How to Visit the Reykjavik Golden Circle: Fees, Hours and Pickups
The short answer. Nobody sells a ticket to the Golden Circle. Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss charge no admission. What you pay for is the day itself, which is why Reykjavik Golden Circle tickets are tour fares: a seat, a guide, and the minutes you are given at each stop. The only admissions on the loop are the Kerið crater, 700 ISK, and the geothermal baths.
Quick facts before you go
| What applies | |
|---|---|
| Admission at Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss | None |
| Þingvellir parking, car up to 5 seats | 1,000 ISK for the day |
| Kerið crater | 700 ISK: paths, parking and toilets |
| Brúarfoss parking, car of 1 to 7 seats | 750 ISK |
| Hakið visitor centre, April to October | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Hakið visitor centre, November to March | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Visitor centre phone | +354 488 1800 |
| Cancellation on the tours we list | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
The park’s own word for its charge is a service fee, and it is for parking, not entry. One payment covers the car parks at Hakið, below the waterfall and at Valhöll for the whole day. Cameras read your number plate as you drive in, and you pay at the machines or online; vehicles with a disabled parking permit are exempt once the plate is registered. If you come on a tour, the parking is the coach’s business, not yours.
Why the tour fare is your ticket
So the question is not where to buy a ticket, but what a fare pays for beyond the ride. The crater is where fares differ. The classic minibus loop includes the Kerið fee. The big coach from Bus Stop 12 stops at the crater on morning departures only: from 12:00 the coach skips it and the day runs about seven hours. Some fares name the fee, some do not; where a fare is silent, carry 700 ISK or a card.
A bath is the other thing a fare may carry. The loop that ends in the Blue Lagoon has the lagoon ticket and the crater fee in the fare. The visitor guide lists which fares carry which admission, tour by tour.
Getting there: pickups, terminals and the drive
Almost every tour starts in Reykjavík, and how it collects you is the part people get wrong. Coaches are kept out of many downtown streets, so if your hotel sits inside that zone you are collected from a numbered city bus stop nearby. The stops run from #1 at City Hall to #15 at Vesturbugt. Some coaches leave from fixed points instead: the BSÍ Bus Terminal on Vatnsmýrarvegur, or Bus Stop 12 at Höfðatorg.
- Hotel or bus-stop pickup. Choose your stop when you book, and be there before the time you are given.
- The cruise port. Several tours collect from Skarfabakki; give your ship name, docking and re-boarding times when you book.
- Apartments. The classic minibus does not collect from private apartments or Airbnb flats; walk to the nearest listed point.
- Luggage. The same minibus cannot carry or store suitcases. Leave them at the hotel.
If you drive yourself, road 36 takes you to Þingvellir and road 35 runs on towards Geysir and Gullfoss. Keep your headlights on at all times, slow down for single-lane bridges, and check road conditions each morning, online or on 1777 by phone. Getting there covers every pickup point and the drive, and the map puts the stops and drive times on one page.
Paths, walking and access
Every stop means walking on paths, some of them uneven or icy in winter. At Geysir the rules are strict for a reason: stay on the marked paths, never throw stones or coins into a spring, and never bathe in the springs or their runoff. At Þingvellir the walk down the Almannagjá gorge from the visitor centre is the one most tours give you.
Few tours are marked accessible. One big coach from the BSÍ terminal accepts foldable wheelchairs with a helper, and a private SUV day and the evening aurora coach are marked accessible too; paths at the stops remain uneven. The safety page goes through each stop.
How long to allow
| The day you book | About how long | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| The three sights only | 6 to 6.5 hours | Nothing: park, geysers, falls |
| With Kerið and a stop or two | 7 to 9 hours | The crater, a waterfall or a farm |
| With a lagoon | 8 to 11 hours | Up to two hours in the water |
| With the northern lights hunt | About 12.5 hours | An evening search after dark |
Tours give Þingvellir 30 minutes to 1 hour, Geysir 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 and Gullfoss 30 minutes to 1 hour. Kerið gets 20 minutes to 45 minutes. Lunch is not included on any shared tour; it is bought at a stop, most often at Geysir.
Best time to go
Light changes the loop more than anything else. Around the June solstice Reykjavík has about 21 hours of daylight, so a late start still ends in daylight. Around the December solstice it has about 4 hours, so a winter tour drives in the dark at both ends. In winter, book a morning departure. In summer a noon start still ends in daylight, but on the coach from Bus Stop 12 it drops the crater.
When to visit sets out the season by season trade-offs, and the weather page gives the monthly temperature and rain at a station near the geysers.
Your tour options, by what you want
| Kind of day | Fares from | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Big coach | $81 to $361 | The lowest fare, a fixed start |
| Classic sightseeing | $81 to $135 | The loop and Kerið, back by dinner |
| Private | $435 to $931 | Your start time and your stops |
| Afternoon start | $83 to $114 | A free morning |
| With the glacier | $340 to $361 | A snowmobile or a superjeep |
Start with Golden Circle bus tours for the lowest fares, the classic tours for the loop and nothing else, or private tours for your own vehicle.
Weather and cancellations
Most tours run in all weather. The coach from Bus Stop 12 can be cancelled in heavy rain or storms, with another date or a full refund. The snowmobile ride on the glacier combination can be called off after the coach has left Reykjavík. Every tour we list refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start.
What to have with you on the day
- Your booking and your pickup point. Check the stop name the night before; the pickup window starts before the tour does.
- Krónur or a card. For lunch, and for the Kerið fee if your fare does not name it.
- Layers and a waterproof. The spray at the falls and the wind in the rift reach you in any month.
- A swimsuit, only if your day ends in a lagoon. The ticket may be paid; the swimsuit never is.
What to add nearby
At Þingvellir, the Hakið visitor centre’s exhibition takes about 40 minutes and costs 1,200 ISK for adults; under-18s go free. Its opening hours:
- April to October: 09:00 to 18:00
- November to March: 09:00 to 17:00
The Friðheimar greenhouse restaurant serves tomato soup and fresh bread among the plants, every day 11:30 to 16:00. The Secret Lagoon at Flúðir, built in 1891, charges 4,500 ISK for adults. Things to do on the loop covers every extra stop, what it costs and how long tours give it.
Book your Reykjavik Golden Circle tour now
From Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full Day Tour
Six and a half hours on a coach from the BSÍ terminal: the park, the geysers and the falls, with Wi-Fi and an English-speaking guide. No crater stop.
From $81 per person
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Golden Circle & Kerið Small-Group Day Tour from Reykjavik
Eight hours from a 9:00 pickup in a Mercedes minibus: the park, a waterfall with a pay car park, the geysers, the falls and the crater, fee included.
From $135 per person
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Golden Circle Small-Group Afternoon Tour from Reykjavik
Six hours from a 12:00 pickup in a minibus of 19 at most, with the crater fee in the fare: the loop for anyone who wants the morning free.
From $114 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: walk the loop stop by stop in every stop, in the order you meet it. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Golden Circle Tours.