This classic tour will take you to three of Iceland’s most popular attractions, Gullfoss, Geysir and the National Park Thingvellir. Along the way, we will make stops at other interesting places, Geothermal Exhibition at Hellisheidi Power Plant, Faxi waterfall and Kerid, for instance.

Small groups and personal service

Almannagja canyon Thingvellir National Park

Duration: ~9 hours

Pick-up: 09:00 - 09:30

Group maximum: 19 persons

Available: All year

Age limit: 6 years

Difficulty: Easy / Sightseeing

Tour Highlights:

Great value - Multiple stops
Operated in a minibus
Small groups & personal service
Hellisheidavirkjun Power Plant
Thingvellir National Park
Geysir geothermal area
Gullfoss Waterfall
Faxi Waterfall*
Efstidalur - Icelandic farm
Kerið Volcanic Crater
Laugarvatn Geothermal Area
Skálholt - The historical archaeological site*
Erupting geyser
Icelandic Horses
Free WiFi

Reykjavik Pick-up: 09:00 pick up available all year. Note that pickup can take up to 30 minutes.

Included: Pick up and drop off in Reykjavik, all entrance fees, free WiFi, and a professionally guided English tour in a minibus.

* *Faxi and Skálholt not included in December & January

Not included: Lunch (we stop at a local restaurant/diner)

Bring with you: Warm clothes, sturdy shoes. A camera is also a good idea. You can rent hiking shoes and waterproof clothing in the booking engine.

The Golden Circle Afternoon: is available at 13:00 all year round, click here.

Aerial footage from the Golden Circle

Image Gallery: Golden Circle Iceland

from:

11 990 per adult

Children (6-15): 50% off

Popular Tour - Likely to sell out

Booking engine

Reviews on TripAdvisor

"We did a Golden Circle tour and our driver/guide Audur was excellent! Despite an occasionally rainy and cloudy winter day, she gave us a great tour! She was very informative, telling us lots stories along with information about each site we visited. She got us safely to every stop along the way, keeping us warm and happy! Every site we visited was fun and we left with terrific photos..."

Tour Description

Strokkur geyser spouting water

We will visit many exciting places but they are all close by so don’t worry, we will have enough time to enjoy everything!

The Golden Circle Complete

At Extreme Iceland we prefer to operate tours by minibus in smaller groups. This gives us the opportunity to deliver the personal service we feel you deserve.

Hellisheidavirkjun (Geothermal Power Plant)

First stop will be the Geothermal Exhibition at Hellisheidi Power Station. It recently opened and houses an interactive exhibition centring on the development of geothermal energy in Iceland. Geology, technology and history are represented in an accessible and entertaining way through informative and entertaining multimedia exhibits.

Gullfoss Falls - The Golden Waterfall

Crater Kerid

Next we visit Kerið, a volcanic crater lake. First it was thought that Kerið was formed by a huge volcanic explosion (as is usual for volcanic craters), however research now tells us this was probably a cone volcano which erupted and emptied its magma reserve. The cone collapsed into the magma chamber and created the crater lake bordered by strongly coloured red volcanic rock.

From Kerið we travel onwards to Skálholt, a site steeped in Icelandic history and heritage. For over 700 years, Skálholt was the cultural, academic and political center of Iceland. Today it is a popular stop to take in Icelandic history and enjoy the many beautiful buildings and artifacts. There you can see a replica of an Icelandic-style turf house, like people used to build and live in up until the 20th century (although they were quite rare then).

Faxi Waterfall

Next we go see the waterfall Faxi, 12 km from Gullfoss and Geysir. This waterfall is in the river Tungufljot and is part of the golden circle trail.

Almannagja canyon, at Thingvellir National Park

Gullfoss Waterfall (The Golden Falls)

Next up is Gullfoss the most famous waterfall in Iceland in the river Hvíta. It’s power is inspirational and we can stand so close to it that we feel the mist of glacial water on our faces. Around this time it should be lunch time so we will stop at a local place for food.

Geysir Geothermal Area

After hitting the road again we'll make a short stop to look at some Icelandic horses, which are a common sight in the countryside of Iceland. After our meet & greet we head over to the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur where we will see the famous Geysir and many hot springs. We will also see Strokkur geyser, which spouts every five minutes or so and projects steaming water to a height of about 60-100 feet.

