Sterna Travel Iceland
Sterna Travel Iceland
4.5
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We provide day tours for the Golden Circle, South Coast and Northern Lights tours. We can also make offers for specialized tours.
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Sterna Travel Iceland
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
1,520 reviews
Excellent
1,122
Very good
197
Average
81
Poor
52
Terrible
68
CatyGH
London, UK14 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
This trip was simply amazing from start till finish. It definitely helped that it was a beautiful day and the sun came out to play but every location we were taken to were beautiful. What made the trip even more amazing was Maria the guide and Bo the driver. Bo got us to each place very safely and always waiting for us patiently when we came back to the bus and to top it all off kept the bus nice and warm for us. Maria was simply amazing! She was very helpful, knowledgeable and funny. She made this trip a delight to be on, gave us great tips including how to save money back in the city and also was amazing at helping to take pictures for us at the secret lagoon. Thank you so much for your hospitality and welcoming us to your beautiful country. Highly recommended tour and guide!
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raimondo Taibi
London, UK13 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Amazing tour and excellent cultural bites from Bo and Diego. It’s an extremelly chilled and fun experience, no rush and flexible schedule plus the indulgence if you stay too long in a place and everyone’s waiting for you on the bus. Needless to say it’s all worth the money (I also did catch a black friday offer so even better).
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
norcalifnative
San Francisco Bay Area5 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
My husband and I were in Iceland for ten days in August and thoroughly enjoyed our trip.
We went on a number of tours from Reykjavik, one of which was particularly memorable. Sverrir was our capable, friendly and flexible guide on a 10-11 hour tour of Southern Iceland (with the smallish company, Saga tours).
Often the tour companies must drop off random folks at various locations (who will be glacier hiking, lava tube exploring, snowmobiling, etc) while ferrying others around on a much longer tour. They seem to do this seamlessly. Our tour was practically a private one after dropping a few couples off at a few locations on the way to amazing sightseeing in the south. The guides (we also took the Golden Circle tour with an engaging young female tour guide whose name now escapes me) are so knowledgeable and friendly. They are quite diplomatic if nobody talks (on one to our of about 5-6 couples from various countries nobody spoke to one another), but are "all ears" and love it when asked questions and also if the clients strike up conversations amongst one another. I would book with Saga in a minute and request Sverrir.
We went on a number of tours from Reykjavik, one of which was particularly memorable. Sverrir was our capable, friendly and flexible guide on a 10-11 hour tour of Southern Iceland (with the smallish company, Saga tours).
Often the tour companies must drop off random folks at various locations (who will be glacier hiking, lava tube exploring, snowmobiling, etc) while ferrying others around on a much longer tour. They seem to do this seamlessly. Our tour was practically a private one after dropping a few couples off at a few locations on the way to amazing sightseeing in the south. The guides (we also took the Golden Circle tour with an engaging young female tour guide whose name now escapes me) are so knowledgeable and friendly. They are quite diplomatic if nobody talks (on one to our of about 5-6 couples from various countries nobody spoke to one another), but are "all ears" and love it when asked questions and also if the clients strike up conversations amongst one another. I would book with Saga in a minute and request Sverrir.
Written September 12, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alexander M
Amsterdam, The Netherlands1 contribution
May 2020 • Couples
We made a booking for bustickets. As our holiday got cancelled due to my wife’s prengancy, we wanted to cancel the trip. According to the website, it is possible to cancel trips until 24hrs in advance.
We have tried to get in touch with the agency to cancel our tickets for over 8 weeks now. We tried sending multiple emails, calling the office, but we got no sign of life.
We understand that this is a difficult time for companies in the travel industry, but ignoring your customers for such a long time is for me unacceptable. We are not bothered about the money itself, but would just like to get a cancellation confirmation so we can reimburse it with our insurance.
We have tried to get in touch with the agency to cancel our tickets for over 8 weeks now. We tried sending multiple emails, calling the office, but we got no sign of life.
We understand that this is a difficult time for companies in the travel industry, but ignoring your customers for such a long time is for me unacceptable. We are not bothered about the money itself, but would just like to get a cancellation confirmation so we can reimburse it with our insurance.
