. It leaves in the afternoon (around 3:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. when we went, depending on if it was a weekday or weekend), and goes straight back to Reykjavik (about a two-hour drive).
We paid for the Strætó bus with a credit card when boarding and didn’t need cash. The bus ends at a city bus terminal, where you can catch another bus (or take a scooter or taxi, or walk) back to your lodging for the evening.
What Time of Year Can I Do This Hike?
Iceland’s South Highlands are only accessible in summer, typically from late June to late August or early September. The F roads leading to the trail sometimes open late and sometimes close early, depending on the weather.
The restaurant at Álftavatn sometimes opens later in the year than the huts. It was open when we visited in late July.
Staying Found on a Self-Guided Laugavegur Hike
This trail is clearly marked, and we didn’t really need our digital maps.
However, it's prone to heavy fog that makes the trail markers difficult to spot, so having a digital map is still a good idea.
If you continue onto the Fimmvörðuhals Trail, be ready for a bit more route finding, especially near the Magni and Móði volcanoes. We did check our digital maps multiple times through this section.
We carried a Garmin inReach, plus had both the AllTrails and Gaia maps downloaded. My husband’s Garmin Fenix watch did not recognize the trails; apparently he would’ve needed to download them to his Garmin app on his PC before traveling.
We also found this Knife Edge paper map and Knife Edge guidebook to be really helpful. (If I had to buy just one, I’d choose the guidebook.)
Safety in an Active Volcano Area
This trail does pass through an active volcanic area; however, the chances of one erupting with no warning signs are (I think?) slim.
At any rate, I saw a safety sign on Day 4 of our hike and thought that would've been helpful information to have at the beginning.
If an active eruption begins, hut wardens will fire maroons that emit a bang and also fire flares. If you see them go off, get to high ground immediately in an area that doesn't seem to have had lava flow in the past. (Presumably areas without black lava rock.)
Will I Have a Cell Signal?
It was actually a little shocking to me how often I had a cell signal on this trail. I was using a Síminn eSIM that I purchased from Iceland Air.
I usually kept my phone on airplane mode during the day to save battery life, so here’s what the cell phone signal situation was at each hut:
- Hrafntinnusker: No signal, I used my Garmin inReach for messages here.
- Álftavatn: 2-3 cell bars, depending on where I stood
- Hvanngil: Unsure, we hiked past and didn’t check for a signal. Fí website doesn’t mention a cell signal, so probably not.
- Emstrur: No signal at camp or in the camper shelter. Garmin inReach worked well. Fí website states you may find a cell signal “on a hill above the hut,” so maybe ask at the hut warden desk.
- Thórsmörk (Húsadalur, Volcano Huts): 3-4 bars
- Thórsmörk (Langidalur): Unsure, we hiked past without stopping. Fí website doesn’t mention a cell signal here.
- Basar: Unsure, we hiked past and didn’t check for a signal. Útivist website doesn’t mention a cell signal here.
- Baldvinsskáli (Fimmvörðuhals Trail): 2-3 bars
- Fimmvörðuskáli (Fimmvörðuhals Trail): This hut is slightly off-trail, so we didn’t pass it and don't know if there is cell service. Útivist website doesn’t mention a cell signal, but I think there may be one. Two girls we spoke to at the Baldvinsskáli hut were communicating with friends who arrived at the other hut. This hut is also more exposed than the nearby Baldvinsskáli hut. Camping here is not recommended.
- Skógar (no hut, end of Fimmvörðuhals Trail): 4 bars, full signal
Gear We Brought (or Wished We Brought):
We had lots of gear decisions to make before attempting Laugavegur Trail as a self-guided trip! Overall, I was happy with our choices.
First of all, I highly recommend bringing two trekking poles on this trail. They’re extremely helpful, not just on the trail, but also with the water crossings. I generally use just one trekking pole (yes, I know that’s incorrect), but I needed both for water crossings.
The trail was wild enough that I was grateful to have my Garmin inReach mini 2 as a way to send messages any time I wanted (and to have an SOS option). I rarely needed to check the map on it, though.
Here’s some more gear we brought along. I'm guessing you might also want to check out my suggestions for how to pack for backpacking when flying.
Rain Protection Gear
- I used an Osprey rain cover (with a snap) over my Osprey Eja Pro 55. It worked really well, although it flapped in the wind a lot, which was kind of annoying.
