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Join our Minibus Golden Circle tour to visit the most famous places in Iceland: powerful Gullfoss, the most popular waterfall in Iceland, Thingvellir National Park, where tectonic plates collide, and the erupting geysers in Haukadalur Valley. Once darkness falls, we take to the roads on a hunt for the glittering Northern Lights.
Your guide will also take free photographs of you so you can keep the memory alive!
This minibus trip is a combination of our very popular afternoon Golden Circle tour and an evening Northern Lights tour. Book this tour to save on both!
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Get the best value for money by booking a combo tour for up to 10% less!
Thingvellir National Park
Travel through Iceland’s beautiful countryside to Þingvellir National Park, the impressive site of Iceland´s historic parliament, the Alþingi. Founded in 930 c.e., it’s the oldest parliament in the world still in existence. On a sunny day, you can stand beside the law rock and look out over the valley. This incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site is also one of the great geological wonders of the world. The rift valley is the result of the ever-shifting Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, slowly moving apart over eons.
Geysir Geothermal Area
Next on the agenda is the Geysir hot spring area. The Great Geysir is no longer active, but Strokkur, a nearby erupting hot spring, spouts huge jets of superheated water every eight to ten minutes. These scalding expulsions often soar skyward to 25 m and sometimes even up to 40 m.
Gullfoss Waterfall
Visit the magnificent Gullfoss Waterfall (the Golden Falls). The river that flows to the falls is known as Hvítá (the White River) and originates at Langjökull glacier. The roar thunders down through the rugged canyon, dropping 32 m in two stages. You’ll likely catch sight of the golden-hued spray that lent this waterfall its name, and, maybe if you’re lucky, a rainbow – remember to make a wish!
Next, you’re dropped off downtown in Reykjavík, close to cafés and restaurants where you have time to enjoy supper. You will be picked up outside your hotel for your northern lights tour at 20:30 (8:30 p.m.).
We’ll drive you out to the best, secret spots in the countryside to see the aurora borealis in the dark sky. The moment when you spot their shimmering, jewel-bright colors is always awe-inspiring and magical. The most common colors are green and yellow, with occasional white and blue. Less common are violet, purple and rose northern lights. Deep red auroras, the rarest in the world, are more common in Iceland than anywhere else. Unfortunately, since the lights are a natural phenomenon, we can’t really guarantee that you’ll see the lights, but our guides do monitor the aurora and weather forecasts closely to increase your chances.
Onlookers have been fascinated by auroras for millennia, and it was only in the last few decades that scientists discovered they are caused by the interaction between the Sun and Earth’s magnetic field. As charged particles from the sun, known as solar wind, enter the earth’s atmosphere, they start to collide with gaseous particles and manifest as these glittering lights.
The tour returns to Reykjavík around midnight, when you’ll be dropped off at or very near your hotel.
Pick up is at 12:00 pm from your hotel or a nearby meeting point in Reykjavík. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated.
Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures’s pick-up list.
As the success of the northern lights tour is heavily dependent on weather conditions, we reserve the right to cancel the northern lights part of the tour until 18:15 on the day of the tour if the aurora forecast is not looking good.
If no aurora is seen during the tour, you’ll have unlimited re-tries valid for up to 3 years. That’s right, you’ll be able to re-join the chase of Northern Lights until it’s a successful one!
What to do in this case? Our Customer Care is ready to help you and book your next re-try.
Please keep in mind that refunds are not issued when a tour takes place but no Northern Lights are seen. During a re-try, the tour is operated on a minibus.
This is a great question. We ask all participants to be ready from the start of the pickup time indicated. This is because you may well be the first pick up of the day. Please be at your assigned location at the start time that you chose when booking the tour.
Here you should wait for your guide.
Have your email and phone number listed with us so we can contact you if we run into any trouble finding you.
View our pick-up locations in Reykjavík.
Before and during activities on the multi-day tours consumption of alcohol is prohibited. If we suspect that a participant is intoxicated, we will prohibit them from joining the activity.
After the activities of the day are finished, you are welcome to have a drink and relax.
Yes, we do. Langjökull Ice Cave is a magical experience, the tour has no minimum age and is a wonderful option for the whole family. Whale Watching with our partner company Elding has been a favourite with families traveling with young children, these guys have a great success rate in seeing whales (upwards of 98% in the summertime).
Another option would be the Landmannalaugar Safari on this tour you get to explore parts of the Icelandic highlands and bathe in natural hot springs. Most of our super jeep tours are also suitable for children over the age of 6 years old. If you would like a nice and relaxing experience we would also recommend the Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon tour.
Your safety is our number one priority! Keeping this in mind, Arctic Adventures reserves the right to adjust the itinerary and/or take different routes depending on conditions. Please read more information in our cancellation policy.
Yes, there is a specially trained and certified guide on each of our tours. The only exception to this is for our self-drive tours.
All of our tours are guided in English.
No, for all your questions and concerns you would need to contact our customer service.
The standard in Iceland is 230V and 50Hz and we use F-type power sockets and plugs, so you might have to bring an adaptor if you are visiting from UK, USA, Canada or other countries using a different voltage, Hz or plugs.
Our tours are split into four different categories that help participants to understand what to expect from the tour. The categories are Easy, Moderate, Challenging and Demanding. Each tour is rated making it easier to find tours that suit you.
For further information about the difficulty ratings and descriptions.
We’ve partnered with the Kolviður Fund in a new carbon offsetting program, which passengers can select to participate in at the time of booking.
The Kolviður Fund is the oldest, most respected carbon offsetting program in Iceland. With your support, one tree will be planted in special Kolviður forests in Iceland to carbon offset your tour with us.
Kolviður forests are strategically planted to absorb the maximum amount of CO2 and the forests are protected for a minimum of 60 years. During their lifetime the trees absorb carbon and store it in their root system, trunk, and branches. Trees also prevent soil erosion and maintain storage of carbon in the soil.
Yes, we offer the tour Golden Circle small group tour which is basically the Golden Circle with some extra stops. This tour is focusing on sightseeing and the history of Iceland. Our stops are Gullfoss waterfall, Þingvellir national park (home to one of the first parliaments of the world), Geysir hot spring area and the historic Skálholt cathedral. View Golden Circle Tours.
We offer numerous options to spice up your Golden Circle tour and make the most of your day. Here is a list of some great tours.
All year-around options:
Summer season:
Winter season:
The tour is based around the three most popular attractions in Iceland Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss Waterfall and The Great Geysir. We offer several Golden Circle trips that combine sightseeing with some of our adventure tours.