Written May 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TennesseeGypsee
Tennessee350 contributions
Mar 2016
There are way too many day tours to choose Sterna Travel. We were looking for a Northern Lights tour with little notice and another tour guide recommened Sterna, telling us that "yes, they use the big bus, but they never fill it. Lots of room to stretch out, they are more like a small tour group." Nothing could be farther from the truth!
First, we were picked up in a small van. We knew the ploy of taking you to another location and transferring you to a huge bus. (Be aware of that if you prefer small tour groups.) So we went to another location, waited around for 30 minutes while two other buses left and ours was delayed. No explanation given. We set off in search of Northern Lights and through radio contact with other drivers, found a good sight. The Aurora Borealis was fabulous (I don't credit Sterna for that!).
Now here's the catch. We paid extra for "pick up" and with the other three tour companies we used in 10 days in Iceland, "pick up" included "drop off". Guess what? If Sterna picked you up in the van, they DO NOT DROP YOU BACK OFF. Apparently, if the big bus picked your party up, they dropped you back off. But if the little van picked you up, there is no plan for dropping you back to your original destination. When my husband asked the tour guide where we were going to be dropped off, she replied "pick the place closest to where you're staying. Just do your best." WHAT?!?! We had been in Reykjavik for 24 hours and we were supposed to know the closest place? We told her we had been picked up and asked why weren't we being dropped back off? Her response, "That's how we always do it." She was not terribly bright as she didn't realize that if you've never done the tour, and you are a tourist, how are you supposed to know that!?!
Our family of four was dropped off in the middle of town and had to walk 6 blocks at 1:30 in the morning!
I would never book with Sterna and cannot emphasize how important it is for you to do your research and skip this awful company.
First, we were picked up in a small van. We knew the ploy of taking you to another location and transferring you to a huge bus. (Be aware of that if you prefer small tour groups.) So we went to another location, waited around for 30 minutes while two other buses left and ours was delayed. No explanation given. We set off in search of Northern Lights and through radio contact with other drivers, found a good sight. The Aurora Borealis was fabulous (I don't credit Sterna for that!).
Now here's the catch. We paid extra for "pick up" and with the other three tour companies we used in 10 days in Iceland, "pick up" included "drop off". Guess what? If Sterna picked you up in the van, they DO NOT DROP YOU BACK OFF. Apparently, if the big bus picked your party up, they dropped you back off. But if the little van picked you up, there is no plan for dropping you back to your original destination. When my husband asked the tour guide where we were going to be dropped off, she replied "pick the place closest to where you're staying. Just do your best." WHAT?!?! We had been in Reykjavik for 24 hours and we were supposed to know the closest place? We told her we had been picked up and asked why weren't we being dropped back off? Her response, "That's how we always do it." She was not terribly bright as she didn't realize that if you've never done the tour, and you are a tourist, how are you supposed to know that!?!
Our family of four was dropped off in the middle of town and had to walk 6 blocks at 1:30 in the morning!
I would never book with Sterna and cannot emphasize how important it is for you to do your research and skip this awful company.
Written March 16, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Guest,
Thank you for taking the time and writing this review.
I complete understand your disappointment with the service you received. I can assure you that this is not the service level that we strive to offer and therefor we take your complain very seriously. Thank you again for writing and we appreciate all feed back good or bad. I sincerely hope that should you visit Iceland again, that you will give us another chance and please feel free to contact me directly.
Your sincerely
Björk Ormardóttir
Written March 18, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Craig A
Melbourne, Australia139 contributions
Dec 2019
The night we went out it was clear, but like everything said about the northern lights, nothing is 100% guaranteed. We went out in a large coach holding about 50 people. We stopped at one brief location, but moved on 10 minutes after. We ended up out of town next to a church with quite a few overhead street lights in the background. The view of the northern lights wasn't the best, but apparently this was the best view we could get. The organiser didn't want to move on to another location. My question is why couldn't we go somewhere more dark??? The street lights glow is in nearly every pic I have! I thought companies were meant to go to totally dark areas? (that was my perception). This is why I've only rated this very low.