Strokkur, the geyser erupts every 8-10 minutes

Efstidalur - Icelandic farm

After the golden two, Gullfoss and Geysir, we will visit Efstidalur, a family farm located close to Laugarvatn lake. There‘s an ice cream barn at the farm and the concept is really charming, you can enjoy different flavoured ice cream produced from the cow‘s milk. It doesn‘t get more original...and the ice cream tastes amazing.

Outside Hellisheidarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant

Lake Laugarvatn - Vígðalaug pool

Laugarvatn is a small town with population of about 200 people. It is also home to lake Laugarvatn which contains geothermal springs under its surface. One of the hot springs connected to the lake is Vígdalaug. When the Icelandic nation became Christian the pool was consecrated by Norwegian priests and used as a baptism pool.

icelandic horse golden circle tour iceland

We will stop for a meet & greet with some Icelandic Horses

Thingvellir National Park and Öxarárfoss waterfall

To complete the Golden Circle we end our tour with visit to the National Park Thingvellir. The area holds great historical importance and has many remarkable geological features. The Eurasian and American tectonic plates meet here and Althingi (the Icelandic parliament) was formed on these rocks in 930 AD, making it the oldest parliamentary site in the world. There’s a beautiful waterfall nearby as well, in fact Öxarárfoss and Thingvellir have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Strokkur, the geyser erupts every 8-10 minutes

Outside Hellisheidarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant

We will stop for a meet & greet with some Icelandic Horses

Map - (click to enlarge)

Read customer reviews

Golden Circle Complete - Rated 4.9/5 based on 42 customer reviews

Golden Circle Complete

5 by Wendy van der Geld 2018-01-26

We did the Golden Circle Complete Tour by minibus. We were very lucky with the weather and our tour guide (Pelmi) added some extra stops to our tour. What a beautiful and amazing places we have seen! We recommend everyone taking this tour with Extreme Iceland / Arctic Adventures.

Golden circle complete :)

5 by Lucy 2018-02-01

Went on this tour on Tuesday and was not disappointed at all!!! Tour guide (eagle) was amazing really funny and didn’t make the tour boring like normal guides! The tour itself is incredible a full day of sightseeing. Had a few extra stops thrown in as well we a extra waterfall and the Icelandic horses. The ice cream is a must on the trip too it was delicious!!! The only downfall we had with the tour was we felt that we didn’t get enough time at the geysir as this is the same stop as the lunch break!!

Great tour

5 by Kelly Walker 2018-02-03

Excellent tour saw so much in one day! Our tour guide yannis was really nice and told us a lot about the country. Couldn't have been better.

A brilliant tour to fabulously beautiful golden circle,Iceland.

5 by Susan Byatt 2018-02-23

"I was so pleased I booked a small guided tour for this trip. Our guide and driver was amazing. She was knowledgeable, helpful and went out of her way to make sure the trip was memorable. Thank you."

Golden Circle Tour - Fantastic!

5 by Brad C. 2018-02-26

We did the Golden Circle tour and had a wonderful time. Our tour guide was friendly, informative, funny, and made sure we had sufficient time at all the stops. The Circle was busy on the day we did the tour, but our guide made sure to drop us off right at all the entrances and picked us up on the way out - it helped to avoid some of the crowds. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Iceland. We went in February, and my wife and I are already planning a second trip to see all the sights in summer.

Great tour

5 by Johanna 2018-03-07

Andrea was a great guide all along. Fantastic day with many stops. The mini-bus was a bit crowded though. 4 persons in the back seats was a bit too much. Our advice to you is to leave one seat empty. Apart from that, we had a very Nice day. Thank You!

Golden Circle + Tour

4 by Jourdan 2018-03-07

Andrea our guide was excellent and accommodating. The sites were great and gave a wonderful sense of Iceland. My only qualm was that at times we felt rushed along from site to site. Not really being able to fully relish and appreciate a site due to a lack of time on site. I’d still do a tour with this company. Just wish I had more time to truly enjoy these wonderful places.

