Paradise up north, Disney style
Theódórsson likes to have fun on his trips.
Júlíus Freyr Theódórsson is a guide at Adventures By Disney in Iceland. Júlíus gets to work on what he likes most, and he says that the Northern part of Iceland frequently stands out for his guests.
Theódórsson describes the role of tour guide in Disney as a 24/7 job, and he participates in all the adventures of his guests. “These are trips where generations travel together, children and grandparents. They buy the ride through Disney, and here we are, welcoming them. We show them our land, we present them the story, and we enjoy it. We take it a step further because we take all the pictures of the guests and we take care of them from A to Z, and make sure that they can really enjoy themselves without any worry in the world,” Theódórsson says.
There is nothing better than whale watching, but Theódórsson loves being at sea.
When a journalist from mbl.is caught up with Theódórsson, he was in Húsavík, where his people were enjoying the good weather. The group had just visited Goðafoss and Grenjaðarstaðir in the sun, but as everybody knows the sun always shines in the North, according to Theódórsson.
Everything is better in the North
What do you do on a Disney trip in the North?
“When you have cleared up all the possibilities for recreation in the South, we naturally go north and spend half of our trip there. As we all know, it is scientifically proven that everything in the North is three times better than the rest of the South, as I tell my guests. We start with a whale watching tour of Hauganes, which is an amazing experience. We have lunch at Baccalá Bar and then follow that owner to Ektafiskur and go through how we make the baccalá, what we do and how we fillet it. Along the way we make jokes and have fun. We go to the tubs and we jump into the sea to show people that everybody can do this, it’s not cold, just refreshing. We do everything with the people, people are never on their own but only an hour here and there,” he says.
The next day, Theódórsson was on his way to the Mývatn countryside, where he always feels comfortable. “We’re usually lucky that Santa Claus comes to see us. They go out of their way to come and talk to us. We go to the bird museum and we dive into history, enjoy ourselves and have fun. Then we take a river rafting trip west to Jökulsá river, enjoying the best of the North.”
Theódórsson recommends the hot tups at Hauganes.
Few things top whale watching
If Theódórsson were planning his vacation with his own family, his wife and three children, he would do exactly the same. One of the main advantages of the job is that he gets to do what he likes most and gets paid for it.
“It’s exactly the same thing I do with my family. We go everywhere, we go whale watching. That’s something Icelanders should really look into. Before I started this job I was not aware of the wonders of whale watching. But now I am so fascinated by whale watching that I’m like a five-year old kid. I have to warn my customers before I go out to sea with them because if we see anything, I’ll be on the bridge and call them in excitement as soon as I see a whale. I lose a sense of reality once I’m out at sea, it’s so much fun and people don’t believe it until they try it, this is what everyone should do.”
Was it always in the charts to become a guide?
“I wouldn’t say so but at the same time the idea excited me. It started with my grandparents at Vopnafjörður because they were in the Iceland Touring Association. As a little boy, you were getting on buses here and there and somehow the interest was sparked. My grandmother was the one who really ignited my interet. She used to read maps like others read books. Even if she was visiting an area for the first time, she could tell you the names of every mountain. I gobbled that knowledge up but I never thought it was realistic to get to this job. Then just things happen and now it’s been my main job for over eight years, I first started driving a tractor in Hrísey 13 years ago with a hay cart in the back telling stories,” he says.
Are you ever able to meet your family?
“Yes, I met them during Covid, they are the finest people,” says Theódórsson lightheartedly. “The year before Covid I spent two hundred nights in a hotel. We laugh a lot at home that when we were starting our farm, we talked about me never going to sea because of all the absences, but now I’m less at home than if I were at sea. At the end of the day you have to make good use of the time you spend at home.”
The fish at Baccalá Bar is always fresh and outstanding according to Theódórsson.
Theódórsson recommends taking a whale watching trip to Hauganes this summer and spending all day there. “I wholeheartedly recommend Hauganes because there are so many things you can do to enjoy. There you have the hot tubs on the beach and the sandy beach where kids can have fun. It is possible to wade quite far out and the beach is facing south and there are four hot tubs. It’s a total paradise. Then you can go over to the restaurant and go whale watching.”
He adds that Mývatnssveit is also a must and you cannot go there often enough. “Go to the Dimmuborgir, and enjoy what they have to offer. Tell the story, find Santa’s cave, it’s absolutely fantastic.You can try to sneak up there and if you are lucky you’ll find Santa Claus or a sign of him.”
Grenjaðarstaður is an experience that puts Iceland's history in perspective. mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi
Fascinated by old times
What is the best?
“What gets the highest score is the North,” concludes Theódórsson, when asked what people are most satisfied with. “We’ve been to the glacier, we’ve been to the Golden Circle, we’ve been to the horseback, we’ve been to the river rafting, we’ve been to the Blue Lagoon, and what’s coming up is this moment when they walk into Grenjaðarstaðir and we tell them what it was like to live here. They’ll be so impressed by this connection. This is then linked to nature. Suddenly they connect; why do we not see any antiquities? What is going on? Suddenly they see it vividly. They then connect with Iceland in a different way once we’ve taken them through the turf town and told them what it was like. But naturally I’m not normal, I have a tattoo of turf on my right hand and of the sheep on my other hand.”
Theódórsson recommends:
The outdoor shower on the way up to Krafla. “It is totally crazy.”
Fish and chips at Baccalá Bar. “It doesn't get any fresher.”
The Restaurant Vogafjós in Mývatnssveit, where you can watch the cows through glass.
Selhótel Mývatn, which offers good pizzas in a beautiful setting.
Ásbyrgi.
Dettifoss.
The “end of the world park” at Langanes.
Skagafjörður.
Driving around Skagi.
Hvammstangi is a really beautiful place.