Written December 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
George S
Las Vegas, NV68 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
Bottom Line: You should try to see the Northern Lights if you're in Iceland. Check the aurora forecasts. A kp of 3 or higher will be best. But book with another company.
Seeing the northern lights is a literal crap shoot each night because of the geomagnetic strength that will create the aurora, as well as the incessant Icelandic cloud cover. That said, this particular company, Sterna, seems to be struggling with it.
First, we did not have the guide named Ragnar, who many have complained about. We had a guide/driver whose name was Freikol(?). He was supposed to be a cloud guru and pied piper of the northern lights, but he fell quite short.
We ended up on the southern peninsula, past the airport (an hour plus drive) near a lighthouse. Did we see the northern lights? Yes, but to define "see".....we saw gray color in the sky which weren't clouds. Our driver/guide took pictures with his camera which showed this gray color as green.
He said we would all be emailed pictures that he took. Almost a week later, I'm still waiting for that email. That was a lie.
I did the same with my phone using the settings he provided. They were the northern lights, but not anything like one sees in the advertising for them.
The lighthouse made it difficult because we weren't in total darkness.
It was very underwhelming.
As the clouds closed over our viewing point, we moved to another spot that was actually CLOSER to the lighthouse. The aforementioned bus guided by Ragnar joined us there. You can read those reviews under this one.
We were given our hot chocolate and donut (which we basically paid double the price for) as we stood by the ocean, next to the lighthouse as it snowed.
Our driver/guide coaxed us back into the bus to try to find a hole in the clouds along the coast. But the snow didn't stop and he mercifully just drove us back to Reykjavik instead of wasting more of our time.
Seatbelts on buses are mandatory in Iceland. Mine was rigged in the back seat in a manner that I couldn't fasten it. The same happened to a woman opposite me. The driver sped over a massive speed bump and caused me to crack my skull on the top of the bus and hurt my neck in the process. The same happened to the woman on the other side. Thankfully, I had no lasting damage from it. It's tough to follow the seatbelt law when the seatbelt is literally tied to bus and unusable.
Because we technically "saw" the northern lights, we weren't offered another chance. We couldn't have gone another night anyway as it's a major time commitment and puts you behind on sleep for tours the following day. And I wouldn't have wanted to go out again with this crew.
Seeing the northern lights is a literal crap shoot each night because of the geomagnetic strength that will create the aurora, as well as the incessant Icelandic cloud cover. That said, this particular company, Sterna, seems to be struggling with it.
First, we did not have the guide named Ragnar, who many have complained about. We had a guide/driver whose name was Freikol(?). He was supposed to be a cloud guru and pied piper of the northern lights, but he fell quite short.
We ended up on the southern peninsula, past the airport (an hour plus drive) near a lighthouse. Did we see the northern lights? Yes, but to define "see".....we saw gray color in the sky which weren't clouds. Our driver/guide took pictures with his camera which showed this gray color as green.
He said we would all be emailed pictures that he took. Almost a week later, I'm still waiting for that email. That was a lie.
I did the same with my phone using the settings he provided. They were the northern lights, but not anything like one sees in the advertising for them.
The lighthouse made it difficult because we weren't in total darkness.
It was very underwhelming.
As the clouds closed over our viewing point, we moved to another spot that was actually CLOSER to the lighthouse. The aforementioned bus guided by Ragnar joined us there. You can read those reviews under this one.
We were given our hot chocolate and donut (which we basically paid double the price for) as we stood by the ocean, next to the lighthouse as it snowed.
Our driver/guide coaxed us back into the bus to try to find a hole in the clouds along the coast. But the snow didn't stop and he mercifully just drove us back to Reykjavik instead of wasting more of our time.
Seatbelts on buses are mandatory in Iceland. Mine was rigged in the back seat in a manner that I couldn't fasten it. The same happened to a woman opposite me. The driver sped over a massive speed bump and caused me to crack my skull on the top of the bus and hurt my neck in the process. The same happened to the woman on the other side. Thankfully, I had no lasting damage from it. It's tough to follow the seatbelt law when the seatbelt is literally tied to bus and unusable.
