From Reykjavik: 6-Day Winter Tour Around Iceland by Minibus

Join an unforgettable six-day adventure through Iceland’s most stunning landscapes. Begin your journey with the iconic Golden Circle, exploring Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss waterfall. Continue to the South Coast, where you’ll marvel at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, the striking Reynisfjara black sand beach, and enjoy a thrilling glacier hike.

Discover the enchanting blue ice caves and the breathtaking Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Traverse the picturesque Eastfjords, visit Lake Mývatn’s unique nature baths, and explore the lava fields of Dimmuborgir. Conclude your trip in North Iceland with a memorable whale-watching tour in Hauganes before returning to Reykjavík.

Itinerary overview:

Day 1 - Golden Circle Your tour will start with the very popular Golden circle. You’ll visit all the must see location of this popular route: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area and Gullfoss waterfall.  Your hotel is located in the Golden Circle.  

Day 2 - South Coast & Glacier Hike In your next destination, you’ll visit the waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, the unmissable Reynisfjara black sand beach with its basalt columns. Then, add glacier hiking to your booking. Included: Glacier Hiking Tour. Spend the night in the South.  

Day 3 - South Coast & Ice Caves You’ll visit a remarkable blue ice cave with an experienced glacier guide. Next you’ll see the popular Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and the Diamond beach. Included: Ice Cave Tour. Spend the night in the South.  

Day 4 - Eastfjords and night in Egilsstadir. Your destination for the day is the remarkable Eastfjords. You’ll pass through Iceland’s largest forest, Hallormsstadaskógur and see lake Lagarfljót, home of a terrifying water monster. You’ll spend the night in a town in the Eastfjords. Optional Extra: Horseback Riding Tour.

Day 5 - Lake Mývatn - Traveling to the North You’ll visit lake Mývatn with its unique nature baths, which are centered around a large lagoon. Explore lava fields of Dimmuborgir and Námaskard. Optional extra: VÖK Baths Entrance. Spend the night in Akureyri. 

Day 6 - North Iceland After visiting the beautiful North and its capital Akureyri you’ll continue with Hauganes, a tiny village where you will go Whale Watching on an beautiful wooden boat. At the end of your journey you’ll arrive in Reykjavík in the evening.

Notes:

Hotels are local guesthouses throughout Iceland and subject to availability but include Hotel Drangslid, Hotel Hrifunes, Guesthouse Gerdi, Hotel Valaskjalf and Hotel Nordurland.

Please note: a single-room supplement is required for solo travelers. Please contact help@booknordics.com or call us at +47 950 23 999 to make the arrangements. We are happy to help. Safe Iceland travels!

Itinerary details:

Day 1 - The Golden Circle

The first attraction of this 6-day Iceland tour is the well-known Golden Circle, one of Icelands most popular attraction. 

First of all you will visit Þingvellir national park where the two tectonic plates, the North American and the Eurasian plate, are moving away from each other. Few places in the world offer a better and clearer view of this massive geographic activity. The biggest natural lake in Iceland is also located at Thingvellir National Park and hosts a great variety of fish and bird life. Thingvellir is also an important place for Icelandic national history. At Thingvellir Icelanders founded their parliament in 930 AD where the chieftains had their annual meeting every summer. 

From Þingvellir you will drive for a short time to the next attraction which is Geysir geothermal area. There you can see Strokkur hot spring gushing out boiling water every 5 minutes or so. 

Next up is Gullfoss waterfall (The Golden Falls), one of Iceland's most iconic waterfalls that has a drop of 32 meters over two tocky tiers. On a sunny day, you can see the glacier Langjökull in the distance and enjoy a rainbow in the mist of the waterfall. 

At the end of the day you will visit Seljalandsfoss waterfall, famous for the pathway all around the waterfall. 

After a good day of sightseeing you will spend the night in the south of Iceland. Throughout this tour you will mostly be staying at country hotels that provide good opportunities of witnessing the northern lights if the weather allows.

Day 2: South Coast, Waterfalls and Glacier Hike

Your second day includes the beautiful South Coast of Iceland. This day you will pass farmlands, rivers and picturesque waterfalls.  Along the day you will have the waves of the Atlantic ocean on your right side. There will be plenty stops for taking photographs and explore the amazing scenery.  

To make this day even more adventurous you will start your day on a glacier hiking tour. This glacier hike gives you amazing scenery through crevasses and jagged ridges, incredible surroundings around the glacier and get up close with the blue ice.  

You will visit the powerful Skógarfoss Waterfall, you can either go right up to the waterfall or hike up the 527 steps to witness the amazing view over the south coast. 

The last stop of the day will be Reynisfjara beach where you can breath the ocean air while exploring the extraordinary basalt stacks.  The accommodation of day 2 will be in or close to the town of Vík.

Day 3: Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon & Ice Caving

This day will very likely be one of the highlights of your trip. You will travel further east along the South Coast, through the desert of Skeiðarársandur, passing another national park, Skaftafell. 

Further east you will stop at Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of the most iconic locations in Iceland. In Jökulsárlón you will see big and small icebergs breaking off from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier floating in the lagoon. If you look really well you might spots some seals that live in the lagoon. 

On this day you will have the unique opportunity of exploring ice caves inside on of Icelands glaciers. Visiting the natural blue ice caves of Breiðarmerkurjökull is one of the bucket list experiences in iceland. 

At the end of the day you will then visit the amazing Diamond Beach where the icebergs previously floating in the Glacier Lagoon have washed up to the beach making small diamonds. 

This night is spent in the area of Vatnajökull glacier.

Day 4: The Eastfjords

Today, you will continue further east towards the East Fjords of Iceland. The East Fjords are one of the most spectacular and untouched regions in Iceland. In this area you will feel the peace and tranquillity from the nature around you. While driving around this area you might spot some wild reindeers.  

There are loads of interesting stops on this day as you head further east such as Djúpivogur, Lagarfljót lake, the charming fjords of the East and the small fishing villages.  

Famous for its size and strong built, truly unique. At the end of the day you can relax in the VÖK Baths. 

The night will be spent in the Eastfjords area.

Day 5 - Mývatn and the North East

After breakfast on day 5 you will head north towards Lake Mývatn and the nearby geothermal area. 

You will visit Dimmuborgir (Dark Castles) an area that is known for its strange rock formations, some look like a dark fort but others may look like a church. 

Next stop is Námaskarð, a geothermal area with bubbling mud pools. Icelanders often place dough of bread and bury it in the ground allowing it to bake overnight. 

The last stop of the day before heading to the overnight accommodation in Akureyri is Goðafoss waterfall. Goðafoss is very rich with beauty and history. 

At the end of the day you can strive around Akureyri, the capital of the north. 

Day 6 - The North with Whale Watching

This is the last day of your 6-day trip around Iceland. Today you will travel from the capital of the north to the capital in the south, Reykjavík with a few stops on the way. 

First you will head out to Hauganes, that is the home of only about 140 people, it's really charming and peaceful village. You can spend some time strolling around the black sand beach or walk on the harbor. Before going on a 3 hour whale watching tour where you have the opportunity of seeing Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Harbour Porpoise and White Beaked Dolphins. These species are the most commonly spotted in this area.   

After that you will head to Reykjavík, when in Reykjavík it's up to you how you want to spend your time there, you could visit the city's museums, go on a whale watching tour, go shopping in downtown Reykjavík for example.  We do not recommend flying from Iceland in the evening of the last day in case of any delays due to weather.