Golden Circle. Private Day Tour from Reykjavik
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Reykjavik, Iceland
- 8 to 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enhance your experience of Iceland’s renowned Golden Circle—and beat the crowds on this popular sightseeing route—on a private, full-day tour from Reykjavik. Absorb the UNESCO–listed landscapes of Thingvellir National Park, discover the seismic activity of the Haukadalur Valley, walk along the ancient Kerid Crater, and capture photographs of the colossal cascades of the Gullfoss Waterfall. Round-trip transit helps make your sightseeing simple.
- Learn insider facts about the landscape and its geological history
- Check off the top sights of the Golden Circle route in just one trip
- Round-trip transit from your Reykjavik hottel makes logistics simple
- Receive the undivided attention of your expert guide on this private tour
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Reykjavik
- Private tour for your group
- Driver-guide services on the trip
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We can change a pickup time upon request to a convenient time. Pickup and drop-off outside of the capital area is possible for the surcharge.
Itinerary
1
Thingvellir National Park
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Haukadalur
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
3
Gullfoss Falls
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
4
Fridheimar
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
5
Kerid Crater
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- Operates in most weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
alexandraka2016
Great trip with the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Kiddi was our guide and he is a very knowledgeable, pleasant Viking. We had a great day!
Reviews
4.9
based on 58 reviews
Melissa_D, Jul 2024
Our guide was amazing and made our day enjoyable and we ended our day with so much information about Iceland. We were picked up at our hotel with a clean, Mercedes sprinter van. Our guide navigated our day so we could have plenty of time to see the sights and stop at the tomato farm for lunch. I highly recommend this private tour.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Dear Melissa, thank you and your group for being me on the Golden Circle tour. It was my pleasure to show Iceland's highlights to your Indiana team. :)
Nanci_A, Dec 2022
What an amazing day! Even in the very cold weather we were able to see and enjoy so much natural beauty and learn a lot about Iceland. We loved this tour and our friendly and knowledgeable guide. I highly recommend it! Thank you!!
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Dear Nanci, thank you for your review and recommendations. I'm glad you enjoyed our trip and the day spent with me at the Golden Circle.
Anne_D, Oct 2021
Sergei was wonderful. He was able to give us a lot of history and background for each location. Had a great lunch and ice cream spot!
Nancy_P, Aug 2021
Lunch at tomato farm. Gulfoss, Geysir. All wonderful, tour guide very knowledgeable and entertaining, helpful with pictures taken.
Travel24160398197, Jun 2019
Our guide Sergio went out of his way to make sure we saw the many sites, kept us on schedule to get as much seen as possible. We wanted to visit the Secret Lagoon and he fit that in our tour. Picked a wonderful place for us to have lunch - introduced us to a lovely dairy farm with fantastic ice cream. He included a great deal of Iceland history and geography as he toured us - patiently waited for us to capture all the pictures we wanted. A memorable trip made even better with this tour.
Ron O, Aug 2018
Having used Viator in Europe, I expected excellent communication, especially with a price tag of $1,000 for a one day tour of the Golden Circle area. Our guide was 5 stars. However, again, for the price of the tour, I expected someone from Iceland who would give us more cultural insight, and a little more accurate information, than a person in the country for only two years. That was a huge disappointment. Worse, though, my attempts to communicate with the Viator staff in Iceland went completely unanswered. No, I was ignored. We didn't even receive any email messages or phone call to our hotel prior to our tour, nothing! I sent emails and phoned the numbers I was given starting about two weeks before our arrival in Iceland with very specific questions about the tour. I also called and emailed Sergei the day before and the day of the tour. He has never responded. Inexcusable! I will certainly think twice about using Viator in the future for any of our travels. Again, our guide, Paul, was a very charming and accommodating fellow. Except for the knowledge base we expected and paid for, he gets 5 stars.
alexandraka2016, Aug 2018
Great trip with the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Kiddi was our guide and he is a very knowledgeable, pleasant Viking. We had a great day!
Melissa B, Aug 2018
I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. Our tour guide, Sergey, was terrific. He knew so much about everywhere we went and made the tour so incredibly convenient. I was a total goober and overlooked our pickup time on the voucher and he patiently responded to me like 5 inquiries the night before. He was on time to pick us up and is just a really nice guy in general. He also taught me how to work the panorama function on my phone.