Because we technically "saw" the northern lights, we weren't offered another chance. We couldn't have gone another night anyway as it's a major time commitment and puts you behind on sleep for tours the following day. And I wouldn't have wanted to go out again with this crew.
Written February 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
humphreys38
Falmouth, UK7 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
This company appear to be good or bad depending on which staff members are on, we booked the mothers lights tour based on a recommendation from the information centre suggesting they are more trustworthy and the website saying that they don't cram you into a 65 plus person bus.
Well it wasn't crammed but it was at least a 50 person coach and there were three of them in convoy. So not really personal of flexible at all. We are supposed to leave at 2100, the rating for the lights were good but cloud was coming in fast around 2130, the bus picks us up on time and the driver is driving very fast to pick up his passengers, I am thinking nice this guy is on a mission although he is texting and reading his list whilst ramming speed bumps at full pelt, then we arrive at the Central hall to "go in, get ticket!" So in we go come back out and get on our coach again, now we wait like 45 minutes whilst the drivers appear to argue about something and finally leave at 2115, late but I think hood we are going and he drives with similar pace, but to our surprise he is picking up more people all round Reykjavík. , three more groups are picked up and we finally leave at 2125 , cloud has now come in so I am pretty annoyed, they haven't told us a word yet about wat is happening so we're are all praying we are not going to pick up more people. We eventually hear from an old geography teacher looking guy at the front who tells us we are going to look for lights away from light pollution and have a donut and coco, and be home around 1230, plus a quick description of nothern lights from his papers in front of him. We arrive less then 6 mins outside of the city at a car park, doors open the both get out and we are left unsure what to do, we eventually leave the coach to see what is happening thinking they must be plotting where to go but realise this is it. The lights of the city are lighting up the sky as though the fun is still setting so we are unsure what the hell is going on. We see a smudge above us and are told it's the lights??? Mayb, we get back on the bus as the cloud block out the Sky and again don't no what is happening. We are driven 5 mins to the lake just outside Reykjavik where our driver reverses backwards and forewords about 10 times trying to some fort of manoeuvre and the guides look like they are arguing??, the driver mid manoeuvre just points out the window and says lights, we all get out of the bus quickly to see them and they are good to be fair, we are however standing in the middle of road and are told be careful it's dangerous. The only photography advice offered was turn flash of, the donut was a dry thing clearly bought in bulk and the hot coco was alright. We watched 40 mins of green lights which were good and then when they died down we got back on the bus because we were cold not because of direction. We were then taken back to the city again without any talking from the "guide".
Overall, the nothern lights were prob by chance than by "hunting", the guides as they were called just looked like they were arguing. The driver was pretty much dangerous and we had no idea what was going on. The guides may have been trying really hard to decide where to go but they didn't coomunicate with us at all, we basically were driven 5 mins out of the city where we could still see light pollution and appear to have been lucky. I have no idea wat the other trips were like so this may gave been good in comparison but I think £30 per person could be better spent on a taxi to and from the car park or lake or where ever the taxi guy thinks. Or mayb just rent a car if there is more then 2 of you and pop out of the city n the main roads ?
