Finding Your Viking Woman: An Interview with Saga Líf of Viking Women Tours, Iceland

Saga Líf grew up in Iceland, but she didn't come from an outdoor family. There were no regular hiking expeditions or constant camping trips. Instead, adventure found her through the Icelandic scouts. That early spark led to something much bigger: Viking Women Tours, a company now known for guiding women through Iceland's most challenging and beautiful landscapes, with more than 50 successful Laugavegur Trail expeditions under its belt.

We sat down with Saga to learn how she became a guide, and what drives her to keep expanding the adventures she offers.

From scouts to trail guide: How adventure became her life

Somewhere along the way, adventure stopped being something you did and became something you loved. Take us back to that moment. What changed?

"When I was a kid, we sometimes went camping in summertime. I was also in the scouts, which is totally different from the American scouts. When you're in the scouts, you do a lot of traveling with them. Like on weekends, you go camping or to cabins. So I was in that, and yeah, I love that."

That experience mattered. The scouts gave her regular access to wild places and a community built around exploring them. From there, the path to guiding wasn't a straight line, but it was inevitable.

Strangers on day one, lifelong friends by day five: How she builds real connection on the trail

Solo travelers show up to your tours not knowing a soul. A week later, they're great friends. Walk us through how you intentionally build community on your trips?

"[We have] A lot of solo travelers, actually. Women are starting to become more and more travelers. They're being more confident. I think with the internet and everything, they [women] feel more secure and safe knowing exactly where to go. So I would say our tours have girlfriends or family members or groups of friends, but there's also a lot of solo women, so it's a mix of both.

On day two the group is usually quite mashed together. These women know they're on a group tour, so they know other women will be there. But they are very eager and keen to meet other women, especially from other countries. The guides—I have excellent guides that are really good with mixing the group together and making them feel welcome and make sure that the silent ones don't feel left out.

Here's what we do: we put everybody in groups—you're in group one, group two, group three—and your number indicates the day that you're supposed to help in the kitchen and cut vegetables and do dishes. I've given my guides this little tip: try not to put friends together in a group. Because when you're cutting a vegetable, you're like, 'So where are you from?' And you start to get to know the other ones. You're not always stuck with your friend, your comfort zone."

Weather Challenges: The monster truck that saved your first Laugavegur hike

Not everything goes according to plan on the trail—especially in Iceland. Your very first tour was supposed to be textbook, but the weather had other ideas. Tell us what happened that day.

"I did like six of those hikes, and we were going to the highlands on day one. Everybody's super excited to start hiking the trail. But at lunchtime, there was such crazy weather that we couldn't get to the highlands. So we had to go to a nearby guest house and wait there.

I was just brainstorming, like 'what to do, what to do.' We had accommodation booked and paid at the first hut. We needed to get there. So I just called a friend who had a big monster truck—one with massive tires, because it's like a thousand meters elevation, almost up by a glacier. He just picked us up on this massive truck and got us there. So we went on a thrilling super Jeep ride and got to the accommodation. Everybody was really happy, even though they didn't hike the first day. We got to our point that we needed to be. It turned out good."

That's the difference between a cancelled trip and a story. In that moment, you learned what your groups would come to appreciate: flexibility, creativity, and the understanding that sometimes the best memories happen when the original plan falls apart.

From Iceland to Greenland

You have trips in Iceland. But then one of your guides said, "You should try Greenland"—and you said yes. What are your guests walking into that they won't find anywhere else?

"One of my guides, she has been to Greenland many times as a guide. She was like, 'You should do a Greenland trip.' She gave me recommendations and an itinerary because I've never been. I just listened to her and I was like, 'Sure, let's just do it. Let's just try to do a Greenland trip. Why not?' So that's what we're doing.

Our first Greenland trip is leaving on July 2nd…We have six travelers, and I'm super excited. I really want to go with them."

The landscapes are strikingly different from what you know. How?

"Greenland…It's massive, but it's a massive ice cap. They don't have much vegetation. They do have some, but not as much as we have [in Iceland]. So the diversity in their landscape is much less than in Iceland. But they [have] are more like ice, you know. Much more ice than we [have] are."

The moment they realize who they've become: What you actually want your guests to carry home

After time on the trail—the dirty boots, the aching muscles, the friendships forged in cold wind and silence—what's the real gift you're sending them back with? What do you hope changes in them?

"...that they just feel more empowered and secure in their own mind and body. And that their vision has expanded with the world and culture and equality. And just humanity, basically. And I want them to have passion for traveling because I think those who travel, they gain more wisdom and empathy for everyone."

That's the Viking Woman philosophy. It's not about proving you can summit a peak. It's about discovering what you're capable of, the friends you'll make along the way, and the person you become when you step outside your comfort zone and into Iceland's wild, beautiful landscape.

If that sounds like the kind of adventure you need, Saga and her guides are ready to meet you on the trail.

Ready to book a tour with Viking Women? Check out the Adventurtle app to get started.