Beyond Studlagil Canyon: puffins, reindeer and day trips
A cruise call at Seyðisfjörður usually means one day ashore, and the canyon is only one way to spend it. Stuðlagil, which English listings often spell Studlagil, competes with a puffin colony at Borgarfjörður eystri and with the only wild reindeer in the country. This guide lines up those other days with what each one leaves out, then helps you choose if you only get one.
One day ashore, more than one good plan
Whichever outing you pick, the operator works back from your ship's departure, and a canyon day fills 5–7 hours. That leaves room for one big outing on a cruise call, not two, so the choice comes down to what you most want to see. If basalt columns over a glacial river top your list, start with Studlagil from the Seyðisfjörður cruise port. If you came hoping for birds or animals, the options below give up the canyon in exchange.
Puffins at Borgarfjörður eystri
The puffin colony the day tours visit is at Borgarfjörður eystri, a small fjord village northeast of Egilsstaðir, where the islet of Hafnarhólmi has a viewing platform. Atlantic puffins nest there roughly from mid April to mid August. Outside that window a puffin tour loses its main reason to go.
BusTravel Iceland's Puffin and Gufufoss tour, from ~$224, is the same operator's alternative to its canyon excursion. It lasts 5 hours on a coach of up to 59, with Gufufoss on the way. Its catch is plain, since it never goes near Stuðlagil, and the puffins only show up in season. Magic Iceland Travel's Puffins, Reindeer and Waterfall day out, from ~$247, packs more into 6 hours. Besides the puffins it stops at a reindeer park, at Álfaborg (the "elf rock") and at a village with a turf house and a small church, then at Gufufoss. The catch is the same missing canyon, plus a coach of up to 57, and the listing warns that toilets on the way may cost a small fee.
Reindeer, wild and in a park
East Iceland is the only part of the country where wild reindeer live. They were brought over from Norway in the 1700s, but wild herds are never guaranteed from a coach window, and no tour here promises them. The dependable way to meet one is a reindeer park.
Magic Iceland Travel's Hidden Stuðlagil Canyon and Reindeer tour, from ~$212, combines the park with the canyon. Its itinerary gives about an hour at Stuðlagil and about 40 minutes at the reindeer park, admission included, where reviewers describe feeding and petting the animals. Rjúkandi and Gufufoss get about 20 minutes each, and a "local surprise" rounds it off. The catch is that single canyon hour on a coach of up to 57, which leaves little time to walk far. A reviewer of Tanni Travel's small-group hike, from ~$328, also met reindeer on the day, though that listing does not promise it.
Columns in the morning, reindeer after
Magic Iceland Travel's 6-hour day from the port pairs about an hour at the canyon with about 40 minutes in a reindeer park, plus short stops at two waterfalls, from ~$212. You can cancel free until 24 hours before and pay later.
Hengifoss and Lagarfljót by car
With a rental car from Egilsstaðir, a different day opens up. Hengifoss, one of Iceland's highest waterfalls at 128 m (about 420 feet), drops past bands of red clay between layers of basalt in Fljótsdalur, near the long lake of Lagarfljót. The walk up from the car park takes about 40–60 minutes, and on the way up you pass Litlanesfoss in its own frame of columns, the nearest rival to the canyon in our look at Iceland's other column sites. No tour on this site goes there, so it suits a self-drive day, perhaps with the canyon on the same trip. Driving to Studlagil on your own covers the roads, and the waterfalls on the way to Studlagil describes each fall. A soak at the Vök Baths near Egilsstaðir makes an easy end to that drive.
A slow day in Seyðisfjörður
The cheapest choice costs nothing. Seyðisfjörður is a small town at the head of its fjord, with the painted Rainbow Road leading to the blue church and more art than you would expect in a place its size. A few hours on foot there carries no risk of missing the ship. The catch is that you see none of the inland valleys. BusTravel's canyon excursion also swings past the Rainbow Road on the way back if time allows, which gives you a taste of the town without giving up the canyon.
How the options compare
| Day out | From | Hours | Stuðlagil | Puffins | Reindeer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BusTravel canyon and Gufufoss (our pick) | ~$224 | 5 | About an hour | No | No |
| Tanni hike and Vök Baths | ~$407 | 7 | East-side walk to the river | No | No |
| Magic canyon and reindeer | ~$212 | 6 | About an hour | No | Park, about 40 min |
| BusTravel puffins and Gufufoss | ~$224 | 5 | No | In season | No |
| Magic puffins, reindeer and waterfall | ~$247 | 6 | No | In season | Park |
| Seyðisfjörður on foot | Free | Your choice | No | No | No |
Puffin season runs roughly mid April to mid August, so from late August the puffin tours lose their headline and a canyon day looks stronger. Late summer is also when the river through the canyon can turn gray, though, and when the river runs turquoise explains why.
Choosing on a one-day call
- You came for the columns. Book a canyon tour, and use the canyon hike, east side or west side to choose between the walk to the river and the platforms;
- You came for puffins. In season, BusTravel's or Magic's puffin day. Out of season, neither;
- You want some of everything. Magic's canyon and reindeer day puts both in one outing, with two waterfalls between, at the cost of a short canyon stop;
- You have a car and two days. The canyon one day, Hengifoss and the baths the next. What a Studlagil Canyon tour costs helps weigh a tour against a rental;
- You like to know the backstory. How the canyon formed and why it stayed hidden makes the drive through Jökuldalur more interesting.
Whichever day you pick, the weather is the same mix of sun and showers, so read what to wear and bring for the canyon before you pack.