Walk the gorge, snorkel between the plates, fish the lake or ride the old bridle paths. Here is each option with what it gets you, how long it takes and what it costs. Then comes which to pick for an hour, a morning or a day, and which of the Golden Circle tours via Thingvellir fit each one.
This is the walk most people mean when they say they have seen Thingvellir. You start on the rim of the western fault wall at Hakið and walk down into Almannagjá, with the rock rising on either side. The flagpole of the Law Rock stands on the ledge above you.
Gets you: the view over the rift, then the path between the fault walls. Time: as long as you like on your own; 30 to 45 minutes on most coaches. Cost: free to walk; 1,000 ISK to park a car for the day. Best for: a first visit, with or without a tour.
The Öxará is the river the saga says was turned into the gorge to give the assembly fresh water, and Öxarárfoss is its waterfall. Car park P2 Efri-Vellir lies below the falls, so you can drive to it and walk from there.
Gets you: the falls, and the river that runs on through the assembly site. Time: easiest with an hour or more in the park. Cost: free; your day’s parking covers P2. Best for: drivers, and private tours with time to spare.
The exhibition at the Visitor Centre at Hakið tells the story of the park at around ten interactive stations. It won two Red Dot design awards in 2019. You can pay online or on site.
Gets you: the geology and the history before you walk. Time: about 40 minutes. Cost: 1,200 ISK for adults, 600 ISK for seniors and students, free for 17 and under and for disabled visitors. Best for: a cold or wet day, and families, since children go free.
Silfra is a fissure in the northern lake, at most 10 m wide and 60 m deep. Its water has spent about 30 years underground and stays at 2–4 °C all year. You snorkel it with a guide, never alone, in full cold-water protection.
The fare that meets at the Silfra car park runs 2.5 hours with a PADI instructor, a drysuit and a heated van. A self-drive fare adds free GoPro photos and runs three hours. The fare from Reykjavík collects you, gives you 40 minutes in the fissure in a wetsuit, and takes five hours. Height limits apply on two of them: 150 cm and 135 cm.
Gets you: the clearest water in the park, from inside it. Time: 2.5 to 5 hours door to door. Cost: $149 to $219 a person. Best for: confident swimmers aged 12 and over who complete the medical form.
Diving asks more of you than snorkeling. The park requires an autonomous-diver licence plus a drysuit certificate, or 10 logged drysuit dives in the past two years, confirmed in writing by an instructor. The maximum depth is 18 m, and caves and overhead environments are closed.
Gets you: Silfra from below the surface, with a PADI instructor. Time: 5.5 hours with hotel pickup. Cost: $349 a person, in a group of up to three. Best for: experienced divers with the paperwork ready before they book.
A church has stood here since about 1017, when King Olaf of Norway sent timber and a bell. The present church was built in 1859 and its bell tower added in 1907. It stands nearest to car park P5 Valhöll.
Gets you: the small church at the centre of the old assembly site. Time: open 1 June to 31 August when a ranger is present, commonly 09:00 to 10:00 and 13:30 to 17:00. Best for: a summer visit; in winter it opens only for services.
Þingvallavatn is Iceland’s largest natural lake. It holds brown trout, three-spined stickleback and Arctic charr in four forms, three of Iceland’s five freshwater species.
Gets you: a day on the lake shore. Time: as long as your permit allows. Cost: a fishing permit from the desk at Leirar Service Centre. Best for: anglers with a full day to spare.
The trails are well signed around the assembly site. Beyond it they run out across the lava to the abandoned farms of Hrauntún, Skógarkot and Vatnskot. The park publishes a trail map. Riders may use only the old bridle paths: Langistígur, Skógarkotsvegur and Nýja-Hrauntúnsgata.
Gets you: the quieter side of the park, through birch and lava. Time: a half-day or more. Cost: free on foot; your parking fee. Best for: hikers with a car. If you want horses without riding, one Golden Circle day stops at an Icelandic horse farm.
Leirar was built in 1974 beside the campsite, at the junction of roads 36, 361 and 52. It has a café and shop run by Icewear, and park staff at the information desk sell camping, fishing and diving permits.
Gets you: the park at the ends of the day, when the coaches have gone. Time: the desk opens 09:00 to 18:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 09:00 to 17:00 in winter. Cost: a camping permit from that desk. Best for: hikers and anglers who want an early start.
| Time you have | What fits | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Under an hour | The platform at Hakið and the walk down Almannagjá | Any Golden Circle coach or minibus |
| Two hours | The gorge, Öxarárfoss and, in summer, the church | A private half-day, or your own car |
| A morning | A Silfra snorkel, then the walk | A snorkel fare that meets at the fissure |
| A full day | The exhibition, the trails to the old farms, angling | Your own car, or the four-hour private tour |
If this is your only visit, take the walk first: it is the one thing every way of visiting gives you. If you have a morning, Silfra is what makes Thingvellir different from every other stop on the Golden Circle. The park map shows where each option starts.
Meet your PADI instructor at the Silfra car park, change in a heated van and snorkel the fissure in a drysuit. The Silfra entrance fee is in the fare.
From $159 per person
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For certified drysuit divers: a guided dive in Silfra with hotel pickup, all equipment and a group of up to three.
From $349 per person
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The Golden Circle with 45 minutes at Thingvellir, Kerið crater and a visit to an Icelandic horse farm, with horse candy for you to feed them.
From $85 per person
Check AvailabilityOpening hours and permits change, so check the park’s own pages before you plan a day around them.
Prices and hours sit on visiting Thingvellir, the month you are coming on the weather page, and every tour on Thingvellir Tours.