Thingvellir Map: Car Parks, Hakið and Where Tours Meet

Thingvellir has no single entrance. It has three paid car parks, a visitor centre on the rim of the rift, a service centre by the campsite, and a fissure where the snorkel tours meet. Here is how it fits together, and where each of the Thingvellir day trips from Reykjavik actually starts.

How the park is laid out

The park sits in a rift valley north of Þingvallavatn, Iceland’s largest natural lake. Its western edge is the fault wall of Almannagjá. The Visitor Centre at Hakið stands on top of that wall, and the old assembly site lies below it on the valley floor.

Route 36 runs round the north of the park and down the lake’s western shore. Road 361 runs into the park towards the Silfra car park. Leirar Service Centre stands at the junction of roads 36, 361 and 52, by the campsite. The park publishes its own trail map, linked below.

The three car parks: P1, P2 and P5

A car with up to five seats pays 1,000 ISK for the day, and that one payment covers all three. Cameras read your plate. Pay at the machines at the visitor centre, in the restroom building beside it, at P2 or at P5, or online at Checkit.is.

Hakið and the viewpoint

Start at Hakið if you can. The visitor centre sits by car park P1, next to the viewing platform, and from the platform you look across the whole rift. The Heart of Iceland exhibition is inside; it takes about 40 minutes and costs 1,200 ISK for adults.

The visitor centre opens 09:00 to 18:00 from April to October and 09:00 to 17:00 from November to March. The platform itself is outdoors, so you can stand on it at any hour.

The walk down Almannagjá

From the platform the path drops into Almannagjá, the gorge along the western fault wall. You walk down between the rock walls towards the assembly site. The flagpole on the ledge at the top of the slope Hallurinn marks one proposed site of Lögberg, the Law Rock.

Coach tours usually give you time for this walk and little more. If you are driving, you can walk down from P1 and meet your car again at P2 or P5.

The sights and their nearest car park

Plan your route by car park and you will not walk back for the car. Öxarárfoss is below P2, and the church, Peningagjá and Silfra are all nearest to P5.

Silfra and P5

Silfra lies in the northern part of the lake, and car park P5 Valhöll is the nearest to it. The snorkel operators meet you here rather than at the visitor centre. One meets at its vans in the Silfra car park; the other at its own meeting point by P5.

If you drive to a snorkel, allow time to park and change. The self-drive snorkel fare that meets by P5 does not include parking, so pay the 1,000 ISK before you walk to the meeting point.

Leirar Service Centre

Leirar stands at the junction of roads 36, 361 and 52, by the campsite. It was built in 1974. It has a café and shop run by Icewear, and park staff at the information desk sell camping, fishing and Silfra diving permits.

It opens 09:00 to 18:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 09:00 to 17:00 from 1 November to 31 March. From June to August the desk often stays open later for campsite payments.

Where each tour meets

Most tours start in Reykjavík, and the meeting point is the most useful line on each listing. Here is every one, with the time it gives you in the park. The Silfra fares that meet at Thingvellir are listed first.

In Reykjavík the coaches use Bus Stop 12 at Höfðatorg and the BSÍ Bus Terminal, and most offer hotel pickup as well. The private half-day meets at Harpa. If you are staying outside the centre, choose a fare that collects you anywhere in the capital area.

Tours that meet you at the fissure or at your door

Silfra: Snorkeling Between Tectonic Plates - Meet on Location

Meets at the company vans in the Silfra car park, so you drive yourself. Two and a half hours with a PADI instructor, a drysuit and a heated van.

From $159 per person

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Silfra Snorkeling Between Continents Photos Included- Self Drive

Meets at the Troll Expeditions point by P5. Three hours with GoPro photos included; pay your own parking before you meet.

From $149 per person

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Golden Circle & Kerið Small-Group Day Tour from Reykjavik

Pickup from select hotels, bus stops or the Skarfabakki cruise harbour, then 40 minutes at Thingvellir by minibus, with Kerið crater on the loop.

From $135 per person

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Where to check these figures

The park publishes its own map and service details. Check them before you travel.

• Map of Þingvellir
• Parking service
• Visitor centre
• Leirar Service Centre