Every Golden Circle tour gives you Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss in one day from Reykjavík, and your choice comes down to what else you want. You can ride a big coach for $89 or a small-group minibus, add Kerið crater, a lagoon or a horse farm, and spend anything from a photo stop to 45 minutes in the park. Here they are side by side.
A guided coach from Bus Stop 12 with forty minutes at Thingvellir, ninety at Geysir and forty at Gullfoss. Morning runs add twenty minutes at Kerið crater; from noon the day skips it and runs about seven hours.
From $89 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The lowest fare for the classic loop: thirty minutes at Thingvellir, then Geysir and Gullfoss, and back in six and a half hours. You leave from the BSÍ terminal or get collected on request, with an audio guide app in several languages.
From $85 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Six and a half hours on the three classic stops, with thirty minutes in the park. Board at BSÍ or be collected from your accommodation, or by option the cruise port, and follow a live guide or the audio guide app.
From $88 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A minibus of 19 at most, collected in Reykjavík, with forty-five minutes at Thingvellir inside an eight-hour day. You get an English-speaking guide and Wi-Fi on board; lunch is yours to buy on the road.
From $121 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A small-group minibus with a local driver-guide, forty minutes at Thingvellir and Kerið crater on the same eight-hour loop. Pickup from select hotels, bus stops or the Skarfabakki cruise harbour; bring lunch or buy it at a stop.
From $135 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Forty-five minutes at Thingvellir, then Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerið crater, and a stop at a horse farm where you feed the horses. A modern coach with a toilet and Wi-Fi leaves from Bus Stop 12, or collects you by option.
From $85 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A ten-hour loop with Kerið crater and a soak at the Secret Lagoon, entry included. Thingvellir is a photo stop on this one, so choose it for the lagoon, and bring a towel or rent one there.
From $133 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
An eleven-hour small-group day for 18 at most: forty-five minutes at Thingvellir, then Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerið. It ends at the Blue Lagoon with a Comfort ticket, towel, mud mask and first drink included; meals are extra.
From $268 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Every tour here stops at Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss. Check the chips for Kerið, a lagoon ticket and how long you get in the park.
Check AvailabilityA Golden Circle tour is a guided day from Reykjavík to three places: Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area and Gullfoss waterfall. The days here run from six and a half to eleven hours, and each one pairs the three with a guide and transport. You get anything from a photo stop to 45 minutes at Thingvellir.
What changes from one to the next is the group, the extras and the clock. A big coach keeps your fare down. A minibus puts fewer people around your guide. Kerið crater, a lagoon or a horse farm stretch your day and add to the price.
Thingvellir itself costs you nothing to enter, because the park has no gate. Your fare pays for the transport, the guide and the other stops.
You see Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss in a single day, without planning a route, reading a map or finding parking at each stop.
Fares start at $85 a person, well below a Silfra snorkel or a private car. For a first look at the rift, no guided day costs you less.
In Iceland your headlights stay on all year, single-lane bridges have their own rules and the weather can turn within the hour. On a tour, that is the driver's job, not yours.
Kerið crater, the Secret Lagoon, the Blue Lagoon and a horse farm each come on at least one of these days. Where entry is in the fare, the card tells you so.
If Thingvellir is the stop you care about most, your alternative is a private half-day with two to four hours in the park. Here is the trade in one table.
| Golden Circle tour | Private half-day at Thingvellir | |
|---|---|---|
| Time at Thingvellir | A photo stop to 45 minutes | 2 to 4 hours |
| Other stops | Geysir and Gullfoss, plus extras on some | Thingvellir only |
| Length of day | 6.5 to 11 hours | About 4 hours |
| Group | A coach of up to 100, or a minibus | Your group only |
| Start | BSÍ, Bus Stop 12 or pickup | Harpa, or hotel pickup |
| Price | From $85 per person | From $713 per group, up to 3 |
| Best for | First visits that want all three sights | Visitors who want time on foot in the rift |
If you have one day and want Geysir and Gullfoss as well, a Golden Circle tour is the right call. If the rift, the assembly site and Öxarárfoss are why you came, the private half-day gives you two hours there.
These tours share a loop, and the difference is what you add to it. Choose by the extra you want most.
| If you want | Choose | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Kerið at the lowest fare | The Kerið coach day, on a morning run | From $89 |
| Kerið in a smaller group | The small-group Kerið minibus | From $135 |
| A warm soak with Kerið | The Secret Lagoon day | From $133 |
| The Blue Lagoon at the end | The Blue Lagoon small-group day | From $268 |
| Horses as well as the sights | The horse-farm day | From $85 |
| The classic loop and nothing more | The classic day from BSÍ | From $85 |
Check availability — From $133
You get transport from Reykjavík and back, a guide, and time at Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss on every one. Depending on the day, you also get Wi-Fi, an audio guide app, pickup from your accommodation or the cruise port, and entry to Kerið or a lagoon.
You don’t get lunch on any of them, so you buy it at a stop or bring your own. You don’t get long in the park either: 45 minutes is the most any of them gives, so you see the rift and the viewpoint, not the trails or the exhibition.
Check how long you get in the park and which extras are in the fare, then pick your date. Every one refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead.
Check AvailabilityParking, hours and fees are on visiting Thingvellir, every meeting point on the Thingvellir map, and every way to visit on Thingvellir Tours. Or start again with the Thingvellir National Park tours.