Reykjavik Golden Circle Tour Itinerary
Stop by stop and minute by minute: the route on a map, how long you get at each sight, and how the tours differ.
A classic Reykjavik Golden Circle tour itinerary is Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss in 7–8.5 hours, usually with Kerið: about 45 minutes at Þingvellir, an hour at Geysir with lunch, 45 minutes at Gullfoss and half an hour at the crater. The loop is 250–300 km and under four hours of driving.
- Most tours go Þingvellir → Geysir → Gullfoss; the biggest one runs it backwards from Kerið.
- Geysir is the long stop: 45–90 minutes, lunch included in the time, not in the price.
- Afternoon starts cut the stops to 20–25 minutes, or drop Kerið.
- Extra stops — Brúarfoss, Friðheimar, Öxarárfoss, a lagoon — add 20 minutes to 3 hours.
Reykjavik Golden Circle tour map
Pick a tour above the map to see its route and the stops in the order it visits them. The line and the numbered list change together, and between the stops you see the drive time the operator gives. Most routes leave Reykjavík to the east for Þingvellir, run on to Geysir and Gullfoss and return through Selfoss or via Kerið.
Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater
7–8.5 h · 5 stops · 08:00 start; the 12:00 start skips Kerið
Golden Circle Day Tour with optional Blue Lagoon
6.5 h · 3 stops · the Blue Lagoon option adds 3 h
Golden Circle, Bruarfoss and Kerid Crater Tour
9 h · 5 stops · every leg stated by the operator
Full-Day Golden Circle & Geothermal Greenhouse
8 h · 4 stops · lunch at Geysir
Private Golden Circle Day Trip with Kerid Crater
8 h · 5 stops · price per group
Reykjavik Golden Circle tour itinerary, hour by hour
On the most-booked tour the day starts at 08:00 with a 40-minute drive to a break in Hveragerði, then Kerið, Gullfoss, a long lunch stop at Geysir and Þingvellir on the way home. You are back in Reykjavík between 15:00 and 16:30. A tour that starts at Þingvellir visits the same places in the opposite order.
Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater · morning start
7–8.5 h · 5 stops · back in Reykjavík 15:00–16:30
Þingvellir: the rift walk
You walk down a path between two walls of rock where the continents pull apart. From the visitor center at the top of Almannagjá the path runs down through the rift to the river and the old assembly site. Most coach tours give you 45 minutes, enough for the main path one way while the bus waits at the bottom. Private tours often add Öxarárfoss, a short walk from the path.
Geysir: the long stop
Most tours give Geysir an hour or more, because this is where lunch happens. The big Geysir itself is mostly quiet; Strokkur, a few steps away, erupts every few minutes, so even a short stop sees several eruptions. Across the road are a café, a restaurant and a shop. On the long stops you have time for lunch and a walk up the hill behind the hot springs.
Gullfoss: 20 minutes or an hour
How long you get at the falls depends more on the tour than on the weather. From the car park an upper path looks down on both drops; a lower path takes you to the edge of the canyon and into the spray. Twenty minutes covers the upper path and a few photos. With an hour you can walk both and stop at the café by the car park.
Kerið: the red crater
A volcanic crater with a lake at the bottom, on about two in three tours. You can walk around the rim in about 20 minutes or take the steps down to the water. The ground is red gravel, slippery when frozen. Kerið charges an entrance fee of 700 ISK per person; some tours include it, others collect it on the day, and the big coach tour skips the crater on its 12:00 start.
Extra stops some tours add
Beyond the three main sights, tours add one or two stops that change the day: a waterfall, a greenhouse lunch or a warm pool. Each one costs 20 minutes to two hours on the itinerary, so a tour with extras either runs longer or shortens the time at Geysir and Gullfoss. Compare the minutes below before you choose.
Brúarfoss
A narrow blue waterfall a short walk from the road.
Friðheimar
A tomato greenhouse with a restaurant inside; lunch on some tours.
Öxarárfoss
The waterfall inside Þingvellir, 15 minutes from the main path.
Secret Lagoon
A warm pool in Flúðir with a small geyser beside it.
