Reykjavik Golden Circle classic tours are the sightseeing day: the rift at Þingvellir, the geysers and Gullfoss, often with the Kerið crater or one more stop, and nothing you need a swimsuit or a driving licence for. They run six to ten hours on a coach or a minibus, from $81.
Up to 19 guests in a minibus that collects you in town, with a stop in Hveragerði, 75 minutes at the geysers and the crater fee in the fare. Luggage cannot come along; from age 6.
From $119 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Rated easy and sold as a family day: a minibus of 19 at most, a full hour at the park and the crater fee in the fare. The order of stops may change with the weather. From age 5.
From $119 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pickup at 9:00 in a Mercedes minibus from a hotel, a numbered bus stop or the cruise harbour, with Brúarfoss and the crater added, fee included. It runs once two are booked.
From $135 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Noon pickup, evening return: six hours in a minibus of 19 at most, with the crater fee in the fare. Stops run 20 to 40 minutes, so the day is shorter and the morning stays yours.
From $114 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Nine hours with 90 minutes at the Friðheimar greenhouse, tomato tasting and a horse show, plus the crater, fee included. Pickup is at 9:00 from central hotels and bus stops; 22 guests at most.
From $130 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Leave the BSÍ terminal on a first-class bus with Wi-Fi and an English-speaking guide. You get about 45 minutes at the park and an hour each at the geysers and the falls, with the park visitor fee included.
From $81 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
This coach runs the loop backwards, geysers first and the park last, in six and a half hours from BSÍ or your accommodation. A live guide and an app audio guide come with it; headphones do not.
From $88 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Largest review record on the route: a coach from Bus Stop 12 with morning and afternoon starts, a Hveragerði break and 80 minutes at the geysers with lunch. Morning starts add the crater; from 12:00 the day skips it. From age 2.
From $89 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Meet the horses: a new coach with a toilet and Wi-Fi, 57 seats at most, and 30 minutes at a farm where you feed them. The crater entrance is in the fare, and the geysers get 90 minutes.
From $95 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Guided in Chinese from start to finish, with tea and hot water on board. Over ten hours the day adds Brúarfoss and the crater to the three sights; whether the crater fee is in the fare is not stated.
From $86 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The classic minibus gives the geysers 75 minutes and puts the crater fee in the fare, with 19 guests at most. Every tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours ahead.
Check availabilityA day built for the sights and nothing else. You see the rift valley at Þingvellir, where the assembly met from around 930; the geothermal field at Geysir, where Strokkur erupts every few minutes, up to 30 metres high; and the two drops of Gullfoss. Many classic days add the Kerið crater, a waterfall, the geothermal town of Hveragerði, a horse farm or the Friðheimar greenhouse.
What a classic day does not add is a bath, a snorkel, a snowmobile or an evening hunt for the lights. You come back the same day, with nothing to pack but a waterproof.
Without a lagoon or an activity to fit in, the day belongs to the stops. The classic minibus gives Geysir 75 minutes; the family-rated minibus gives the park a full hour; the Friðheimar day gives the greenhouse 90 minutes.
Classic days run $81 to $135. Most combination days cost more, up to $361, because the fare carries a bath ticket or an activity; the cheapest, the Secret Lagoon coach at $111, is on a promotion.
The same route is sold on a big coach from $81 and on a minibus of 19 to 22 from $114. The minibus fares include the crater fee.
No swimsuit, no licence, no swimming test and no medical form. The youngest ages are low: 2 on the Bus Stop 12 coach, 3 on the Brúarfoss minibus and 5 on the family-rated minibus.
The real question behind a classic day is whether you want one more thing at the end. Here is what the extra buys you.
| Classic day | Combination day | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | The sights, often the crater | The sights plus a bath or an activity |
| Fares | $81 to $135 | $111 to $361 |
| Length | 6 to 10 hours | 8 to 12.5 hours |
| You bring | A waterproof | A swimsuit, or a licence to drive a snowmobile |
| Youngest | From 2 | From 2 to 12, by activity |
If a lagoon is the point, the three lagoons compared post sets the baths side by side. If the glacier is the point, see the Golden Circle glacier tours.
You get transport, a guide and the stops the itinerary names. On every minibus classic you also get the crater fee, which is 700 ISK a person at the crater. The Friðheimar minibus includes the greenhouse visit with tomato tasting and a horse show; the horse-farm coach includes a visit to feed the horses.
You do not get lunch on any classic day; the tours stop where you can buy it. On the basic coaches you do not get the crater at all, and the Chinese-guided day does not say whether its crater fee is in the fare. The visitor guide lists every fare’s crater and lagoon line.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Fares | $81 to $135 per person |
| Length | 6 to 10 hours |
| Starts | Morning on most; noon on the afternoon minibus |
| Group | 19 to 22 on the minibuses; up to 100 on the coaches |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
If you want the morning free, the noon minibus keeps the crater and the fee. Check the weather by month and pack a waterproof whatever the forecast says.
Pickup at 9:00, Brúarfoss and the crater added, and the crater fee in the fare. Pick your date and see the pickup point before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Plan the day in the Golden Circle in one day, or compare formats in the best Golden Circle tour for your trip. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Golden Circle Tours.