Tour tranquilo

4 by Maria Carolina Cunha 2018-03-08

Por ser um tour feito com uma van, teve menos gente no tour, o que proporcionou um melhor aproveitamento.

Golden Circle Complete

5 by Nehal Aggarwal 2018-03-13

Our tour guide Marcin was excellent. He was knowledgeable and patient. We had plenty of time to enjoy each site and were not rushed at all. He made many stops along the road so we could enjoy waterfalls and take pictures with the scenic views. I high recommend this tour for anyone looking to experience the golden circle and chase after some waterfalls!

So much crammed into one tour! Brilliant!

5 by Caryn 2018-03-18

We chose the Golden Circle Complete tour as places other than the usual three were included and we were very glad we did. Our guide was lovely and chatted all the way about the things we were seeing and Iceland in general. We were booked in for lunch at the tomato farm, where we had homemade soup and bread - absolutely delicious! We were told all about the tomato farming after our meal. Then we met some beautiful Icelandic horses who didnt mind being stroked at all. During the day we saw the Kerid crater, the tomato farm, Gulfoss waterfall, Pingvellan National Park, the Geysir, another very beautiful waterfall that I cant find the name of! and stopped for icecream at a dairy farm (made with milk from their own cows). Our guide walked with us through the National Park and showed us the place of the Iceland Parliament and the Drowning Pool, where several poor women were drowned for various offences after being sentenced at the nearby court. We then walked to the top of the hill to the best views we had ever seen! Lots of photos were taken. We arrived back about 7pm at our drop off point. The meal and the icecream were not in with the cost of the tour but were reasonable (by Iceland standards). There were plenty of stops for comfort breaks. The tour was well worth the money and we had enjoyed every minute of it.

Tours

5 by Kimberly Clark 2018-03-25

We had booked 4 tours with you and every single one was great, friendly and very informative. We would recommend this tour company to anyone who visits Iceland.

Great intro to Iceland

4 by Iceland Newbie 2018-04-04

There are lots of Golden Circle tours to choose from. I encourage travelers to look at the extras to decide which one to take. We chose this one for the small group (we were eight) and the Icelandic horse visit and ice cream farm-to-table experience. In fact, the visit to the power plant, which we weren't too keen on, turned out to be fascinating, maybe the best extra of all. I definitely recommend that. Bjorg was a terrific guide. She told us interesting and relevant stories from her family and never rushed us at any of the sites. She also had some pretty challenging driving on the icy, windy terrain coming down from the power plant (some cars had gone off the road), but she did fine. I was glad I was not driving!

Great Tour

5 by Travelin' Fam 2018-04-07

We took 4 hours with Extreme Iceland - one Golden Circle and 3 Northern Lights. The Golden Circle tour was great, less so the Northern Lights tours. Our Golden Circle guide was nice and knowledgeable...and the tour was fantastic and fun! I would highly recommend this one....

Excellent tour, expensive lunch!

5 by Steven Rees 2018-04-07

The tour was excellent. We went on a Saturday morning, for the 9-hour tour. Pickup was prompt outside of our hotel, and we got underway immediately. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and gave us time to explore without keeping us herded like sheep. We had about 30 minutes at the power plant and an hour at the Geysir for sights and lunch, otherwise stops were about 20-30 minutes. Power plant first (pick up some water from the cafe if you haven't brought any!), then off to the other stops on the website. We got lunch around 1pm at the Geysir. Lunch at this cafeteria is pretty pricey ($10-15 for a sandwich and $15-20 for soup), so bring your own if you want to save a bit. You can have a backpack with you on the tour, so no worries here. Hiking shoes are recommended for some of the muddier areas (pretty much just the crater for us), otherwise normal walking shoes were fine. Our tour guide also stopped to feed some Icelandic horses since we had time, and get ice cream at a local place. Back to the hotel right on time, just a few minutes after 6! Excellent trip, and would do again! Bring a camera, especially if you want to record the Geysir, and our tour guide recommended not standing downwind of it like the other tourists; he was very right!!

