Which Thingvellir Tour? Coach, Small Group, Private or Silfra
The short version. Take a Golden Circle coach if you want the whole loop at the lowest fare and half an hour in the park is enough. Take a small group for the same loop with 40 to 45 minutes and fewer people. Take a Thingvellir-only private half-day if the park itself is the point: two to four hours inside it. Take a Silfra snorkel if you want to be in the water rather than at a viewpoint.
Every Thingvellir tour belongs to one of five formats, and the format decides more about your day than the operator does. Below, the five are compared on the figures a listing tucks into its small print: time in the park, length of day, group size and price. It ends with which one suits which traveller. Every fare is on Thingvellir Tours.
What are you choosing between?
Five formats cover every tour that reaches the park.
- Golden Circle coaches: large coaches from BSÍ or Höfðatorg in Reykjavík, with 30 to 40 minutes at Thingvellir.
- Small-group Golden Circle days: minibuses on the same loop, with 40 to 45 minutes.
- Private tours: your party only, either a Thingvellir-only half-day or a private Golden Circle day.
- Silfra: a snorkel or a dive in the fissure, two and a half to five and a half hours.
- Multi-day tours: Thingvellir as one stop, 30 minutes to an hour, on three- and eight-day trips.
The park itself is the same on all of them. It has no gate and no ticket, so there is no Thingvellir entrance fee to add to any fare. What you pay for is transport, a guide and whatever else the day includes.
How much time does each format give you in the park?
This is the figure to compare first, because the length of the day tells you almost nothing about it.
| Format | Time at Thingvellir | Length of day | Price | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Circle coach | 30–40 min | 6.5–8.5 h | From $85 | Up to 65–100 |
| Small-group Golden Circle | 40–45 min | 8–11 h | From $121 | Up to 18–19 where stated |
| Private Golden Circle day | 30 min–1 h | 6–10 h | From $470 per person | Your party |
| Private half-day, park only | 2–4 h | 4 h | From $477 per person | Your party |
| Silfra snorkel | In the fissure | 2.5–5 h | From $149 | 6 at most |
| Silfra dive | In the fissure | 5.5 h | From $349 | 3 |
| Multi-day tour | 30 min–1 h | 3–8 days | From $948 | Up to 16–18 |
The Oak Travel half-day from Harpa is priced per car, at $713 for up to three. An eleven-hour Golden Circle day can give the valley 45 minutes, while a four-hour private tour gives it two hours or more.
Is half an hour at Thingvellir enough?
It is enough to see the setting. In 30 minutes you can stand at the viewpoint by the Hakið visitor centre, walk down Almannagjá between the fault walls, and reach the flagpole that marks the Law Rock.
It is not enough for the rest. Öxarárfoss at an easy pace, Peningagjá, the church and the 40-minute exhibition all need more time. If you want to understand the place, not just see it, plan for two hours. The walking route guide shows what fits into each length of visit.
What does a Golden Circle coach give you?
The lowest fare and the whole loop. Gray Line starts from $85, leaves BSÍ or collects you if you ask, and gives the park 30 minutes on a six-and-a-half-hour day. In summer it also collects from the Skarfabakki cruise port. Reykjavik Excursions starts from $88, with 30 minutes in the park and pickup from your accommodation or a bus stop. Both carry an app-based audio guide in several languages.
BusTravel Iceland's Kerið day starts from $89 at Bus Stop 12, Höfðatorg. It gives you 40 minutes at Thingvellir, 90 at Geysir and Strokkur, 40 at Gullfoss, and 20 at Kerið crater on morning departures. Magic Iceland's day from $85 gives the park 45 minutes and adds a horse farm, where you feed the horses.
Want Kerið? On the BusTravel coach, the crater stop is on morning departures only. Pick a morning start when you book, and check the time on your confirmation.
What does a small group change?
A smaller group, not a longer stop. Your Day Tours takes 19 at most, from $121, with 45 minutes at Thingvellir. Back to Iceland's minibus, from $135, gives the park 40 minutes, adds Kerið, and collects from hotels, bus stops or the Skarfabakki cruise harbour.
BusTravel's small group to the Blue Lagoon, from $268, takes 18 at most, gives Thingvellir 45 minutes, and puts the lagoon's Comfort ticket in the fare. The Secret Lagoon day, from $133, includes the lagoon's entry ticket but treats Thingvellir as a photo stop. If the park is why you are going, that last one is the wrong choice.
When is a private tour worth the money?
When you choose the right kind. Private tours come in two kinds, and only one of them buys you more time in the park.