If you use a rain cover, make sure to get one with a snap so that it doesn’t blow off your pack. The lower section of my cover did not snap on and occasionally blew off the pack, so I think without the one snap I would’ve lost the rain cover entirely.
- My husband carried a Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L. This pack’s ultra fabric is already supposed to be waterproof, so he skipped the pack cover, but did use a pack liner. His pack stayed dry inside despite lots of rain.
- We also used some rain protection redundancies by packing some items in waterproof bags. We packed our food in a Hyperlite Mountain Gear roll-top dry bag, clothing in these Hyperlite’s pillow stuff sacks, and our sleeping pad and down quilt in a variety of other waterproof bags that we had on hand.
- I read that if the rivers on route to the trailhead were high, water can sometimes get under the bus in the luggage storage. Some hikers place their entire pack inside a garbage bag before stowing it under the bus. When we hiked, the rivers weren’t high and the bus driver assured me the luggage area was staying dry. (I skipped the garbage bag and was fine.)
Shelter and Bedding
- We opted for an ultralight 3-season tent; however, if we did this trail again we’d bring a 4-season tent. The winds on this trail are wild and have potential to be even stronger, so I’d feel more comfortable with a 4-season tent, despite it being “summer.”
We used the TarpTent Double Rainbow DW on this trail, and we also saw others using our other favorite tent, the Durston X-Mid 2. Read this post for our comparison of the two tents.
We opted for the Double Rainbow over the X-Mid because it has a free standing option and we were unsure if the ground would sometimes be too rocky to easily stake a tent. (It wasn’t, for the record.)
Our tent did fine, although it did struggle a little in high wind. We had to patch a tear from setting it up during a windstorm.
- MSR groundhog stakes. We used a combination of the mini groundhog stakes and standard longer groundhog stakes and they did well, though we did often reinforce the stakes by topping them with rocks.
- In hindsight, we should’ve brought more than two guy-lines, but we underestimated how strong the winds would be (even when not under a yellow wind warning). The two guy-lines held, but if we did this trail again (or any camping route in Iceland), we’d bring extras.
- For bedding, we used the Exped Duo R5 Sleeping Pad, an Enlightened Equipment 10ºF down quilt, Sea to Summit sleeping bag liners, and my new spoiled double pillow setup — a Nemo Fillo Elite paired with a Hyperlite Mountain Gear pillow (stuffed with clothes).
Cook System
We were quite happy with our cook system and would likely do the same again.
- Our backpacking stove was our MSR PocketRocket, paired with our Toaks titanium cookpot. We opted for our larger Toaks pot over our smaller Evolved cookpot so that it would be easier to make soups.
- We also brought along long-handled sporks and a titanium cup.
Food + Drink
- Check out our separate post on food and drink for the Laugavegur Trail.
- Empty water bottle (we brought an empty Smartwater bottle from the USA).
- Water bladder for carrying extra water on long hikes. I'm unsure about this one: a Smartwater bottle per person may have been enough, since we never drank more than a liter a day during the cold hikes.
Personal Care
- Seasonal allergy medicine (there are grass and flowers all around)
- Portawipes compressed towelettes
- Soap for showers (there was hand soap and dish soap provided at hut restrooms, but we wished we brought something for showers)
Gear We Never Used (And If I’d Bring it Again)
- Bug nets. I’ve been told there are non-biting midges along this trail at times, but we never had any issues with bugs. I’d probably still bring bug nets if we hiked again, because they’re small and weigh almost nothing.
- Headlamps. Despite it being daylight almost 24/7 when we were there, I read these would be good to use for the hut restrooms, but I never needed them. (Then again, I never got up to use the restroom between 12:30 a.m. and 3 a.m.)
If you’re continuing onto the Fimmvörðuháls Trail, the dry toilet at the Baldvinsskali Hut was darker, but I still didn’t use the headlamp. I’d likely skip these if we did the trail again.
- Micro-spikes. I never needed these on the Laugavegur when we hiked it, but we did use them on the Fimmvörðuháls Trail. I would probably carry these again anyway for the Laugavegur in case we came on a warmer year where the snow was melting and refreezing more.
