Golden Circle tours from Reykjavík

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

The road from Reykjavík reaches Þingvellir National Park after about 48 kilometres, which takes a little under an hour. From there it is roughly another hour east to the Geysir geothermal area in Haukadalur, and Gullfoss lies only 10 kilometres further on. Most tours then turn south past the Kerið crater and head back to the city. Our route calculation for that loop comes to close to four hours behind the wheel before a single stop, so the tours on this page last between 6.5 and 10 hours.

Coach, small group or a private car

The full-day coach tour with Kerið runs in a large air-conditioned bus, takes 7 to 8.5 hours depending on the option and collects you in Reykjavík if you book the pickup. It has one catch that is easy to miss: departures at 12:00 or later leave out the crater. The classic three-stop coach tour is shorter at 6.5 hours, covers Þingvellir, Gullfoss and the Geysir area without Kerið and includes the national park visitor fee. Pickup on that tour starts 30 minutes before departure at set points, so you wait at a stop rather than your door. The full-day tour with optional Kerið is the third big coach operation; it includes Kerið only on the 08:00 departure, and reviews mention pickups at the Skarfabakki cruise terminal.

The small-group tour caps the bus at 19 people, collects you from your hotel and includes the Kerið entry. It has WiFi and USB chargers on board and gets back to Reykjavík at around 17:00. Reviews praise the pace and the guides, and on an icy December day the guide handed out crampons. The same reviews include a pickup that came an hour late, which matters if you have a ship or a flight to catch.

For a private day, the private Golden Circle tour sends a driver-guide to your accommodation in an MPV or van and stops at Kerið as well. Food and drink are not allowed in the vehicle, and the operator lists the tour as unsuitable in pregnancy, for back problems and for wheelchair users. The private tour from Keflavík or Reykjavík can start straight from the airport, lasts 7 or 8 hours, includes the Kerið entry and a hot drink, and runs in English or Arabic.

Kerið, a greenhouse or Brúarfoss on top

Kerið is a volcanic crater about 55 metres deep and 170 metres wide, with a path around the rim and another down to the lake. Its operator puts its age at roughly 6,500 years. Since the coach tours drop it at certain hours, check the departure time if the crater matters to you.

Several tours add a stop at Friðheimar, the tomato greenhouse in Reykholt, where the kitchen serves food from 11:30 to 16:00. The minibus day with Kerið and Friðheimar lasts nine hours and also visits a horse farm for a demonstration. Reviews put the group at around 15 and describe a lunch bought at the greenhouse; one mentions a return almost two hours late after extra stops for other guests. The tomato farm and Kerið tour covers similar ground in nine hours, including waterfalls.

The tour with Brúarfoss and Kerið takes in the blue waterfall on top of the usual stops. Its reviews disagree on the length of the day, from seven and a half to nine hours, and several found 30 minutes per stop too short. The driver doubles as guide in a small bus, and some guests had to walk to a numbered bus stop for pickup.

Guided in German or Chinese

Almost every tour here is guided in English. The German-language small-group tour keeps to 19 participants and takes roughly eight to nine hours; it is aimed at cruise passengers on a day in port. The Chinese-guided tour adds Brúarfoss, Kerið and a horse farm over ten hours. It usually runs in a 48- to 57-seat coach, switches to a minibus for fewer than 19 guests, needs at least 10 participants and is sometimes combined with an English-language group. Children under six cannot join.

How much time you get at each stop

Time on the ground is the most common complaint on the coach tours. Reviews of the full-day coach tour describe about an hour per stop, with lunch falling at the Geysir stop, so guests who want to walk around properly bring their own food. On the classic three-stop tour, reviewers wanted more time at Gullfoss and found the stops busy with other coaches; one autumn reviewer found the bus cold. Small-group guests write that their guide timed the stops to miss the coaches and the lunch rush.

The stops themselves are quick to see. Strokkur, the active geyser in Haukadalur, erupts every few minutes. Gullfoss drops in two steps of 11 and 20 metres into the canyon of the Hvítá. At Þingvellir the Almannagjá gorge marks the eastern edge of the North American plate, and the Alþingi assembly met here each year from around 930 until 1798. The park’s visitor centre at Hakið has an exhibition of about 40 minutes, which a day tour rarely leaves room for.

Winter light and the summer evenings

The tours run all year, but the light changes the day completely. On 21 December the sun rises at Þingvellir at 11:21 and sets at 15:24, so a morning tour sets off in the dark and reaches its last stop around dusk. In June the sun stays up until close to midnight and an afternoon departure loses nothing. In winter, ask for an early departure if you want Kerið, and pack grips for your shoes: reviews from December describe icy paths at the stops. Our page on weather and what to wear covers the clothing.

Joining a tour or driving yourself

We could not confirm a scheduled public bus to Þingvellir, Geysir or Gullfoss, so without a car a tour is the practical option. If you rent one, Þingvellir charges a parking fee per vehicle, read by a number-plate camera at the Hakið car park or paid at machines, and Kerið charges an entry fee at the gate. Our pages on a tour or self-drive and on driving the Golden Circle compare the two, and the tours with a lagoon end the same route with a hot soak.

If you plan a second day along the south coast, our sister guide vik-iceland.com covers the village of Vík and the tours there.