The naked truth

5 by Janine 2018-04-09

Anyone planning a trip to Iceland will know that there are 100’s of different tour operators and selecting one is a daunting experience. Upon arrival at my hotel around 6pm, I received notifications that my tours for that evening and the next day were cancelled. I only had 5 days so there was no time to waste. I booked around 8pm with Extreme Iceland on line and then went to bed hoping they’ll see it on time. The next morning I went to the collection point and was greeted by a very friendly, funny and kind Bjorg. She was our tour guide for the day and arrived with my name printed on the guest list. She was very informative, shared interesting stories with us, drove like a pro through the snow blizzard and dropped us off at the closest point to all the excursions. I can highly recommend Bjorg and Extreme Iceland. No need to read millions of reviews of 100’s of tour operators, just book with Extreme Iceland. They trustworthy, efficient, professional and safe.

Golden Circle

5 by Renita Roberts 2018-04-13

We enjoyed our tour of the Golden Circle with your company. Even though we were in a small group, we felt we had personalized service. Thomas was a great tour guide! Thank you.

Best Tour & Tour Guide Ever!

5 by Morgan Turner 2018-04-16

My best friend & I did the Golden Circle tour while on vacation in Reykjavik. We were picked up right from our hostel and our tour group was small & cozy. Our tour guide (your name starts with a Z & I’m sorry we forgot!) was the absolute best and so warm and friendly. You made our time in Iceland unforgettable, and we hail Extreme Iceland as the best website to book tours from! Takk!

Sven golden circle

5 by Laura Murphy Bevis 2018-04-17

Excellent guide, somewhat colorful but knowledgeable. Great opportunity learning about Iceland

Great trip!

5 by Rin 2018-04-22

We were really impressed with Extreme Iceland who were very organised. They came 5 minutes within the stated pickup time, everything was smooth, and our guide (Palli?) did a great job. He was very patient and interesting and also explained everything clearly throughout the day. Would highly recommend!

Great adventure

5 by Anna-Leena Melleri 2018-04-23

9 stops in interesting places - especially the power plant. Young guide was telling us well -enough but however not too much! Actually, the only negative thing was Extreme Iceland websites!! We wanted to join Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon Tour but it was too difficult to find it! The price was the same and we were disappointed when we finally understood that we were joining a wrong tour!!

Golden Circle Tour

5 by Robin Higgins 2018-04-26

Our tour was amazing. Our tour guide went above and beyond our expectations. We enjoyed his knowledge and his personal stories of the area.

9 hours Golden Circle tour was amazing!!!

5 by Angelica Hernandez 2018-04-29

The Complete Golden Circle Tour (9 hours tour) was amazing!!! It is worth the 9 hours drive, we saw a lot of Iceland in 1 day, and it is more complete than other typical Golden Circle tours; we had enough time to enjoy every single stop and the best is that we were only 7 people in a minibus. The driver and guide (same person) was a really nice person, a gentleman, and he shared very interesting stories with us. I definitely recommend this tour.

A Must Do in Reykjavík

5 by Kendra 2018-05-06

This tour was excellent. The minibus was comfortable and clean with ports to charge your electronics. The small tour size allows you to enjoy the Golden Circle tour fully. You get side stops that you wouldn't get on the big bus where your restricted to just the 3 main stops. Definitely get the ice cream at the farm. So goo. It's a must do. Good for old and young alike!!!

Golden Circle Tour_April 2018

5 by Florence Iverson 2018-05-09

I went on the Golden Circle Tour in late April 2018. Extreme Iceland far exceeded my expectations. I had a wonderful group of travelers in my group - a couple from Hong Kong, another solo traveler from the U.S., and a family of three from Madrid. Being off season, our group was small and we all had opportunities to get to know one another. Our tour guide, Micah immediately created a relaxed, fun, and interesting tour by informing us so much about Iceland. I learned about culture, history, the environment, and so much more. I would book another Extreme Iceland tour when I return to Iceland without question.

An iconic toiur one must not miss

5 by Robert 2018-05-12

We only had a few days on Iceland and we wanted to take advantage of the tour. Despite the fact we actually had "terrible" weather, our guide was fantastic and made sure we had a good experience. For those that have only one day to visit, we recommend Extreme Iceland.