- Sawyer Squeeze water filter. Each hut had tap water available, so we never needed to collect water from streams. Even the Baldvinsskáli hut on the Fimmvörðuháls Trail had tap water (as of July 2024). I’d likely bring this filter anyway if I hiked it again, as it’s fairly lightweight and could be invaluable in an emergency.
- Helinox Camp chairs. We actually did use these once, but because most of the campgrounds had a camper shelter with benches, we didn’t use these enough to make me feel like they were worth carrying. Instead I’d consider bringing a sit pad (or nothing).
Clothes for Backpacking the Laugavegur Trail
I underestimated how cold this trail would be.
The temperature was regularly in the low or mid 40s (Fahrenheit), one day was in the high 30s, and it only occasionally and briefly went into the low 50s. With the wind chill, it dropped below freezing the first day and evening.
Of course, weather is unpredictable. I’ve heard that there were warmer days in the weeks leading up to our late July hike.
Even so, I was mostly happy with the clothing we brought.
Here’s what we wore:
Basic Clothing
- Sunglasses. The sun rarely came out the entire time, but I occasionally wore them to protect my eyes from strong wind. (It can get sunny, though; it just didn’t for us.)
- Arms of Andes alpaca shirts, both a long sleeve and short sleeve.
- Kuhl Klash pants (mine), Eddie Bauer Rainer pants (his). I was thrilled with the Kuhl Klash pants. The thicker abrasion resistant fabric was perfect for the weather, and I loved that all the pockets zip closed. My husband was also very pleased with his hiking pants.
- For pajamas, we both brought an Appalachian Gear Company classic hoodie and Icebreaker leggings. We also brought balaclavas for keeping our noses warm at night.
- I brought along some Icebreaker undies and two Branwyn wool bras.
- I’d also recommend bringing an eye mask, or at the very least a thick neck gator that can double as an eye mask. Otherwise the sun will likely wake you up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.
Footwear
- For footwear, we both wore non-waterproof trail runners (Altra Lone Peaks) and trail gaiters. This trail has lots of small, loose rocks, so I’m glad we brought gaiters, especially since we opted for shoes instead of boots.
- Hollow alpaca ankle socks. I can’t recommend these socks highly enough! They kept our feet warm and dry the whole time. That’s quite the accomplishment on this trail!
- Neoprene socks for water crossings. These were amazing and I highly recommend. They made the icy water much less painful. My husband also wore Xero sandals over his socks for water crossings. I just used the socks.
Outerwear
- Montbell Superior Down Jacket (mine with a hood, his without). He was thrilled with his; I wished I’d opted to bring their warmer Plasma 1000.
- Hats. I wore a thick Fjallraven wool hat, and he wore an Appalachian Gear Company alpaca hat. Both worked great and helped keep our heads dry and warm.
- Merino wool headband. I wore this when the hat was too warm but my ears were still cold.
- Gloves. We brought neoprene gloves and rain mittens, and wore them together on cold rainy days. The neoprene did a good job of staying warm even when wet.
However, I found that sometimes my hands got way too cold, and wish I’d brought a backup of warmer gloves or mittens. (My husband’s hands were fine with just the neoprene gloves and rain mittens.)
Rainwear
- Montbell Versalite rain jacket. I highly recommend this: it never wetted out even in heavy rain, and also worked well as wind protection.
- Black Diamond Stormline rain jacket. This jacket worked well for wind protection, but wetted out easily. I do not recommend it and would not take again. This jacket seems to be discontinued anyway, but I’d recommend looking for either a 2.5-layer or 3-layer rain jacket, or one that uses Gore-Tex. (Preferably the newer more eco-friendly Gore-Tex ePE.)
- Zpacks Vertice rain pants. He wore these, and they're perfect if you carry weight in the waist or are not curvy. They're less ideal if you’re hourglass-shaped or carry weight in the thighs.
- Montbell rain skirt. This worked perfectly as a rain pants alternative and an easier fit for curvy people.
If you’re average height or tall, I’d probably recommend the slightly longer Enlightened Equipment rain skirt for more coverage. (At 5-foot-2-inches, I did better with the shorter Montbell one.)
I also used this skirt for extra wind protection and wore it when the water crossings were deep enough that I thought my pants would get soaked despite rolling the legs up.
Do you have any other questions about a self-guided trip on the Laugavegur Trail? Leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best to help!
Leave a Comment: