Where to Stay for a Reykjavik Golden Circle Tour
Where you sleep decides how your tour starts: at your door, at a bus stop round the corner, or with a drive. If you are choosing between Golden Circle day tours Reykjavík Iceland with pickup, stay in Reykjavík. If you are driving, a base on the loop gives you the stops before the coaches arrive.
Reykjavík: the pickup map
Every tour here starts in Reykjavík. The pickup lists are built around the city's numbered bus stops, and they cover the centre well. These are some of the stops the listings name:
| Stop | Where it is |
|---|---|
| #1 Ráðhúsið | City Hall, by the pond |
| #2 Tjörnin | The pond |
| #3 Lækjargata | The old centre |
| #4 Miðbakki | The old harbour |
| #5 Harpa | The concert hall on the harbour |
| #6 Safnahúsið | The Culture House |
| #9 Snorrabraut | East of the centre |
| #11 Austurbær | East of the centre |
| #12 Höfðatorg | The coach meeting point |
| #13 Rauðarárstígur | East of the centre |
| #14 Skúlagata | The seafront road |
A hotel within a few minutes' walk of one of these gives you the widest choice of tours. If your hotel is on the pickup list itself, better still: you wait inside. Check the list on the tour you want before you book the room, not after.
Booked your room?
Check that your hotel or its nearest stop is on the pickup list, then compare the tours that collect from it.
Near Höfðatorg and the BSÍ terminal
Two meeting points let you skip the pickup altogether. Bus Stop 12 at Höfðatorg is the free meeting point for the big-coach Kerið days. The BSÍ terminal on Vatnsmýrarvegur is the coach hub for several classic tours and the snowmobile day.
Stay within a short walk of either and you can take the no-pickup option. It is also the most reliable start: you are not waiting on a transfer bus. The trade-off is the walk, which is fine in June and less so on a dark January morning.
On the loop: Selfoss, Hveragerði, Laugarvatn, Flúðir
If you are driving, you can sleep on the Golden Circle instead. Four towns sit on or near the loop.
| Town | Near | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Selfoss | The Ring Road, by Route 35 | The largest town near the loop; the park's postal address |
| Hveragerði | The road out of Reykjavík | A geothermal town some tours stop in |
| Laugarvatn | Road 37, on its own lake | The Fontana spa on the lakeshore |
| Flúðir | The Secret Lagoon | The oldest swimming pool in Iceland |
Selfoss is the largest of the four, a Ring Road town near where Route 35 turns off for Kerið, Geysir and Gullfoss. Even the national park's postal address is 806 Selfoss. Hveragerði is closer to Reykjavík, about 40 minutes out by coach. Laugarvatn is the lake town on road 37, with the Fontana spa on the shore at Hverabraut 1. Flúðir is the village by the Secret Lagoon.
Staying out here means you drive the loop yourself. None of these tours lists a pickup outside Reykjavík, so a base on the loop and a coach tour do not mix.
Cruise passengers
If you arrive by ship, you do not need a hotel at all. Several tours collect from the Skarfabakki cruise terminal and bring you back. When you book, give your ship's name and its docking, disembarkation and re-boarding times, and pick a tour that ends well before you sail.
Choosing a hotel: what to ask first
- Is it a pickup point? If the hotel is on the tour's list, the bus comes to the door.
- How far is the nearest numbered bus stop? If the hotel is in the restricted downtown area, that stop is where you will wait.
- Is there parking? If you plan to drive the loop another day, you need a place for the car, and the centre has little.
Asked about where to stay
Should I stay in Reykjavík for a Golden Circle tour?
Which areas get hotel pickup?
Can I stay on the Golden Circle itself?
Does a private tour collect outside Reykjavík?
Where these facts come from
The bus stops, meeting points and pickup rules come from the tours' own listings, saved on 23 September 2026. The addresses of the spa, the pool and the national park are their own, read 23 September 2026.
- The Fontana spa: hours and reopening
- The Secret Lagoon: price and opening hours
- Þingvellir National Park: the assembly and the park (national park)
Next: read how the pickup works on the morning, see the towns on the map, or compare every fare on Reykjavik Golden Circle Tours.