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6+ hours
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Golden Circle Day Tours
Golden Circle Day Tours
4.5
Sightseeing ToursPrivate ToursNature & Wildlife ToursSelf-Guided Tours & RentalsBus Tours
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Full view
About
The Golden Circle Classic tour takes you to see three of the must see attractions in South Iceland - Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir geothermal area and Thingvellir National Park. We build our tours upon this classic tour as well as we have added more activities like snorkelling, snowmobiling, horse riding and many more to the Golden Circle Tour! Be sure to look into these tours, they are all made to create great memories!
Tours and Tickets by Golden Circle Day Tours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
690 reviews
Excellent
510
Very good
142
Average
24
Poor
9
Terrible
5
Elaine Binns
13 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
An excellent full day tour taking in the "must see" sights in Iceland. February is a good month to do the tour as you have 7 hours of daylight to enjoy. BusTravel Iceland provided the transport and our guide Dave was full of informative knowledge. We had long enough at each stop to enjoy the scenery and take lots of photos. The lunch stop at Geysir was good as the food is quite reasonably priced (except for the soup!). Overall a great tour that I would recommend to anyone wanting to see the best sights.
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lynne
Macclesfield, UK15 contributions
Feb 2020
This was a full day tour as part of the TUI package we booked. We were picked up at 08.30 and had a driver and tour guide for the day. We started off visiting the geysirs which go off every few minutes. Then we went on to the Golden waterfall which was really epic. There is a guided path overlooking it all and it seems to be a combination of the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls wrapped in snow. Lunch was included and we were seated at communal tables which encouraged you to meet people. We finished off visiting the place where 2 tectonic plates are colliding. Where the plates meet, it causes the ground to split and cause canyons, some quite small and others huge. It feels strange to have one foot on the American plate and the other on the Asian one. The tour guide was particularly good on this trip, very knowledgeable and a nice speaking voice, excellent English.
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
carolaantoine
1 contribution
Jan 2020 • Couples
The driver give us a lot of information about Iceland, the people and Game of Thrones (i think he is a big fan of GoT). The streets are very slippery and icy, But the driver bring uns save at home. Only the space in the bus was a little bit to narrow.
Written January 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jack R
20 contributions
Feb 2020
We went with Tui on this tour, we went to the geysers first which were good then on to lunch was warm hearty soup, fresh bread followed by chocolate cake. We had as much tea and coffee as we wanted then wrapped up tonwalk out to the glacier which was simply stunning, cold but stunning, bear in mind the wind is brutal being so high up, gulfoss was our favourite bit of the day. We then left to go to see the tectonic plates, the views and the walk are lovely, then we headed home to Reykjavík. We enjoyed the whole trip, but glad we wrapped up warm in several layers, it is so cold to remove gloves to take pics wish we had taken some fingerless gloves under our ski mitts, scenery is lovely.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
laur12344
Cork 2 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
The golden circle tour was so enjoyable. Upon arriving in Iceland I was definitely looking forward to other tours but this tour really surprised me the most as i didn’t except it to be so beautiful. The National Park was amazing and we had lovely views . The geyser is pretty cool to witness and golden waterfall is cool but it’s so windy down there . The tour was 6 hour long with stops in all 3 for coffee toilets etc
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AMFM M
125 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
We didn't realise it was under utterly cold but dry and sunny weather to visit these places. The hot springs, the valleys, the river, the waterfall all under -16℃ with real feel of -21℃. It was serene, vast but left us powerful view of the mother nature left us this picturesque landscape with so many thermal activities underground. Another tour must go
Written December 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear AMFM,
Thank you for taking the time to share your reflections on your recent tour with us. Your description of the utterly cold but dry and sunny weather, along with the powerful view of Mother Nature's picturesque landscapes, truly captures the essence of the experience we strive to provide.
It's exciting to know that the thermal activities, hot springs, valleys, river, and waterfall all contributed to a memorable tour, even under the extreme temperatures of -16℃. Your enthusiasm for the serenity and vastness of the landscapes is something we hope all our guests experience.