- Thingvellir-only half-days. Oak Travel's car from Harpa gives you two hours in the park on a four-hour tour, for $713 per group of up to three. Prime Tours collects you from your hotel for four private hours built around the park, from $477 a person.
- Private Golden Circle days. Pickmeup starts wherever you like in the capital area, for $1,650 per group of up to three, and gives Thingvellir 30 minutes. BR Tours' full-size SUV, from $820 a person with a minimum of two, gives it 45. Mercury Grail, from $470 a person with a minimum of two, gives it an hour and adds the Blue Lagoon, with lagoon tickets extra.
A private Golden Circle day buys you comfort, a door-to-door car and your own pace between stops. A Thingvellir-only half-day buys you the park. The post on private versus group tours does the sums per person.
Where does Silfra fit?
Silfra is the one activity that happens inside the park rather than at a viewpoint. It is a fissure in the northern part of the lake, and the water stays at 2–4 °C all year. On most snorkels you wear a drysuit over a warm undersuit, and on the DIVE.IS fares the permit is part of the price.
You can meet the guide at the fissure or be collected. DIVE.IS meets you at the Silfra car park, from $159, for two and a half hours. Troll Expeditions meets you by P5, from $149, for three hours with photos included. Adventure Vikings collects you in Reykjavík, from $219, for five hours with 40 minutes in the fissure. Certified drysuit divers can dive it from $349.
Snorkellers must be 12 or older. A snorkel is not a way to see the assembly site, since your time goes on the water and the vans. On a self-drive fare you have your car at the fissure, so you can walk the gorge before or after.
Should Thingvellir be one stop on a multi-day tour?
Only if you are going for Iceland rather than for Thingvellir. Troll's three-day south coast trip, from $948, gives the park an hour and adds a glacier hike and an ice cave. Arctic Adventures' three-day trip, from $989, gives it 30 minutes. The eight-day minibus tour around Iceland, from $2,724, gives it 30 minutes too.
They are good trips, but not a way to spend time in this valley.
Which tour suits which traveller?
| You are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| On a first visit, one free day, on a budget | A Golden Circle coach | The park, Geysir and Gullfoss at the lowest fare |
| Here for the park, not the loop | A private half-day | Two to four hours inside the park |
| Travelling as three | The half-day from Harpa | One fare covers up to three |
| After a swim at the end of the day | A small group with a lagoon | The lagoon ticket is in the fare |
| Keen to be in the water | A Silfra snorkel | Suit, kit and guide handled |
| A certified drysuit diver | The Silfra dive | A group of three with a PADI instructor |
| Arriving on a cruise ship | A coach or minibus with port pickup | Collected from Skarfabakki |
What do all the tours have in common?
Every tour you can book for Thingvellir refunds in full if you cancel up to 24 hours before it starts. No tour sells you a park ticket, because there is no ticket to sell. Some leave things out, and those are worth knowing: food on most days, the lagoon ticket on the Mercury Grail private day, and parking on the Troll self-drive snorkel.
If you drive yourself to a self-drive snorkel, you pay the park's parking fee of 1,000 ISK a car for the day. Visiting the park lists every fee the park charges.
How do you check a listing before you book?
- Find the time at Thingvellir. It is the first chip on every card, and it differs by a factor of eight.
- Check where it starts. BSÍ, Höfðatorg, Harpa, your hotel, or the fissure itself.
- Check the price basis. Per person, per person with a minimum of two, or per group of up to three.
- Check the limits. Silfra has an age limit of 12 and a height limit.
- Check what is left out. Lunch, lagoon tickets, parking.
For the full list of fares by type, see the Golden Circle tours page and the private tours page.
Frequently asked questions
Which Thingvellir tour gives you the most time in the park?
Do Golden Circle tours stop long enough at Thingvellir?
Is a Silfra snorkel a way to see Thingvellir?
Do any Thingvellir tours include a park ticket?
Can you cancel a Thingvellir tour?
One tour from each way of visiting
Golden Circle with Kerid Volcanic Crater Day Tour from Reykjavik
The Golden Circle by coach from Höfðatorg: 40 minutes at Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, and Kerið on morning departures.
From $89 per person
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Silfra: Snorkeling Between Tectonic Plates - Meet on Location
Meet your guide at the Silfra car park, change in a heated van and snorkel in a drysuit. The permit is in the fare.
From $159 per person
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Thingvellir National Park Tour ( Þingvellir )
A private car from Harpa for up to three, and two hours inside the park at your own pace.
From $713 per group, up to 3
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