Arctic Adventures vs Tröll Expeditions
Choose Arctic Adventures for Iceland's largest operator footprint and Vakinn Gold certification.
Choose Tröll Expeditions for small-group Ring Road and glacier tours — but check recent reviews first.
| Feature | Arctic Adventures | Tröll Expeditions |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 (merger 2005) | 2016 |
| Tour types | Day tours: glacier walks, Silfra snorkeling, ice caves, snowmobiling | Small-group Ring Road tours, glacier hikes, Katla ice cave, super-jeep tours |
| Price per day | $50–$500* | Not verified‡ |
| Group size | Not verified‡ | Marketed as small-group† |
| Certification | Vakinn Gold (2025) | Not verified‡ |
| Scale | 200+ staff, 1M+ travelers/year | Not verified‡ |
* Approximate range, pending confirmation against adventures.is current pricing. † "Small-group" is the operator's own positioning; no verified group-size figure available. ‡ Not independently verified for Tröll Expeditions.
Tour Price
Arctic Adventures' day tours run in an approximate $50–$500 range, though this figure needs confirmation against current listed pricing. Tröll Expeditions' comparable day pricing is not independently verified.
Itinerary Composition
Arctic Adventures runs a broad single-day catalog spanning glacier walks, Silfra snorkeling, ice caves, and snowmobiling, backed by a large operational team (200+ staff) handling over a million travelers a year.
Tröll Expeditions runs a narrower, small-group-focused set of Ring Road tours, glacier hikes, and the Katla ice cave, plus super-jeep tours — a real comparison surfaced directly in a Tripadvisor thread weighing a 7-day Arctic Adventures tour (cheaper) against an 8-day Tröll Expeditions tour.
Reviews & Reputation
Arctic Adventures holds a Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice award (2022) and Vakinn Gold certification (2025). Tröll Expeditions, per guidetoiceland.is (2026 data), has recently declined in ranking following complaints raised on Facebook and Reddit — noted here neutrally, without speculating on the underlying cause.
Support & Languages
Arctic Adventures offers support in 4 languages (English, German, French, Chinese), with daily support hours of 7:00–22:30 GMT, per guidetoiceland.is. The same independent comparison lists Tröll Expeditions' daily support hours as 7:00–22:00 GMT — though Tröll's own site advertises "24-hour customer support," a discrepancy we're flagging rather than resolving in Tröll's favor. The number of languages Tröll supports isn't confirmed in any source we found.
"One traveler comparing a 7-day Arctic Adventures itinerary against an 8-day Tröll Expeditions trip found Arctic Adventures the cheaper option for a similar route."— paraphrased from the Tripadvisor thread "help me pick between these two group tours"
Which Operator for Which Traveler?
| Scenario | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Wants the largest, most established operator | Arctic Adventures (200+ staff, 1M+ travelers/year) |
| Wants a small-group Ring Road tour | Tröll Expeditions — but check recent reviews first |
| Prioritizes formal certification | Arctic Adventures (Vakinn Gold, 2025) |
| Comparing multi-day itineraries directly | See the real Tripadvisor 7-day vs 8-day comparison above |
FAQs
Which is cheaper, Arctic Adventures or Tröll Expeditions?
In the one directly comparable case we found — a 7-day Arctic Adventures tour versus an 8-day Tröll Expeditions tour — Arctic Adventures came out cheaper. A broader price comparison isn't possible without current list pricing for both.
Is Tröll Expeditions reliable right now?
Per guidetoiceland.is (2026 data), Tröll Expeditions has recently dropped in ranking following complaints on Facebook and Reddit. Worth checking current reviews before booking.
Does Arctic Adventures hold any formal certification?
Yes — Vakinn Gold level, as of 2025, Iceland's official tourism quality and environmental certification.
What support hours does each operator offer?
Arctic Adventures: daily 7:00–22:30 GMT, in 4 languages. Tröll Expeditions: an independent source lists 7:00–22:00 GMT, though Tröll's own site claims 24-hour support — we note both rather than picking one.
How old is each company?
Arctic Adventures traces to 1983, formalized via a 2005 merger. Tröll Expeditions was founded in 2016.