We appreciate your endorsement and recognition of our tour as a "must go." It means the world to us, and we look forward to welcoming you back on another adventure in the future.
Stay warm, and safe travels!
Best Regards,
Golden Circle Day Tours
Written August 9, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
You Only Live Once
High Wycombe, UK617 contributions
Jan 2019 • Friends
Our Golden Circle tour was an inclusive part of our TUI package. It was extremely well-organised and we enjoyed a thoroughly good day out. Our coach picked us up at our hotel and took us to three of the main sights in Southern Iceland - Strokkur, Gullfoss and Thingvellir National Park. There was plenty of time at each place to explore, take photographs and buy souvenirs or refreshments. Lunch was provided at Gullfoss - a lovely meal of traditional Icelandic lamb stew, followed by traditional Icelandic cake - delicious! Tea, coffee and water were also free with lunch. All in all a very enjoyable day's sightseeing. Wrap up warm and wear good shoes, there's a lot of time outside in the cold, the terrain isn't the easiest walking surface either, so be prepared - you don't need to be athletic to do this tour, but you should be prepared for the cold and able to walk up a slight incline, and a few flights of steps.
Written January 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eric McCready
Scotland, UK36 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
My wife and I went in this tour. It was very interesting and informative. This was due to the tour guide. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Iceland.
Written December 16, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KathTetley
Sydney22 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
There are soooo many options, I thought my husbands brain was going to fritz out trying to decide what tour was best.
We wanted to leave out the Blue Lagoon due to sleeting, snowy, icy conditions and this was the right fit.
Top tips;
Smuggle some snacks from hotel to take with you to avoid major $$.
Lunch tip, choose the Icelandic meat soup. Queues are short. Soup is hot. And then you can visit the Geysirs fast.
Don’t run late for the bus
Take a poncho
Wear excellent snowy/icy shoes.
Three major stops. All good. Even in crazy rain/sleet weather. Geysirs, waterfalls and tectonic plates walk.
iPad map tour on the bus with headphones was interesting and humor pretty good too. Eg I certainly know more information about trolls (the rock kind, not social media type) than I ever expected.
Guide was a good guy....Ziggy.
Driver was impressive in the conditions.
Reykjavík has pick up and drop offs well organized. No waiting. Meet here. Pick up on time. I likely.
Plus, It is worth noting that we booked our trip at 8.20am and it started at 10am and they never missed a beat.
Overall. Not super fancy. No bonding stuff. Just get out there and enjoy the nature stuff. I am not a big nature type (you may have guessed this), but it is worth it...no matter the weather.
We wanted to leave out the Blue Lagoon due to sleeting, snowy, icy conditions and this was the right fit.
Top tips;
Smuggle some snacks from hotel to take with you to avoid major $$.
Lunch tip, choose the Icelandic meat soup. Queues are short. Soup is hot. And then you can visit the Geysirs fast.
Don’t run late for the bus
Take a poncho
Wear excellent snowy/icy shoes.
Three major stops. All good. Even in crazy rain/sleet weather. Geysirs, waterfalls and tectonic plates walk.
iPad map tour on the bus with headphones was interesting and humor pretty good too. Eg I certainly know more information about trolls (the rock kind, not social media type) than I ever expected.
Guide was a good guy....Ziggy.
Driver was impressive in the conditions.
Reykjavík has pick up and drop offs well organized. No waiting. Meet here. Pick up on time. I likely.
Plus, It is worth noting that we booked our trip at 8.20am and it started at 10am and they never missed a beat.
Overall. Not super fancy. No bonding stuff. Just get out there and enjoy the nature stuff. I am not a big nature type (you may have guessed this), but it is worth it...no matter the weather.
Written March 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MissKVS
Nottingham, UK104 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
Long day out exploring the Icelandic scenery. Pickup roughly 9.30 and back in town about 6.30/7pm.
Stop 1: geysers - will deffo see the activity as they tend to go off every 5/6 mins.
