The Golden Circle Guided Bus Tour from Reykjavik
Six and a half hours from the BSÍ terminal with a live guide and an app audio guide in many languages; bring your own headphones.
From $88 per person
Check AvailabilityReykjavik Golden Circle Tour or Self-Drive: What Each Costs
You do not need a tour to see the Golden Circle. The roads are paved, the three main sights charge no admission, and a hire car gives you your own hours. What a tour adds is a guide, someone else on the winter roads, and in many cases the crater fee. Here is what each way costs in fees, time and risk, so you can weigh a hire car against Reykjavik Golden Circle guided tours with the facts in front of you.
What do you pay for either way?
Driving, you pay for the car, the fuel and the fees stop by stop. On a tour, you pay one fare, and some fares cover the fees. Neither way buys admission at Þingvellir (Thingvellir), Geysir or Gullfoss, because none exists. The charges on the loop are parking at the park, the crater fee at Kerið (Kerid), parking at Brúarfoss, and the baths.
| Driving yourself | Big coach | Minibus | Private driver-guide | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Car, fuel and fees | Fare, $81 to $89 | Fare, $114 to $135 | From $435 a person; varies by group size |
| Park parking | Yours to pay | In the coach’s costs | In the minibus’s costs | Named in some fares |
| Crater fee | Yours to pay | Not in most coach fares | In the fare | In some fares |
| Hours | Yours | Fixed | Fixed | Yours, within the booking |
| Commentary | None | Live guide or app | Live guide | Your own guide |
| Winter roads | Your risk | The driver’s job | The driver’s job | The driver’s job |
How long does the drive take?
From Reykjavík, road 36 (Þingvallavegur) reaches the park in about 45 to 50 minutes, and road 361 runs into it. From the park to Geysir is about an hour. Gullfoss is about ten minutes past Geysir on road 35 (Biskupstungnabraut). From Geysir to the crater is about 35 minutes, and from Gullfoss back to the city about 2 hours 15 minutes.
Those are the drive times the tour itineraries print. Allow about three to three and a half hours at the wheel for the loop, and more with the crater. The map shows each leg and the how to get there page has the self-drive route.
Parking and fees stop by stop
- Þingvellir: a parking service fee of 1,000 ISK for a car of up to five seats, 1,200 ISK for six to nine. One payment covers the car parks at Hakið, below the waterfall and at Valhöll for the day. Cameras read your plate; pay at the machines or online.
- Geysir and Gullfoss: no admission and no fee in the Environment Agency’s rules.
- Kerið: 700 ISK a person, which covers the paths, free parking and toilets.
- Brúarfoss: a pay car park, 750 ISK for a car of one to seven seats, paid by app or online.
- Secret Lagoon: 4,500 ISK for adults of 15 and over.
For a car of four, that is one parking fee at the park and four crater fees, plus any bath. Everything else you pay is the car. The visitor guide keeps the full fee table.
What are the rules that catch drivers out?
Iceland’s safety service sets out a short list. Headlights stay on at all times, day and night. You may not stop on or beside the road to take a photo; use a car park. Many bridges are single-lane, so slow down and look ahead. Off-road driving is forbidden.
Check the weather and the road every morning. A sign reading “Lokað” means closed. Road status is on umferdin.is and on 1777. In an emergency call 112, with 599-0112 as the backup if 112 will not connect. The safety page has the rest.
Winter: when does driving stop being sensible?
When you would not drive that road at home. Between November and March the days are short and the roads can be icy. A tour driver drives these roads through the winter; you may be driving them for the first time, in a car you do not know.
Check umferdin.is before you set out, and turn back if the road status changes. If your winter trip has one fixed day for the loop, a tour carries less risk: every tour we list refunds in full if you cancel 24 hours ahead, and some offer another date if weather stops them. Our winter guide has the daylight figures.
Do not stop on the road. The views between the
stops tempt drivers to pull over on the verge, and the rules forbid it. Use the car parks, and read the safety rules before you drive.
Which extra stops suit a car?
The ones with no fixed timetable. Brúarfoss is reached from road 37, and its pay car park is open 24 hours a day, so you can stop on the way out or the way back. The Faxi waterfall is on the private tours for the same reason: it is easy to add when nobody else is on board.
