Þórsmörk by highland bus for the day

The highland bus is how a party without a proper 4x4 sees Þórsmörk, and the whole plan is on the operator's timetable. From the N1 station in Hvolsvöllur the bus leaves at 09:30, is at Básar at 11:00 and Langidalur at 11:15, and the first return leaves Langidalur at 14:30 to be back at Hvolsvöllur at 16:00. That is three hours and a quarter in the valley for 29,800 ISK return, which is enough for the climb of Valahnúkur above the Langidalur hut or a walk in the birch to Stakkholtsgjá and back. It suits a Hvolsvöllur night on the highlands journey, or a Reykjavík day with an early start; it does not suit anyone who wants a full day's walking unless the second bus is running.

The figures, read today on Trex's page: fares to or from Þórsmörk 14,900 ISK one way and 29,800 return from Hella or Hvolsvöllur, 15,900 and 31,800 from Reykjavík; children six to fifteen 20 per cent off one-way Reykjavík tickets with an adult, no discount from Hella or Hvolsvöllur. Bus 1 runs 20 June to 5 September: Reykjavík City Hall 07:30, Laugardalur campsite 07:45, Hella 09:10, Hvolsvöllur 09:30, Básar 11:00, Langidalur 11:15; return Langidalur 14:30, Básar 14:45, Hvolsvöllur 16:00, Hella 16:30, Reykjavík 18:00 and 18:15. Bus 2 runs 27 June to 24 August five hours later: Reykjavík 12:30, Hvolsvöllur 14:30, Langidalur 16:15; return 18:00 from Langidalur, Hvolsvöllur 19:30, Reykjavík 21:45. Bookings for 2027 are open for 18 June to 5 September. Changes need an e-mail at least 24 hours ahead and the schedule may change in a storm. At least one other company runs scheduled buses on this road and was not read today.

The arithmetic for the ledger: the sleep town is Hvolsvöllur on the highlands journey's first night. Door to door the day is the timetable, 09:30 to 16:00, 390 minutes, of which 195 are on the ground; add the 30-minute booking buffer and the valley costs that day 420 minutes. The Bus 1 out, Bus 2 back version is 09:30 to 19:30, 600 plus 30, with 405 on the ground. From Reykjavík the figure is 07:30 to 18:15, 645 plus 30. There is no detour to add: the bus is the detour.

The ride is part of it. The F249 leaves Route 1 beside Seljalandsfoss, runs under Eyjafjallajökull past Gígjökull, and fords the braided Krossá and its tributaries on the way in; the bus is high-clearance for that reason and the drivers read the rivers every morning.

#What goes wrong

The rivers, first. A warm day or rain raises the Krossá, and the timetable's own caveat is that it changes in a storm; the bus can turn round at the first ford and the fare is the operator's terms, which were not read today beyond the 24-hour change rule. Second, the window. Three hours and a quarter is fixed by the 14:30 bus; a party that is late to Langidalur spends the night in the hut or pays for Bus 2 if it is running. Third, the walking. Valahnúkur is short and steep and the summit ridge is exposed; the longer walks towards Fimmvörðuháls are for the people staying over.

Children under 135 cm cannot travel on the operator's Landmannalaugar service because the vehicles have no child seats; the Þórsmörk page read today does not state the rule, and it is worth asking before booking for small children.

#Alternatives on the same road

Driving to the car park at the Þórsmörk side of the Gígjökull lagoon on the first, bridged part of the F249 in a 4x4 gives a view of the valley without the fords and is not the same thing. Landmannalaugar, the other hut valley, has the same operator's bus, a longer walking window and its own page here. For a self-driven highland day the Kjölur route F35 is the gravel road without fords.

Practical line: fuel and a supermarket at the N1 in Hvolsvöllur; toilets at the Langidalur hut; no shop in the valley beyond the huts' small stock; phone signal is patchy past Gígjökull.

#Sources

Trex's Þórsmörk bus page, read 1 November 2026, for fares, season and the full timetable; FÍ's Langidalur page for the hut; safetravel.is for the river-crossing warning.