Well it wasn't crammed but it was at least a 50 person coach and there were three of them in convoy. So not really personal of flexible at all. We are supposed to leave at 2100, the rating for the lights were good but cloud was coming in fast around 2130, the bus picks us up on time and the driver is driving very fast to pick up his passengers, I am thinking nice this guy is on a mission although he is texting and reading his list whilst ramming speed bumps at full pelt, then we arrive at the Central hall to "go in, get ticket!" So in we go come back out and get on our coach again, now we wait like 45 minutes whilst the drivers appear to argue about something and finally leave at 2115, late but I think hood we are going and he drives with similar pace, but to our surprise he is picking up more people all round Reykjavík. , three more groups are picked up and we finally leave at 2125 , cloud has now come in so I am pretty annoyed, they haven't told us a word yet about wat is happening so we're are all praying we are not going to pick up more people. We eventually hear from an old geography teacher looking guy at the front who tells us we are going to look for lights away from light pollution and have a donut and coco, and be home around 1230, plus a quick description of nothern lights from his papers in front of him. We arrive less then 6 mins outside of the city at a car park, doors open the both get out and we are left unsure what to do, we eventually leave the coach to see what is happening thinking they must be plotting where to go but realise this is it. The lights of the city are lighting up the sky as though the fun is still setting so we are unsure what the hell is going on. We see a smudge above us and are told it's the lights??? Mayb, we get back on the bus as the cloud block out the Sky and again don't no what is happening. We are driven 5 mins to the lake just outside Reykjavik where our driver reverses backwards and forewords about 10 times trying to some fort of manoeuvre and the guides look like they are arguing??, the driver mid manoeuvre just points out the window and says lights, we all get out of the bus quickly to see them and they are good to be fair, we are however standing in the middle of road and are told be careful it's dangerous. The only photography advice offered was turn flash of, the donut was a dry thing clearly bought in bulk and the hot coco was alright. We watched 40 mins of green lights which were good and then when they died down we got back on the bus because we were cold not because of direction. We were then taken back to the city again without any talking from the "guide".
Overall, the nothern lights were prob by chance than by "hunting", the guides as they were called just looked like they were arguing. The driver was pretty much dangerous and we had no idea what was going on. The guides may have been trying really hard to decide where to go but they didn't coomunicate with us at all, we basically were driven 5 mins out of the city where we could still see light pollution and appear to have been lucky. I have no idea wat the other trips were like so this may gave been good in comparison but I think £30 per person could be better spent on a taxi to and from the car park or lake or where ever the taxi guy thinks. Or mayb just rent a car if there is more then 2 of you and pop out of the city n the main roads ?
Written November 4, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason K
Bonaire, GA19 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
My wife and I booked the Glacier Snowmobile and Waterfalls Tour through Sterna Travel before our departure for Iceland; including as listed on their website pickup/drop off at our Reykjavik hotel, Super Jeep ride, glacier snowmobile tour, and 2 waterfalls.
The day started off with a large Sterna tour bus picking us up from our hotel right on time, we were the first pick up and went along for the 30 min ride while they picked up everyone else before heading to their main office at the Harpa Concert Hall. Upon arrival at their main office, the guide on our bus announced for those that needed to use the toilets or that still needed to pay for their tour to go inside. There were no other directions given, leaving us to sit on the bus for 15 min before another tour guide got on looking for us because we were supposed to transfer to a smaller tour bus that was in the parking lot and they were waiting on us to leave. About 2 hours after we got going on the correct bus we stopped at a large gas station to use the toilets and grab some food, then about 15 mins later we stopped by the side of the road to drop off the passengers who had booked a glacier hiking tour before continuing on to the Arcanum snowmobile center (Sterna only provides the transportation to/from, Arcanum provides the actual snowmobile/Super Jeep tours for many different tour companies).
Once we arrived at Arcanum, there were no directions given for about 30 min while, as we found out later, they were waiting on other tour groups to show up. After they got us suited up in coveralls and helmets we went outside where they gave a quick and adequate lesson on snowmobile operation and riding techniques. Immediately there were massive problems with too many people on the tour at one time; specifically there were too many inexperienced drivers who didn't pay attention to the instructions on how to operate/ride the snowmobiles. Just trying to leave the base camp, the guides had to stop multiple drivers because they were breaking at the same time they were giving it gas and throughout the tour there was an incredible amount of rolled over snowmobiles which caused us to sit idle on the trail quite frequently waiting either for people ahead of us who had wrecked/overturned to upright their snowmobile or for people behind us to catch up because they had wrecked/overturned.
