2024 Iceland

Want to encounter the wonders of Iceland? Join other adventurous graduates, families, and friends of St. Olaf to trek across a dramatic landscape of volcanoes, geysers, and lava fields. Along the way we’ll savor some of the world’s freshest seafood, and soak in some of the most picturesque natural hot springs on the planet.

Highlights

• Photograph one of the most unique landscapes in the world, including breathtaking waterfalls, volcanoes, and lava fields.
• Walk along black sandy beaches.
• And then rejuvenate in a geothermal pool, including the iconic Blue Lagoon.
• Go on a 4×4 adventure along the rugged coastline, black sandy beaches, and mesmerizing cliffs.
• Laugh with new friends while you savor new dishes made with frsh, local ingredients.
• Get to know Icelandic culture, including medieval sagas and contemporary literature and film.

This trip is once again full! We encourage you to add your name to the waitlist at no obligation.

We’ll arrive in and depart from Reykjavik, with a farmhouse stay and multiple hikes in between. You can see the most up to date itinerary here.

You’ll get the most out of study travel if you research what to do during your free time. This allows you to reap the benefits of group travel, while also customizing the tour to your interests and activity level. Read more about How to Be an Independent Group Traveler.

Linda Mokdad teaches a broad range of film and literature courses and much of her research focuses on Hollywood, Arab cinemas, and contemporary world cinema. She has coedited The International Film Musical (with Corey Creekmur, Edinburgh University Press, 2012). In the classroom, she enjoys introducing her students to films that they might not normally seek out on their own. In her spare time, Mokdad loves to watch movies, travel the world, and while away the hours eating good food in dimly-lit rooms.

Björn Nordfjörd teaches courses on literature and film from around the world in addition to courses focusing specifically on American literature and cinema. These include subjects such as national tradition (Russian cinema, Nordic cinema, American novels), genres (the western, horror, and crime fiction) and authorship (Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman and Wong Kar-Wai). In the classroom he encourages students to be active participants and to evaluate course subjects in a cultural and social context. Most of his research and publications in English are devoted to Nordic cinema, while in Icelandic he has published extensively on U.S. and world cinema. Nordfjörd is an avid fan of the English football club Aston Villa, which, like St. Olaf, was founded in 1874.

Expect to be awestruck! This is an active program, with scheduled hikes/walks, frequently over uneven terrain. To fully participate, you should be capable of walking five to ten miles over the course of a day, of climbing stairs that may not have handrails, of climbing in and out of various types of transportation, of keeping pace with an active group of travelers on long days of traveling, of dealing with the emotional highs and lows that can occur when experiencing different cultures, and of traveling with a group for several hours each day.

See the itinerary above for summaries of each day’s hike.

Movement between cities will be by air-conditioned private motor coach. Movement within each city and at cultural/historic sites will be on foot, requiring a lot of walking and standing, often over uneven ground.

You will be responsible for your own luggage; traveling lightly is highly recommended.

Hotels will be tourist class (four-star or superior rating) with private baths, air conditioning, and English-speaking staff.

We recommend you be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including any recommended boosters for your age or health group, before departure. You should plan on seeing your family physician or a travel doctor at least four to six weeks prior to departure, preferably earlier, to talk about recommended vaccinations for this destination. For more information on travel health, visit cdc.gov or who.int.

The travel insurance included with your program fee covers illness overseas, including covid. You can read more, including the full FAQ and a Summary document, on our Travel Insurance page.

Inclusions and exclusions vary from tour to tour. Please read the following information carefully.

Inclusions The tour price is $6,441 per person. Based on double occupancy, it includes educational content from Linda and Björn, full-time hiking guides, accommodations, breakfast daily and group meals as listed on the itinerary, admissions for group activities, ground transportation during the tour except for airport transfers, gratuities to group guides, drivers, and meal servers, and some limited medical coverage while overseas. For single occupancy, add $1,069. 

Exclusions Airfare to and from Iceland is not included. Participants are solely responsible for all expenses not specifically included in the tour fee. Examples of excluded expenses are: airfare between your hometown and Iceland, transfers to/from your hometown airport, any passport fees, any recommended immunizations or vaccinations, baggage insurance, trip cancellation insurance above $2,000 lifetime coverage, beverages at most group meals, tips to housekeeping staff, laundry, dry cleaning, phone charges, room service or other items of a personal nature, expenses incurred during free time or non-group activities, lunch and dinner, unless specifically included on tour itinerary.

Special Pricing Note This tour has a higher per day price than our average from the last year. This is in part due to the smaller group size that’s necessary for a hiking trip (meaning fewer people to share static costs like motor coaches and staff) and in part due to the extra guides necessary for a hiking trip.

This schedule is based on payments St. Olaf College must make to vendors to guarantee group rates. We highly recommend that you purchase additional trip cancellation insurance at the time of registration to recover your payments should you need to withdraw from the tour. (Only a limited amount of trip cancellation coverage is included with the tour price and only for certain medical reasons. See more on our Travel Insurance page.)

Deposit due:                          $500 upon registration
Refund if you cancel:          Full refund ($500) until August 31, 2023. If the deposit is made after August 31, 2023, there is no refund.

Interim payment due:        $2,500 by September 1, 2023
Refund if you cancel:          $1,250 until February 29, 2024

Final payment due:             March 1, 2024
Refund if you cancel:          None, unless the program is full and your place can be resold

Cancellations must be in writing.

Make Your Final Payment

Start your learning before departure or keep fueling your interest after your return with the recommendations on this Resource List.

Read the Terms & Conditions and Release & Waiver.

Review the latest information on recommended immunizations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Check your passport: ensure that it has at least 6 months’ validity past the program return date. Should you need to renew, visit the U.S. Department of State for instructions.

Take time to Prepare for your adventure by checking out a variety of resources, including frequently asked questions, general health information, included travel insurance, safety overview, and more.

Hold the dates of June 1–9, 2024, but do not book non-refundable airfare until we can confirm the program is a go. Meanwhile, take a look at our tips on Booking Your Flights.