The stops on the tour were a lot of fun. The geothermal station has a lot of really pretty views and it's cool to learn how Iceland gets its heat. The geysers are neat and the crater is very pretty. Thingvellir Park is really cool and has a lot of neat history. The greenhouse with the tomatoes where we went for lunch was probably my favorite food stop the entire time I was in Iceland and I don't even usually like tomato soup. The whole day was just really amazing and my friends and I had a great time. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Ellen C, Jul 2018
Enjoyed the privacy of the tour for just our family. Sergei the guide was extremely knowledgeable and informative. He educated us with rich history of the region and personalized the whole experience for us Although it was a long day of touring, the frequent stops and walks and hikes to beautiful locations made the day interesting and not at all tedious. Highly recommended
Ann_O, Mar 2018
We enjoyed a great day. Sergei, our guide, was friendly, informative and efficient. He provided lots of facts and figures regarding Rekjavic
and tried to ensure that we found the best spots and took photos of our group. All the sights were fascinating . It is difficult to select a favourite but the Gulfoss Waterfall probably has the edge simply for the 'wow' factor. I would thoroughly recommend this trip.
Kimberly O, Sep 2017
This is by far the best way to see The Golden Circle. Sergei was a fantastic guide, knowledgeable and great to spend the day with. I did not feel rushed as you do with so many other tours and he was continuously giving us history of the country and points of interest. We loved seeing all of the falls and scenery. One of our favorite points of the day was lunch at a tomato greenhouse. It was absolutely fantastic. Don't go to Iceland and miss this travel adventure!!!
ila g, Sep 2017
It was a wonderful experience. We had already spent 10 days in the north of Iceland on our own birding and hiking and whale watching so we had seen a lot of Iceland. Our guide went out of his way to take us to many places that were never on a regular tour so that we got to see parts of Iceland that the general tourist never sees. At one particular spot we took a walk through an area filled with hot steam fissures. It was very beautiful and totally empty of people. Even when we went to the site of the founding of the Icelandic nation, where hundreds of tourist were, he managed to drop us off near the entrance park and then meet us and then go back and get the car and pick us up in a different place far away from the crowds. We had time to visit sites at our leisure including a waterfall where we were the only people. It was magical. When we wanted to take a picture, he would show us the very best angel. It was worth every penny we paid!!! Lovely!
My only suggestion that on the lake near the site of the power plant with a great view is a spa We stopped for a quick visit. If possible, I would recommend stopping for tea and taking a swim in the hot pools. It was very beautiful! I will certainly go to that site again on my next visit and spend an hour or two there before going on t other sites.
THERESA A, Sep 2017
Despite our ship arrived Reykjavik late and forced to start our tour at 5:30pm , our guide showed us around beautiful places with such enthusiasm. Took extra effort in showing us best vantage points. Never took short cut despite the late hours. We finished tour at midnight!
Sandra W, Jun 2017
Had a terrific tour with Sergei! He paced the tour perfectly for our group and is a fountain of knowledge. This was our first exploration in Iceland and he was the BEST guide! We covered a lot of territory and enjoyed every bit of it.
Martha F, Jun 2017
This is definitely the best way to tour the Golden Circle and our most interesting day in Iceland. Our private guide, Dennis, was great. He showed us places that the tour buses don't go to, up close and personal, on our own timing. He also adjusted and took us to places that interested us specifically and kept our 18 year old highly entertained! Highlights in addition to Gullfoss, Geysers and east/west tetonic plate divide, were the amazing lunch at a tomato farm, visits to some off the path steam pools, the collapsed volcano crater and the lava fields.
Beverly M, May 2017
Excellent tour. Our guide was friendly and informative. The views were amazing.Had a very enjoyable day with perfect weather. Had a great lunch at Fridheimar.
Ilene W, Apr 2017
This was a wonderful experience and we were so lucky to have Sergei take us around Iceland. We really only had one full day in and around Reykjavik, and he knew exactly where to go. He also knew the history of Iceland, and was completely fluent in English, which was an extra treat. He was kind and patient, and put up with three women regularly needing bathroom breaks! At several locations, the parking would be a 5 or 10 minute walk away. When we were freezing, he would very kindly go get his comfortable jeep, and come pick us up, at one point with yummy, hot chocolate! Terrific tour with a knowing, tour guide!
