The Best Reykjavik Golden Circle Tour for Your Trip

Every Golden Circle tour from Reykjavík drives much the same loop past the same big sights. What changes is what the fare pays for beyond the ride: the size of the vehicle, the crater fee, a bath at the end, an activity on the ice or in the rift, and the minutes you are given at each stop. Settle those and the best Golden Circle tour Reykjavik for you picks itself. Below, each choice is set out with the numbers the tours publish.

Four ways to buy the same loop

You are choosing between four kinds of day. The first is a big coach that sells the three sights and little else. The second is a minibus that adds a stop or two, usually the Kerið (Kerid) crater, and carries 19 to 22 people where it states a cap. The third is a combination day: the loop plus a lagoon, a snowmobile ride, a snorkel in the rift or an evening hunt for the northern lights. The fourth is a private car with a driver-guide.

The sights barely change between them. Þingvellir (Thingvellir) and Gullfoss are on every day we list, Geysir on nearly every one, and none of them charges admission. So the fare is not a ticket to a place. It buys a seat, a guide and time.

Private fares are per person and vary with the size of your group; one is quoted for the whole car. The visitor guide lists what each fare carries, tour by tour.

Big coach or 19-seat minibus?

This is the choice most people make first, and it is mostly a choice about stops and minutes. The coaches that sell only the three sights run $81 to $89. Their stated caps run from 65 to 100 seats. They leave from the BSÍ terminal or from Bus Stop 12 at Höfðatorg, and pickup from your hotel is an option you add.

The minibus classics run $114 to $135. They collect you in town, and every one of them puts the crater fee in the fare. They also tend to add a stop: a waterfall with a pay car park, a geothermal town, or the tomato greenhouse at Friðheimar.

A coach is not worse, just different. The audio-guide coach from BSÍ carries an app guide in many languages; bring your own headphones. Its 6.5 hours hold about 3.5 hours on the road, in one traveller's count. If you want the cheapest seat to the three sights, take the coach. If you want the crater and a smaller group, take the minibus. The Reykjavik Golden Circle bus tours are compared side by side on their own page.

When does a private tour pay for itself?

When you are four or more, or when the day has to bend round you. Private fares here run from $435 to $931. The top figure is the only one quoted per group: one price for up to four people. The others are per-person figures that vary with the size of your group, so read the fare for your own number before you compare.

What the money buys is control. You choose the start: one private day starts any time from 7:00 to 22:00, another between 9:00 and 17:00. You choose the order, too. One traveller’s driver-guide ran the loop counterclockwise to avoid the crowds, and another group watched the big buses pull in at each stop as they pulled out. You can also ask for stops the coaches skip, such as the Faxi waterfall. The Golden Circle private tour from Reykjavik options are set out with their fares and booking rules.

Which tours stop at Kerið, and which charge for it?

The crater is where fares differ most. Kerið charges 700 ISK a person, which pays for the paths round the rim, free parking and toilets. Every minibus classic puts that fee in the fare. The classic minibus loop does, and so do the Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon days.

The big coaches split. The coach from Bus Stop 12 stops at the crater on morning starts only; from 12:00 it skips it and the day runs about seven hours. The coaches from the BSÍ terminal do not stop there at all on their base fares. On two private days the crater is visited but its fee is yours. Where a fare says nothing, carry 700 ISK or a card.

Which tours end in hot water?

Three baths close the lagoon days. The Secret Lagoon at Flúðir is the oldest swimming pool in Iceland, built in 1891; the coach from Bus Stop 12 gives it 90 minutes and the minibus of 17 gives it an hour, both with the ticket in the fare. The Sky Lagoon and Blue Lagoon days give their bath two hours. The Blue Lagoon minibus is the most-reviewed of them.

Two things catch people out. A swimsuit is almost never in the fare, and on some days a towel is not either. And on the private Secret Lagoon day, the lagoon ticket is excluded: US$35 a person on the day. The three lagoons compared post sets the baths side by side.

How many minutes do you get at each stop?

This is the figure that decides whether a day feels rushed, and it varies more than the price. Across the tours here, the time at Þingvellir runs 30 minutes to 1 hour. At Geysir it runs 30 minutes to 1 hour 30, at Gullfoss 30 minutes to 1 hour, and at the crater 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

Longer is not always better: on several tours the long Geysir stop is also the lunch stop. But the short end is short. One traveller on the noon minibus found 20 to 40 minutes at each stop too little once late passengers had eaten into it. If walking the rift matters to you, look for a full hour at Þingvellir. Our stop-by-stop guide gives the range at every stop.

Best for a first day in Iceland

The minibus classic. It collects you in town, keeps the group under 20 and includes the crater fee, and nothing in the day needs a swimsuit or a driving licence. If you land tired, a noon start on the afternoon minibus gives you the morning to sleep, at the cost of shorter stops.

Best with children

Match the minimum age first. The Bus Stop 12 coaches take children from age 2, the Brúarfoss minibus from 3 and the family-rated full day from 5. The classic minibus and the snowmobile day start at 6, and the snorkel day at 12. A private day stops when the children need it to, and its per-person fare varies with the size of your group. The Golden Circle with children post covers the rest.

Best for photographers

A private day or the earliest start you can find. A private guide can reverse the loop or start early; one group that started early watched the big buses arrive as it left each stop. Several private days give about 45 minutes or more at each main sight. On a shared tour, pick one that gives Þingvellir and Gullfoss the longer end of the range. Check the light and crowds by season before you choose a month.

Best on a tight budget

The coach from the BSÍ terminal at $81 is the floor. It includes a guide and the park visitor fee, but not the crater. For $89, the Bus Stop 12 coach adds the crater on a morning start. Both leave from a fixed point in the city, so you can walk to the start.

The quick answer by traveller

Still between two? The FAQs answer the practical questions: pickups, ages, food and cancellation.

Choosing a Golden Circle tour: frequently asked questions

A coach, a minibus and a private car

Golden Circle Classic Day Tour from Reykjavik

Six and a half hours on a big coach from the BSÍ terminal, with a guide and an app audio guide in many languages. Bring headphones; no crater stop.

From $83 per person

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Small-Group Golden Circle Full-Day Tour from Reykjavik

Eight hours in a minibus of 19 at most, an hour at the park and the crater fee in the fare; from age 5, and rated easy.

From $119 per person

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Private Golden Circle Tour from Reykjavik

Seven hours in a private car with the crater fee and the park and waterfall parking in the fare, and about 45 minutes at each of five stops.

From $435 per person

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