When we were done snowmobiling, one of the other Sterna guests asked specifically about the super jeep portion that we all booked and we were told that we only paid for snowmobiling, not for a super jeep ride also, further stating we only paid for one or the other not both. All of the tour guests were very confused because the description for the tour we booked on Sterna’s website said it included a "One hour super jeep transport to the glacier" and "One hour snowmobile ride that takes you to the top of the glacier." However, at no time were we provided a ride in a Super Jeep as expected and paid for. I contacted Sterna Travel after the tour requesting a partial refund of the tour fee my wife and I paid due to this false advertising and their failure to fully provide the tour that was purchased. Furthermore, I requested that they either correct their website so that it no longer says a Super Jeep ride is included or start providing the Super Jeep portion as described. Sterna Travel (employee, Tara Ósk) responded saying that heavy snow prevented the super jeep portion so we were compensated by getting a prolonged snowmobile tour. But their answer contradicted what we saw during the snowmobile tour, a super jeep coming down the glacier as we went up on the snowmobiles. So clearly the snow was not too heavy for operation of the super jeeps. The total time we were on the snowmobiles was extended but only because of the problems I mentioned above. I emailed Sterna Travel again 2 weeks ago and still have not received a response. I cannot recommend Sterna Travel tours based on their deception and their failure to respond or offer a solution to rectify this problem in an expedient and satisfactory manner.
The day started off with a large Sterna tour bus picking us up from our hotel right on time, we were the first pick up and went along for the 30 min ride while they picked up everyone else before heading to their main office at the Harpa Concert Hall. Upon arrival at their main office, the guide on our bus announced for those that needed to use the toilets or that still needed to pay for their tour to go inside. There were no other directions given, leaving us to sit on the bus for 15 min before another tour guide got on looking for us because we were supposed to transfer to a smaller tour bus that was in the parking lot and they were waiting on us to leave. About 2 hours after we got going on the correct bus we stopped at a large gas station to use the toilets and grab some food, then about 15 mins later we stopped by the side of the road to drop off the passengers who had booked a glacier hiking tour before continuing on to the Arcanum snowmobile center (Sterna only provides the transportation to/from, Arcanum provides the actual snowmobile/Super Jeep tours for many different tour companies).
Once we arrived at Arcanum, there were no directions given for about 30 min while, as we found out later, they were waiting on other tour groups to show up. After they got us suited up in coveralls and helmets we went outside where they gave a quick and adequate lesson on snowmobile operation and riding techniques. Immediately there were massive problems with too many people on the tour at one time; specifically there were too many inexperienced drivers who didn't pay attention to the instructions on how to operate/ride the snowmobiles. Just trying to leave the base camp, the guides had to stop multiple drivers because they were breaking at the same time they were giving it gas and throughout the tour there was an incredible amount of rolled over snowmobiles which caused us to sit idle on the trail quite frequently waiting either for people ahead of us who had wrecked/overturned to upright their snowmobile or for people behind us to catch up because they had wrecked/overturned.
When we were done snowmobiling, one of the other Sterna guests asked specifically about the super jeep portion that we all booked and we were told that we only paid for snowmobiling, not for a super jeep ride also, further stating we only paid for one or the other not both. All of the tour guests were very confused because the description for the tour we booked on Sterna’s website said it included a "One hour super jeep transport to the glacier" and "One hour snowmobile ride that takes you to the top of the glacier." However, at no time were we provided a ride in a Super Jeep as expected and paid for. I contacted Sterna Travel after the tour requesting a partial refund of the tour fee my wife and I paid due to this false advertising and their failure to fully provide the tour that was purchased. Furthermore, I requested that they either correct their website so that it no longer says a Super Jeep ride is included or start providing the Super Jeep portion as described. Sterna Travel (employee, Tara Ósk) responded saying that heavy snow prevented the super jeep portion so we were compensated by getting a prolonged snowmobile tour. But their answer contradicted what we saw during the snowmobile tour, a super jeep coming down the glacier as we went up on the snowmobiles. So clearly the snow was not too heavy for operation of the super jeeps. The total time we were on the snowmobiles was extended but only because of the problems I mentioned above. I emailed Sterna Travel again 2 weeks ago and still have not received a response. I cannot recommend Sterna Travel tours based on their deception and their failure to respond or offer a solution to rectify this problem in an expedient and satisfactory manner.
