Reykjavik: 2-Hour Imagine Peace Tower Tour

GYG

Reykjavik: 2-Hour Imagine Peace Tower Tour

★ 4.4(45 reviews)

• Guide works in English
• Duration per the operator: 2 hours

from $131

See dates, price and what is included at the operator

A two-hour boat trip to the Imagine Peace Tower

This tour leaves from Reykjavik's old harbour and runs for two hours, heading out into Faxafloi bay toward the island of Videy. The destination is the Imagine Peace Tower, the memorial Yoko Ono dedicated to John Lennon, which lights up each year between Lennon's birthday in October and his death in December. The tour is run by Elding Adventure at Sea, a company that normally operates whale-watching trips, and it is conducted in English. It is a small-group trip, so you are not one of a large crowd on deck. The price starts at 131 USD. Hotel pickup is not part of the deal, so you make your own way to the departure point in the city centre. The tour suits travellers who want to see the tower from the water rather than from land, and who are comfortable with a short boat ride in Icelandic weather.

Photographs from the operator Elding Adventure at Sea. They show the listing, not your day.

What the price covers and what it does not

The entry price of from 131 USD covers the boat journey out to Videy and back, with a guide on board who speaks English. The tower itself is the point of the trip, and there is no admission charge or parking fee at any of the places on the itinerary. The operator offers free cancellation, though no deadline for it is given. Hotel pickup is explicitly not included, which puts this tour in a minority within its category: only two other listings in the same group of 24 say the same. You arrange your own transport to the harbour. The operator does not sell any extras for this trip, so there is nothing to add on the day beyond what you have already paid. The price is at the higher end for this kind of attraction in Reykjavik, ranking 17th of 24 in its category by cost.

What a 4.4 score from 45 reviews is worth

The rating stands at 4.4 out of 5, but the number behind it is small. Only 45 people have left a review, which is far fewer than the thousands behind comparable attractions in Reykjavik. The Perlan experience, for instance, has 4,085 reviews, and the LAVA SHOW has 4,030. With 45 reviews, the score is a thin sample. It tells you the tour works well for the people who have taken it, but it does not carry the weight of a figure built on hundreds or thousands of responses. In its category of 24 attraction tickets, this tour ranks 14th by number of reviews, which is below the middle of the group. The price, however, is high: it ranks 17th of 24 by cost, putting it among the most expensive 29 percent of its category. You are paying a premium for a short, specific experience, and the review count does not give you a strong statistical basis for expecting a flawless trip.

When the season suits a two-hour boat ride

The tower is lit only from October 9 to December 8 each year, so the tour runs in that window. That places it in the coldest months of the year in Reykjavik. Average highs in October are 8 degrees, dropping to 5 in November and 3 in December, with lows hovering around freezing from November onward. The trip is only two hours, which limits how long you are exposed to the cold, but you should expect wind on the water. The daylight is short in these months: by December, the sun is low and the light fades early, so the tour's timing matters. The tower is best seen in darkness, which works in your favour in late autumn and early winter. If you take the tour early in the season in October, you will have more daylight and milder air; by December, you are looking at a cold, dark outing that is atmospheric but brisk.

Arriving at the harbour and what happens on the water

You meet the boat at Reykjavik's old harbour, the usual departure point for Elding's vessels. There is no hotel pickup, so you arrive on your own. The boat is staffed by the crew and the English-speaking guide. The crossing to Videy is short, but the bay can be rough, so the weather plays a role in whether the trip runs as planned. The tower itself is on the island, and you view it from the water. The guide explains the history of the memorial and its connection to Lennon and Ono. There are no facilities on Videy that matter for this trip, since you do not land. The return journey brings you back to the harbour after the two hours are up. If the sea is calm, the ride is straightforward; if the wind picks up, it can be choppy, and the open deck offers no shelter.

Who this tour suits and who should choose something else

This is a tour for travellers who want a specific memorial experience rather than a broad introduction to Reykjavik's attractions. It suits fans of Lennon or Ono, and anyone who wants to see the tower from the bay at night. It is not for people who get seasick easily, since the boat ride is the core of the trip. It is also not for those who want a land-based view of the tower, since the tour stays on the water. If you prefer a conventional indoor attraction with a large body of reviews behind it, the Perlan Wonders of Iceland Experience runs for the same two hours and costs from 57 USD, with a 4.7 rating from over 4,000 reviews. That is a better bet if you want a well-tested, cheaper option. This boat tour is the pricier, more weather-dependent choice, and it is best taken by someone who knows exactly why they want to see the tower.

GYG

Reykjavik: 2-Hour Imagine Peace Tower Tour

Dates, remaining places and the current version of what is included are at the operator. This page reflects the state of the catalogue, not the state of this morning.

from $131

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