Compare tour itineraries stop by stop
Seven tours side by side: the number is the stop's place in that day, then the minutes on site. The longest stop of each tour is marked. Use it to see where a tour spends its time — the private tour gives Þingvellir 90 minutes, the afternoon tour 25 — and which tours skip Kerið altogether.
| Tour | Þingvellir | Geysir | Gullfoss | Kerið | Extra stop | Start · length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Day Tour with Kerid Craterfrom €83 · 4.8 (28,061) | 545 min | 480 min | 345 min | 220 min | 1Hveragerði 15 min | 08:00 / 12:00 · 7–8.5 h | Check dates |
| Day Tour with optional Blue Lagoonfrom €78 · 4.4 (976) | 145 min | 260 min | 360 min | — | 4Blue Lagoon 3 h · optional | 10:00 / 12:30 · 6.5–11 h | Check dates |
| Afternoon Small-Group Tourfrom €98 · 4.7 (1,614) | 125 min | 345 min | 220 min | 420 min | — | 12:00 · 6 h | Check dates |
| Bruarfoss and Kerid Crater Tourfrom €95 · 4.7 (241) | 145 min | 375 min | 440 min | 530 min | 2Brúarfoss 20 min | 9 h | Check dates |
| Golden Circle & Geothermal Greenhousefrom €94 · 4.7 (206) | 460 min | 290 min | 350 min | — | 1Friðheimar 40 min | 8 h | Check dates |
| Private Day Trip with Kerid Craterfrom €913 per group · 4.3 (4) | 190 min | 350 min | 435 min | 525 min | 2Öxarárfoss 80 min | 8 h | Check dates |
| Golden Circle & Laugarás Lagoon Entryfrom €173 · 4.7 (15) | 1time not stated | 2time not stated | 3time not stated | — | 4Laugarás 2 h | 09:00 · 9.5 h | Check dates |
Afternoon, evening and midnight-sun itineraries
A start after noon keeps the three main sights but shortens the stops. On the big coach tour the 12:00 start costs €8 less and drops Kerið; the afternoon small-group tour keeps the crater with 20 minutes at each stop. Evening and midnight-sun tours run only in the summer and have no dates in November and December.
Same tour · 12:00 start
from €83 instead of €91 · 4 stopsThe operator does not stop at Kerið for departures at 12:00 and later. Want the crater on a later start? The afternoon small-group tour still has it.
What to bring for the day
Pack for a day that is mostly outdoors at short stops with a heated bus in between: layers you can take off quickly, shoes that grip on ice, some money for lunch and the crater, and swimwear only if your tour includes a lagoon. Toilets are at every main stop; some charge a small fee.
- 1Shoes with gripThe paths at Gullfoss, Þingvellir and Kerið can be icy from late autumn to spring.
- 2Cash or card for Kerið700 ISK per person where your tour does not include it.
- 3Lunch moneyMost tours stop for lunch at Geysir; you pay on site.
- 4Swimwear and towelOnly on lagoon tours; some include towels in the dearer tier.
Check dates for the Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater
Pick a date to see live availability and the price for your group on GetYourGuide. The tour runs every day with an 08:00 start, which includes Kerið, and a 12:00 start without it; both can collect you from bus stop 12 or from your hotel.
Itinerary questions
Short answers first, details below. These are the questions people ask about the route itself: how far it is, where the time goes, which stops are optional and what changes on an afternoon or winter tour, with the figures taken from the tours' own itineraries.
250–300 km in all. Under four hours of driving on the whole loop: about 45 minutes to Þingvellir, an hour on to Geysir, ten minutes to Gullfoss and about two hours back.
Geysir. Usually about an hour, up to 90 minutes, because lunch happens there.
No, about two in three. 41 of the 64 tours we checked stop at the crater; the 12:00 start of the big coach tour skips it.
Yes, above. Pick a tour on the map to see its line and the stops in order with the drive times.
Shorter stops. 20–25 minutes at Þingvellir and Gullfoss instead of 45–60, and the day ends in the dark in winter.
Yes, on four tours. They add about 20–30 minutes at the waterfall, usually between Þingvellir and Geysir.
At every main stop. Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss all have toilets; some charge a small fee.
Ready to pick a route? The Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater covers every main stop from €83.