4 by Arja 2018-05-13

As a feedback I would like to say that the atmosphere was fine and relaxed with the viking stories. However, I would like to have heard more stories about the places. Especially not that much was told about the place were the first parliament met.

Golden circle - complete

5 by Lucy 2018-05-18

Had an amazing day on this tour. Booking was easy, lots of details on the tour and pick up. Tour guide Kata was awesome, friendly and knowledgeable. We had enough time on each location. I would higly recommend this tour, lots to see and learn and enjoy!

AMAZING!

5 by Nina 2018-06-05

I loved this tour so much. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and answered all the questions people had during the trip. Also - with a smaller van (with about 20 people), it made everything a little more intimate. Loved it!

Amazing

5 by Sarah 2018-06-11

10/10 would recommend! Saw the coolest sites and in great time with an awesome guide. Thanks again!

Great tour and guide

5 by Simon 2018-06-11

The tour was very well done and the guide was excellent.

great tour

5 by Korl007 2018-06-17

if you want to take a break from driving yourself you have to take this tour! groups are small (max. 18-22 ppl) and they give you a lots of time to explore the area you are in;

5 by Allan Furlong 2018-07-06

The tour guide was very good and the day out was well worth it. I would recomend that anyone going to Landmannalaugur to book with Extreme Iceland/Arctic Adventures. It was an exceptional day - despite the bad weather to start. I could not have been happier with the experience and really enjoyed the company of our guide on the day (Friday 29th) Allan

Excellent tour!

5 by Verified customer 2017-06-06

Very satisfied with this tour, we went to all the places of the Golden Circe and had time to wander around. The guide was informative and gentle!

Fantastic

5 by Verified customer 2017-05-17

Our guide (Sildri, I think) was very knowledgeable and funny. He gave us all the information we needed for the tour as well as lots of other random facts about Iceland and the economy. It was exactly the kind of tour we wanted.

It was perfect !

5 by Verified customer 2017-04-23

Our guide was very interesting and explained things in a simple and funny way ; it was perfect ! Thank you :)

Good fun and a very full day

5 by Verified customer 2017-04-10

Great tour, our guide was keen to share about Icelandic culture, sites and history. Good fun and a very full day.

Enjoyable tour

5 by Verified customer 2017-04-02

A very good and enjoyable tour. There was good banter on the bus and had a good laugh.

A fun Golden Circle Complete - Classic Minibus Tour!

5 by Verified customer 2017-03-28

Diddi was awesome. In a day we saw amazing aspects of Icelandic nature, and also learned about the way of life and culture. It was perfect! Diddi was friendly, patient, and eager to answer questions. I sat near the front of the bus, so I'm not sure if the people at the back could hear the speakers. Maybe they did!

We had a very good time!

5 by Verified customer 2017-03-16

Jóhannes our tour guide was very informative, pointing out important landscape features. We had a very good time! Thank you for making our trip a unforgettable experience.

Will definitely use you again and recommend to others

5 by Verified customer 2017-01-18

Guide was excellent had a lot of knowledge and gave us a good insight into Iceland. Felt that we saw everything we had expected- possibly would have liked longer at the last stop- the national park but the guide was conscious that there were people going on evening tour that had to be back. Apart from that an excellent tour and will definitely use you again and recommend to others.

Satisfied

5 by Verified customer 2017-03-04

Less time at the power plant would have given us more time at the volcano crater lake as we really had to rush and didn't have enough time to walk around crater and down to lake, whereas we were stood around waiting at the power plant (although it was very interesting there, could have been 15 mins shorter).

The best tours I have ever been on in my life.

5 by Verified customer 2017-02-09

The best tours I have ever been on in my life. Tour guides were fantastic and very knowledgeable. They were also very passionate about their own land which made both tours even better. A big thank you to the Golden Circle Complete tour guide on Thursday, 9th Feb and the Sensational Iceland tour guide on Friday, 10th Feb

All reviews displayed on our site are collected from customers via our post-tour review system.

Load More Reviews

Disclaimer: Due to weather and limited daylight during winter time the itinerary can vary between days. Our guides evaluate circumstances and take the best informed decision possible.

Golden Circle Complete - Classic Minibus Tour - EI27

See Iceland's Top Attractions - Small Groups - Personal Service