Matt M, Apr 2017
This tour was by far the best adventure we had in Iceland. Denis was amazing from pick up to drop off! He was full of energy and very knowledgeable about each stop and Iceland in general. He was so great answering all of our questions and providing background on each place. The Frioheimar Tomato Greenhouse was one of the best highlights of the trip and was a spot we definitely would of not found on our own. On our drive we even stopped to feed some of the local horses and learn more about day to day living in Iceland. I highly encourage spending a bit more and having your own guide with undivided attention-as an added bonus Denis was wonderful taking our photos and making sure we had a wonderful time!
Cynthia W, Mar 2017
Just returned from Iceland 2 days aga and what an amazing country - especially this tour! Four friends on holiday had a fantastic with guide Sergei. It began with Sergei arriving at our hotel on time, with a smile and made us cormfortable before journeying out to the sights. This is so much better than on a bus tour. Sergei kept us informed prior to each stop with the history and facts of the sights. We started with Thingvellir Nat'l. Park walking through the canyon formed between 2 tectonic plates, North American and Eurasian. Other sights included: Gullfoss waterfall, Strokkur geyser and hot springs, Faxa Falls, Kerid Crater, lunch at Frioheimar Tomato Greenhouse with delicious homemade breads and tomato soup - a basil plant is on the table with herb shears for adding to your soup, and the special stop along the roadside to photo, feed, and pet Icelandic horses. Sergei was thoughtful to bring both treats for the horses and hand cleander for us afterwards. A funfilled full day with a very informative accomodating guide. Maybe you, too, will be lucky to have Sergei.
Alex M, Mar 2017
We had a fantastic day with Sergei. He was very knowledgeable about the Golden Circle as well as Iceland in general, and we enjoyed visiting the wel-known sites as well as some hidden gems as well. Very highly recommended!
Alan_R, Feb 2017
Our guide Sergei was brilliant from start to finish. He chatted along all day and informed us of so much information to the area and the stop of points. Lunch was at the Frioheimar tomato greenhouse with fabulous buffet tomato soup and bread for 2300isk. He happily took photos for us whenever asked and made impromptu stops whenever something suggested it, like at a group of ponies on the roadside. We also stopped at the Laugarvatn Fontana geothermal baths and tried their very fresh Lava bread , the Faxa falls and a walk round the Kerid crater. Nothing was too much trouble for him and this seemed an expensive day tour but no regrets and definitely worth doing.
John C, Nov 2016
Our family had a great day with Sergei. A genuinely nice guy who loves people and is extremely well informed with regard to everything about the trip. Can't recommend it enough. If anything, he could leave you more time to wander alone and ruminate, but he's always at hand with information and provides for all your comforts on the day. He even stayed two hours longer with us to fit everything in. A wonderful day with a great guy!
Patricia_M, Sep 2016
Sergey was fabulous! Best day ever, felt like we were with a friend as he showed us all around while taking great care to accommodate us for comfort, food, enjoyment of each stop. An amazingly knowledgeable guide who took great care to explain the many facets of Icelandic culture and geography. Plus, a great driver!!!
shaun.cottle, Aug 2016
Had a fantastic time well worth a trip, Sergei was a brilliant host, would recommend.
Rebecca_B, May 2016
If i could give this more stars, I would. Sergei was an incredible tour guide.
We stopped at many well-known spots along the Golden Circle, but we also went to a few unexpected places. The whole experience, and everything we saw along the way, is absolutely unforgettable.
Sergei was very patient with us as we took a bunch of pictures at each location, and even snapped a couple of very well done! pictures of us against Iceland's naturally beautiful backdrops.
For anyone weighing this against a bus tour: the cost of this one-on-one tour is absolutely worth every penny. To get a personal tour experience from a local, who has the vast knowledge that Sergei has, was more than worth it. I definitely recommend this and, in fact, already have and my group and I are so happy we did it. This was the best part of our stay in Iceland.
csikeda, Feb 2016
This personalized private tour was such a pleasant change from the big bus tours. Highly recommended!
Rachel F, Nov 2015
We had a great time! Definitely worth the extra money to have the day to yourself. Wish the tour guide's english had been a little better, but he managed.
SteveY, Jan 2017
Just superb! Fantastic guide and excellent value!
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per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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