Have you ever desired to working experience the thrill and splendor of river rafting in the heart of Iceland‘s Golden Circle? Due to the fact 1985 Arctic Rafting have been accomplishing precisely that, enabling you to get pleasure from a completely-balanced mix of serene canyons and adrenaline-pumping waves and rapids. Read through on to find out much more about their most common tour – River Entertaining Rafting.
What to count on
You will raft down 7 kilometres of the Hvítá River fed by the Langjökull glacier, enjoying the look at, whilst floating downstream in an inflatable raft, with a number of surprises together the way.
Who’s it for?
The rapids are explained as “easy to moderate” this stretch of the river is graded 2+, with 1 being the gentlest and 6 getting the most intense, so signifies it is obtainable for most people today. No prior rafting experience is demanded, and young children from 11 years of age are welcome to participate. Just be prepared to get a very little little bit damp and a little cold… but it is all well worth it!
The place
Drumboddsstaðir – aka Drumbó River Foundation – is exactly where all Arctic Rafting’s rafting excursions start out and the house of their raft guides. It is 98 kilometres from Reykjavik and normally takes about 1.5 several hours by auto to get there from the cash. Drumbó is conveniently positioned on the route of the Golden Circle. The rafting takes put on the Hvítá River which arrives from the Langjökull glacier – the 2nd biggest glacier in Iceland – and makes Gullfoss, one particular of Iceland’s most iconic waterfalls.
What is integrated
The tour incorporates a river rafting practical experience down the river with an professional guidebook, in rafts that hold 8-10 individuals. All important rafting products is presented, and that includes wetsuit trousers and splash leading, life-jacket, neoprene shoes, helmet and paddle.
Also included is a go to to the famous Brúarhlöð canyon by way of the river, and a scorching shower and sauna just after the chilly river journey. If you wish, you can employ a GoPro with a Arctic Rafting-branded memory card currently loaded, which you get to continue to keep after the tour. Some of the helmets come with helmet mounts alternatively, you can mount the GoPro to the front of the boat (and pick to have it struggling with either forwards or backwards).
What to provide
All you need to have to convey is a bathing go well with (for use underneath your wetsuit), a towel (for the shower and sauna just after the rafting), a warm major layer to wear beneath the splash top… and a sense of experience!
The knowledge
Our encounter began with a briefing from Julia at the Drumbó River Base. We had been suggested that we could go away things like iPhones driving in the changing rooms because… effectively, they currently experienced their own. Almost everything was delivered in a enjoyment, jovial manner, while still having crucial protection information and facts throughout to us.
After we’d changed and grabbed a paddle, it was time to get on to a bus. Two buses headed down to the riverbank from the foundation, each pulling 4 rafts guiding them – a journey of most likely just 10 minutes or so.
We then had a second briefing by the river as the guides transported the rafts to the waters edge. We were talked through some simple basic safety actions, all over again all performed in a entertaining still skilled method. The paddle had to be held with your hand above the T-bar at the stop, normally we would conclusion up with faces like the guides. And we ended up explained to that the rope that operates all over the outdoors of the raft is identified as the “oh, shit!” line mainly because, if you are at any time locate by yourself falling out of the raft, you have to have to get it and will most most likely shout “oh, shit!” in the approach!
With the briefing about, absolutely everyone was place into groups and assigned a guide. We shared a raft with one more family members with two ladies, and our guidebook was Anshul. At to start with it was a really calm extend of h2o, and we just received used to paddling on Anshul’s command.
But, in advance of extended, we had been having on additional tough situations – rapids where by we remaining thrown about a little bit much more and splashed with icy chilly meltwater!
It was al fantastic fun, though… and, right after just one established of rapids, we appeared back again, only to find our guidebook was no longer sitting down on the again of the boat!
Anshul was in the water and experienced grabbed the “oh, shit!” line!!! At very first, we assumed he was just messing about… but he wasn’t. This experienced by no means took place to him just before, he said, as soon as he’d managed to clamber again on board.
Our journey continued down river, navigating rapids of different severity but never anything at all far too drastic, until we experienced a prevent on the river lender at Brúarhlöð canyon. This was a time when people could stretch their legs, take pleasure in the perspective and, if they so wished, do a cliff leap into the icy river!
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And, of course, we have been silly sufficient to give it a go. There was a mini-briefing for this – we were basically advised to form a queue if we preferred to do it and, when our time arrived, we have been not to dither… he would say “3… 2… 1… jump” and you should go there and then. This was basically a great strategy as it stopped folks around-contemplating it. The only other two items of tips had been to leap out as significantly as we could so as not to be close to the rocks, and to land like a pencil for a extra cozy landing.
As we neared our switch to jump, one particular of the guides checked our lifejackets to make certain it was limited and safe, so that it did not ‘ride up’ when hitting the drinking water.
Another stood by to say “3… 2… 1… jump”…
…and then there had been guides, creating positive that you swam to the edge soon after leaping.
With all those people who preferred to jump possessing jumped, it was back on to the rafts for extra enjoyable. There have been not numerous rapids, but a great deal of possibilities to lark about.
There was heaps of splashing, guides pulling individuals into the h2o, video games balacing on the inflatable sides of the raft, and so and so forth.
Other guides would connect with out “where’s your manual?” and we would search back again in alarm, only to see he was still there. We had been significantly gullible for this a single, offered that our manual had truly fallen out as soon as now!
Again at the river base, we experienced accessibility to incredibly hot showers and a sauna. Our next prevent following this journey was the Friðheimar tomato restaurant but Arctic Rafting also has its very own cafe and bar on website.
The full tour experienced been fantastic fun, and the guides definitely entertaining and partaking. It is a incredibly efficiently-operate procedure from begin to end and an encounter that we would heartily endorse.
Preparing a vacation to Iceland your self? You can check out a video from our vacation to Iceland in this article. Footage from our adventure with Arctic Rafting can be seen involving 2m 22s and 3m 30s.