Nice choice of cafes and places to eat there and a shop etc. An hour is about right
Stop 2: Gullfoss Waterfall - fantastic sight. Make sure you walk all the way up to get the view. Very cold but well worth it. Again toilets and cafe/shop
Stop 3: Tectonic Plates - short stop to finish the tour. You can walk between the two plates. Toilets and cafe again available.
Your guide really knowledgeable and knew everything about the attractions and Iceland. Very interesting.
Take snacks as bus journey is long!
Stop 1: geysers - will deffo see the activity as they tend to go off every 5/6 mins.
Nice choice of cafes and places to eat there and a shop etc. An hour is about right
Stop 2: Gullfoss Waterfall - fantastic sight. Make sure you walk all the way up to get the view. Very cold but well worth it. Again toilets and cafe/shop
Stop 3: Tectonic Plates - short stop to finish the tour. You can walk between the two plates. Toilets and cafe again available.
Your guide really knowledgeable and knew everything about the attractions and Iceland. Very interesting.
Take snacks as bus journey is long!
Written March 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hi does the tui tour to the golden circle include a swim in the thermal spa
Written March 8, 2020
Yes! We sell two Golden Circles options that include either admission to the Secret Lagoon or admission to the Blue Lagoon.
Written March 9, 2020
Does TUI golden circle tour include the blue lagoon
Written February 16, 2020
We offer a small group tour of the Golden Circle which also goes to the Blue Lagoon.
Written March 5, 2020
We are travelling with Tui on this tour. Do they have a vegetarian alternative to the stew that is offered for lunch
Written March 20, 2019
when we went on this tour they did tomato soup as an alternative. :)
Written March 22, 2019
Julie D
London, United Kingdom
Hi, I would like to get more infos about the tour from your website but I just get an error 404 page. What is your website? Where can I book? Thanks
Written February 4, 2019
I bought tickets from Reykjavik excursions. You can also buy it at the bus stop.
Written February 5, 2019
Hi Kandfield - We're planning on booking a restaurant when we get back. At what time did you return to Reyjavik?
Written December 16, 2018
Our tour returned to the ship between 5-6 PM but that was just one group from our ship. Others returned somewhat later mainly depended on local traffic.
Written December 18, 2018
We are coming to Iceland in November. Would that be a good time to do the Golden circle? Would the weather be too rough?
Written September 26, 2018
We’ve just had a great day - full day, full value. And November starts tomorrow. The sun shone for us though and you obviously take pot luck with the weather. But I’d do it in any conditions and meet with the majesty of Iceland’s unique environment in whatever way it came at me. Definitely dress for weather though, but take your sunglasses just in case.
Written October 31, 2018
My husband has difficulty walking too far in one go, on uneven ground and uphill. Would the Golden Circle tour be suitabmr
Written September 18, 2018
You can walk as much as you wanted on this tour but a private car might be better.
Written September 19, 2018
I’m going to Rome in April and I’m going to be taking a cruise Royal Carribean from Rome. What airport do I fly into? Rom or FCO or does it matter how far is the Vatican from the airport?
Written June 28, 2018
Sorry never been to Rome, Golden circle is in Iceland
Written June 30, 2018
I’m going to Iceland can I do these tours by myself. Would I be allowed to visit these sites without a guide?
Written June 27, 2018
Hi there, you surely can visit these sites by yourself. But they are in a radius of some 300 km around Reykjavik. A lot of driving for one day. Also, a guide makes the sites come alive. The stories are an integral part of the sight seeing experience. I think.
Written June 27, 2018
I’m going to Iceland from HK tonight. Would like to check any one day trip can suggest to me and how much? We have 2 persons.
Written May 4, 2018
Hi there!
I’d recommend the golden circle tour as it covers quite a bit! The blue lagoon is also amazing and can be done in the evening too! The south shore adventure is also really good!
All the excursions stop for you to use toilet facilities and so that you can buy food. Reykjavik excursions also have charging ports on their coaches!
Hope this helps!
Written May 6, 2018
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