Our Values
Midgard started in 2010 with a rental jeep, a local guide and a simple idea. Siggi was driving guests through the landscapes he had grown up in, sharing the places he knew best and the stories connected to them. There was no long-term masterplan behind it, no carefully calculated business model. Things developed step by step, slowly and organically. As well as the Midgard values.
Over time, that one-man operation grew into Midgard Adventure, Midgard Base Camp and Midgard Restaurant. What never really changed along the way, however, was the way things were done. The values came first. Long before they were written down anywhere, they already shaped daily life at Midgard. They still do.
Fun
Traveling in Iceland should be exciting. It should feel memorable, unpredictable at times and different from everyday life. That sense of adventure is something we try to create not only through the places we visit, but also through the atmosphere surrounding the experience. At Midgard, fun is not treated as an extra. It is part of how things operate day to day.
Anyone who has spent time at Midgard Base Camp has probably met Stebbi. Usually somewhere in the middle of the room, making jokes, teasing someone, telling stories or creating chaos, in a good way though. There is a reason people remember him long after their trip ends. The atmosphere he creates reflects a big part of what Midgard is supposed to feel like: relaxed, social and alive.
That same energy carries over into our tours. Adventure here is not only about reaching destinations or checking places off a list. Sometimes it is standing in the wind during rough weather conditions. Sometimes it is stopping somewhere unexpectedly because the light suddenly changes or because someone spotted something interesting along the road. Sometimes it is simply sitting together at the end of the day sharing stories over dinner.
Midgard Base Camp itself was designed around that idea. Colorful spaces, collected objects, books, music, hidden details, people gathering in the bar after a long day outside. A place where guests can slow down, connect and feel comfortable enough to stay longer than planned.
Fun is equally important behind the scenes. Working in tourism can be demanding, especially in Icelandic conditions, so creating an environment where staff genuinely enjoy being there matters to us. Team members join tours on their days off, go hiking together, meet for yoga or crossfit classes or simply spend time together outside work. When new people join Midgard, skills matter, but attitude matters just as much. Curiosity, openness and the willingness to become part of the experience itself are equally important.
Flexibility
Working in Iceland means accepting very early that things rarely go exactly according to plan. Weather changes quickly. Roads close unexpectedly. Conditions shift within hours. Sometimes the original route simply stops being the best option. Flexibility is therefore not something optional for us. It is part of everyday life.
Our guides constantly adapt tours depending on weather, road conditions and the group itself. Plans change. Routes change. Departure times change. Sometimes a completely different experience ends up becoming the highlight of the trip because conditions allowed for something unexpected.
This is also something that Addi, our lead guide, naturally embodies. When conditions suddenly change or unexpected situations happen during a tour, he is usually one of the first to react.
Instead of getting stuck on the original plan, he quickly starts looking for alternatives, adjusting routes, reorganizing logistics or finding entirely new solutions on the spot. In an environment like Iceland, where situations can shift within minutes, that ability to stay calm, act quickly and remain flexible becomes incredibly valuable.
The same flexibility also applies to our guests. Some travelers want to spend longer at a location. Others suddenly become interested in something completely different during the journey. Whenever possible, we adjust around that. We do not want tours to feel overly rigid or disconnected from the actual experience happening around us. A lot of the best moments in Iceland happen unexpectedly anyway.
That flexibility also exists internally within the team. People step in for each other when needed. Plans are adjusted quickly. Daily work often depends on reacting to what the day brings rather than following a perfectly predictable structure. As one of the Midgard Values, flexibility is not only visible on tours, but also in the way the team works together behind the scenes. At times this can be exhausting, but it also keeps life at Midgard dynamic. No two days are ever fully the same.
Family
Midgard is a family business in the most literal sense. Many of the people working here are related to each other, and over the years that family has continued to grow beyond blood relations. Some staff members have been here for years. Others originally arrived for a season and somehow never left again. New employees, returning guides, long-term guests and workawayers gradually become part of the same community. At some point, the line between coworkers, friends and extended family starts to blur.
That feeling is something guests often notice as well, and a big part of that atmosphere comes from Björg. Her warmth and openness naturally set the tone for the environment around her. Whether someone has been part of Midgard for years or just arrived for the first time, she has a way of making people feel welcomed almost immediately. In many ways, she represents one of the Midgard Values at its core: family is not limited to blood relations. Over time, guests, guides, staff members and returning travelers all become part of the same larger community.
Dinner conversations become longer than expected. People end up sitting together in the lounge late into the evening. Guides remember returning travelers years later. Guests come back and recognize familiar faces behind the desk, in the kitchen or out on tour. There is a certain informality to Midgard that comes naturally from this environment. Things are personal here. Not polished in a corporate sense, but genuine. People take care of each other, both inside and outside work. Over time, that atmosphere became one of the defining parts of Midgard itself.
Sustainability
Nature is the foundation of everything we do. Without the landscapes surrounding us, Midgard would not exist in the way it does today. Protecting that environment is therefore not separate from the business itself, but directly connected to it. Sustainability at Midgard is also not treated as a single project or marketing campaign. It is something that shows up continuously in everyday decisions, often in small details people may not immediately notice.
A lot of that mindset has been shaped by Hildur, who has pushed sustainability work within Midgard for years. Whether through organizing Sustainability Month initiatives, improving operational practices or rethinking materials and waste, sustainability has gradually become integrated into many different parts of the company.
Inside Midgard Base Camp, many decorations and interior details are made from reused or upcycled materials collected over time. Objects that might otherwise have been discarded were instead repurposed into something functional or meaningful. The same thinking extends into the kitchen and restaurant operations, where reducing waste and working consciously with resources plays an important role.
On tours, guides actively encourage respectful behavior in nature through principles such as leaving no trace. Often, this goes beyond simply avoiding damage. If trash is found along the way, people pick it up. Small actions matter, especially in environments as fragile as Icelandic nature.
Sustainability for us also includes responsibility toward the local community. We create year-round jobs in the region, work with local suppliers whenever possible and support local projects and organizations around us. For Midgard, sustainability is ultimately about long-term thinking. About making decisions in a way that allows both the environment and the community around us to continue thriving far into the future.
More Than Just Words
Values are easy to write down. Living by them consistently is much more difficult. At Midgard, these values were never created as branding material or as part of a corporate strategy meeting. They developed naturally over time through the way people worked, traveled, hosted guests and treated each other. They continue to shape everyday life at Midgard in hundreds of small moments: changing plans because conditions demand it, welcoming strangers like old friends, staying curious, respecting the environment around us and never taking ourselves too seriously along the way.
Midgard has grown a lot since Siggi first started driving guests around Iceland in a rental jeep. But despite that growth, the foundation has remained surprisingly unchanged. At the end of the day, Midgard is still built around people, adventure, community and the landscapes that surround us. Everything else grew from there.