There are a lot of tours on offer in Iceland… Perhaps even too many…

But as someone who works in tourism and often get’s to trial some of these tours I definitely cannot complain about the variety. Especially when I get to go on a Game of Thrones tour!

So on a cold winters day I ventured north of the wall with Gray Line Iceland and visited some of the locations across Iceland that are home to those outrageously scenic sets on that outrageously popular fantasy series that has taken TV violence to the next level.

Now I have done a fair share of bus tours around Iceland and although they are often great they do tend to be very repetitive in terms of Icelandic facts and commentary. Although I originally put my headphones in to get through the early start to that winter’s day I immediately found myself packing them deep into my bag when I realised how entertaining our guide was going to be that day. Having been an extra in the series himself he not only had a fair share of inside goss and knowledge, he was also hilarious (and dressed in an awesome Game of Thrones themed get-up).

The day included a number of stops in gorgeous off-the-regular-tourist-trail locations (which can be kind of rare in Iceland these days). Some of the scenes that featured in the stops for the day were the Bloody Gate setting (which is actually the continental split between the North American and European tectonic plates), and small farming village from the series which featured a particularly gruesome massacre, which is actually a settlement Era Viking Lodge in Þjórsárdalur valley.

One of the more surprising things I learnt through the tour was that they filmed scenes not only in winter but also in summer. Apparently the producers of Game of Thrones fell in love with the incredibly diverse landscapes and some of the most warm-looking scenes in the show were surprisingly filmed here.

As for the most interesting gossip I learnt, well – you’ll have to do the Icelandic Game of Thrones tour yourself and find out.