Two stops keep hours you should plan round. The Friðheimar greenhouse restaurant is open daily 11:30 to 16:00; one traveller advises booking ahead if you want lunch there. The Secret Lagoon opens 10:00 to 19:00 from October to May and 10:00 to 20:00 from June to September, and an adult ticket is 4,500 ISK.
What is open at the park when you arrive?
The Hakið visitor centre above the rift opens at 09:00 every day: until 18:00 from April to October and until 17:00 from November to March. Its exhibition takes about 40 minutes and costs 1,200 ISK for adults; under-18s go free.
Driving yourself, you can arrive before the coaches or stay after they leave. That is the real prize of a car at Þingvellir: the time. The Þingvellir National Park page covers the paths, the car parks and the Silfra rules.
What if you drive in and join a tour for one part?
You can. The snowmobile ride on Langjökull and the snorkel in the rift are the parts of the loop you cannot do without an operator, and both sell as whole days from Reykjavík with the sights attached. If you have a car and want only the activity, ask the operator whether a meeting point on the loop is possible; the listings here all start in the city.
Otherwise, drive the loop on one day and take a tour on another. The Golden Circle glacier tours page compares the two days that reach the ice.
What does a tour add?
Three things you cannot buy with a car. The first is the guide: the story of the assembly at Þingvellir, the geology of the rift, the plates, the springs. The second is the driver, on roads you do not know, in weather you may not be used to. The third is simplicity. One traveller on the coach from BSÍ put it as no worries about navigating or parking.
Many tours add stops you might not find, such as the Faxi waterfall or the Friðheimar greenhouse. A few add things you would not arrange alone, such as the snorkel in the rift, run with a certified guide and drysuits, or the snowmobile ride on the glacier.
When a car wins
A car wins if you want your own hours, travel in summer and are happy to drive. It wins if you want to stay at Þingvellir for half a day, or stop at Brúarfoss or Faxi on your own schedule. And it wins if you are staying out on the loop rather than in the city; the where to stay page covers Selfoss and Laugarvatn as bases.
When a tour wins
A tour wins if you would rather not drive at all. It wins in winter, when the roads and the light are against you. It wins for anyone arriving on a cruise ship, since several tours collect from the cruise port and know the re-boarding times. And it wins if you want a guide’s commentary more than your own hours.
The middle way: a private driver-guide
A private tour gives you most of a car’s freedom without the driving. You choose the start, one day from 7:00 to 22:00 and another between 9:00 and 17:00. Your guide changes the order, stays longer where you want, and adds stops. One group of six chose a private day to travel together. Another traveller booked one at short notice after other plans fell through, and a third advises booking the greenhouse lunch ahead.
It costs more than a coach: from $435 a person, varying with group size, or $931 for a car of up to four. The Golden Circle private tour from Reykjavik options compare every private day.
Tour or self-drive: frequently asked questions
Can I drive the Golden Circle myself?
Yes. The roads are paved and the three main sights charge no admission. You pay the park's parking fee, the crater fee and any bath yourself.
Is it hard to drive the Golden Circle in winter?
It can be. The days are short and the roads can be icy or closed by wind, so check umferdin.is or call 1777 every morning before you set out.
How much is parking at Þingvellir?
1,000 ISK for a car of up to five seats, paid once for the day. Cameras read your plate, and you pay at the machines or online.
Do I pay at Geysir or Gullfoss?
No. Neither charges admission. You pay only at the park car parks, the crater and the Brúarfoss car park.
What does the cheapest Golden Circle tour cost?
A coach fare from the BSÍ terminal starts at $81 a person, with a guide and the park visitor fee. The crater is not on its route.
How long does it take to drive the Golden Circle?
About three to three and a half hours at the wheel for the loop from Reykjavík, before any time at the stops. Plan a full day.
What is the alternative to driving or a coach?
A private driver-guide, from $435 a person for most private days. You choose the start and the stops, and someone else drives.
Someone else drives: three ways to do it
Private Golden Circle Tour by Luxury SUV from Reykjavik
A private SUV with a driver-guide in English or German, a start between 9:00 and 17:00, and every fee and tax in the fare; two travellers at least.
From $820 per person (minimum 2)
Check Availability
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
Check AvailabilityNext: Price the day in what each fare buys, or plan the stops in the Golden Circle in one day. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Golden Circle Tours.