ATV Express Tour to Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck

A one-hour ATV ride across black sand on Iceland's South Coast to the Sólheimasandur plane wreck, with views of Dyrhólaey and Mýrdalsjökull glacier along the way.

• Ride an ATV across black sand plains on the South Coast
• Reach the well-known Sólheimasandur DC-3 plane wreck
• Views of Dyrhólaey and Mýrdalsjökull glacier along the way
• Full protective gear included
• A quick, easy-to-fit-in stop compared to the long walk to the wreck

Your day, stop by stop

2Safety briefing and gear-upFitted with a coverall, helmet and balaclava.

Your guide shows you how to control the ATV and explains the route ahead, and you are fitted with an insulated coverall, helmet and balaclava. The whole tour takes about an hour, including gear-up.

3Ride across the black sandATV ride across the plains, crossing small rivers.

You ride in a guided group across open black sand plains, crossing small rivers, with Dyrhólaey and the Mýrdalsjökull glacier visible in the distance. Drivers must be 17 or over with a full driver's licence, and passengers can ride from about age 8. The destination is the Sólheimasandur plane wreck.

Driver requirement · full driver's licence, age 17+Passenger age · from about 8 years old

4Sólheimasandur plane wreckThe wreck of a US Navy DC-3 that crashed on the beach in 1973.

On 21 November 1973 a US Navy Douglas Super DC-3 made an emergency landing on this flat black sand plain after icing caused engine trouble. All seven crew walked away unhurt, and the plane was stripped of anything of value and left where it landed. Wind, salt air and visitors have left the rusted hull you see today. The walk from the car park on Route 1 is about 4 kilometres each way across flat, exposed ground, so bring layers. A short stop at the wreck for photos, before riding back to base camp.

Tip · quicker than the roughly hour-long walk most visitors do on foot

Read our Sólheimasandur plane wreck guide →

About the ATV tour Sólheimasandur plane wreck

The DC-3 plane wreck on Sólheimasandur has become one of the South Coast's best-known photo stops, and this express tour is the fastest way to reach it. From Mýrdalsjökull Base Camp you ride an ATV out across black sand plains, crossing small rivers along the way, with Dyrhólaey and Mýrdalsjökull glacier visible in the distance.

The route is easy and suited to first-time riders, and your guide leads the group the whole way. Anyone driving must be at least 17 with a full driver's licence (learner permits and motorcycle-only licences don't count); passengers can be as young as 8 and ride behind a licensed driver.

Full protective gear, including an insulated coverall, helmet and balaclava, is provided over your own clothes, so you don't need special gear of your own. The whole outing, including gearing up and the ride out and back, takes about an hour.

• Solo rider fee (needed when booking an odd number of people)

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