Written January 11, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When Tara talked to Arcanum, there was a misunderstanding. The length of the jeep ride depends on how far up the mountain they need to go to reach ice and as heavy snow reaches all the way down to the cabins it is not necessary to use any transport and the snowmobiles are kept by the cabins. We understand your complaint as it is said on our and Arcanum website that there is a Super jeep transport up to the glacier. We used Arcanum's text and we did not know better. We have now removed the clause about the jeep transport from our website. As your complaint is understandable we have arranged for a partial refund of the tour price.
Sorry again for the late reply and I hope that you had a good time here in Iceland.
Written January 23, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Malgorzata
12,085 contributions
Nov 2018
The guide was really good and gave us loads of information. It was a really long night. We all wanted to see the aurora and we were really determined.At the first location we were'nt successful.With the second we were lucky to catch the Nothern Lights. It was truly cool, and also was very, very cold. Wear all your clothes, take a hat and gloves and thick socks . If you want to take photos you will need a tripod , because any kind of movement ruins your picture. However it was difficult to get some pictures, because we were all frozen. Thanks for hot cocoa, kleinur and blankets we got on this trip. I would most definitely recpmmend this trip to everyone. It was amazing.
Written September 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you Margo for a wonderful review! I am really happy that you have seen the Lights. I am glad that you had that chance with us! You are more than welcome to join any of our tours in the future :) Thank you!
Written October 16, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We would like to cancel our booking. We have tried to get in touch with you via email for over 8 weeks, but have not received any reply. How can we get in touch with you?
Written May 22, 2020
On 27th March, I cancelled my tour and till today I did not get my refund. You did not answer on emails, instagram messages. Are you fraud agency under trip advisor? Incredeible! Is this advertisement for tourism in Iceland and honest people there?
Written April 22, 2020
When can we expect our refund, feel others have had theirs without any problems. Have tried emailing you but have had no response.
Written February 27, 2020
Dear Lynn,
Thank you for your feedback.
You are not eligible for a refund as you joined the tour on Feb. 20th.
Best regards,
Sterna Travel
Written February 28, 2020
Hi,
I want to do the golden circle and secret lagoon trip on Wednesday. Do you pick up from bus stop 3 by the hard rock cafe? Also will the trip run with heavy snow forecast?
Thanks,
Andy
Written December 3, 2019
Hihi
Sorry for the late reply.
Normally we do pick up from spot nr.3.
unfortunately Wednesday 11th we have cancelled that trip due to the severe weather warnings. Hopefully you'll be able to join us on Thursday :)
Written December 10, 2019
How can I change my booking of the Deluxe Northern Lights small group by minibus tour from Friday, Nov.22, 2019 to Monday, Nov.25, 2019.
Frances Cohen
Written November 16, 2019
Dear Frances, Thank you kindly for contacting Sterna. You could ask Viator do move the booking or have us move the booking in our system to the 25th.
We can move it in our system to November 25th but the viator booking will still state November 22nd.
Kind regards,
Gunnar Friðrik.
Written November 17, 2019
I have already booked the Deluxe Northern Lights small group by minibus tour for Friday, Nov.22, 22019.. I need to change the date to Monday, Nov.25. 2019. How can I do this?
Frances Cohen
Written November 16, 2019
We had to change our tour date also .We contacted them and changed it without any problems.
Written November 22, 2019
¿Cuál es la mejor época del año para ver la Aurora Boreal?
Written June 24, 2019
Hi, we are 2 persons we would like to book some tours on 1 and 2 of february.
Will we be able to do it directly from there in those days?
Written January 7, 2019
Is the golden circle trip difficult for over 60 year people?
Written July 11, 2017
No, there is not alot of walking - just a bit at the waterfall.
Written July 23, 2017
Hi I have booked an all day Golden circle tour for 24 November for two ( my husband's birthday surprise trip but i realise i really wanted to include the secret lagoon in this trip but the full day mini bus tour day tour doesn't include the secret lagoon ,is there any way i can change the whole day trip to a golden ciecle tour that includes the secret lagoon? We arrive next tuesday 22nd and would like to go on 24th or 23 rd november . Thank you in advance, Margaret Mitchell
Written November 18, 2016
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