Reykjavík: Private | 6-Day Holiday Package Golden Circle & South Iceland Tour
- Drive Iceland’s Golden Circle and South Coast on a private 6-day self-drive tour
- Visit Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Reynisfjara, Jökulsárlón, and Diamond Beach
- 5x nights in 3-star hotels with breakfast, private rooms, and rental car included
Tour departs from
Duration
Available
Pick up / meeting point
Languages
Difficulty
Overview
See Iceland’s Golden Circle and South Coast on a 6-day self-drive tour. Explore Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Reynisfjara, Jökulsárlón, and Diamond Beach. Enjoy Reykjavik city sights and optional boat, glacier, or Northern Lights tours. Each night, stay in comfortable hotels with breakfast and private rooms.
What's included?
Day 1: Keflavik Airport pick-up
Day 1: Optional Blue Lagoon spa
Day 1–2: Reykjavik 3-star hotel w/breakfast
Day 2: Þingvellir, Brúarfoss, Geysir, Gullfoss
Day 2: Optional Snowmobile/dog-sledding
Day 2–5: South Coast 3-star hotel w/breakfast
Day 3: Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Reynisfjara
Day 3: Optional Glacier Hike/DC3 plane wreck
Day 4: Jökulsárlón & Diamond Beach
Day 4: Optional Amphibian Boat/Zodiac/Cave
Day 5: Reykjavik city tour & optional tours
Day 5–6: Reykjavik 3-star hotel w/breakfast
Day 6: Keflavik Airport drop-off
Flights to/from Keflavik Airport (KEF)
Food and drinks except hotel breakfasts
Travel and personal health insurance
Single traveler supplement fee €500
Any local taxes and fees
What to expect?
This 6-day trip will bring you to the most famous and popular places and attractions in Iceland. Exploring the Southern and Western part of Iceland, you will visit the Golden Circle, South Coast, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Reykjavik. Find the details in the itinerary. Want customisation? We would be glad to make an itinerary just for you. Speak with our travel designer and we will tailor make a package just for you to suit your needs, wants and wishes.
Day 1: Arrival - Blue Lagoon
Upon arrival to Iceland, your guide will be waiting for you at the arrival hall. Your Iceland adventure starts from here.
The first stop will be to the famous Blue Lagoon where you can relax and let the warm and mineral-rich water warm you up and recharge you for your exciting trip in Iceland.
The Blue Lagoon features an in-water mask booth, sauna, steam room and an in-water bar (book with us and get a complimentary beverage).
The silica mask is free-flow so you can use it as much as you wish.
Spend the night in Reykjavik.
Day 2: Golden Circle
Þingvellir National Park
We visit the place 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 birdlife. Thingvellir is also an important place for Icelandic national history. At Thingvellir Icelanders founded their parliament in 930 a.d. where the chieftains had their annual meeting every summer. The name “Thingvellir” translates to “Parliament Plains”.
Brúarfoss Waterfall
We will also have a stop at the Brúarfoss Waterfall, unique for its vivid blue color, caused by the minerals in the water, and its multiple cascading streams that flow through a rugged landscape. Though a relatively off-the-beaten-path, the hike to Brúarfoss offers a peaceful escape and a chance to witness one of Iceland's most picturesque natural wonders.
a
The Geysir geothermal area hosts hundreds of colorful hot springs and two geysers, erupting hot springs. One is called “Geysir” and name giving for all the geysers in the world. Today, however, it erupts very seldom. The other geyser is called “Strokkur” and erupts every 5 minutes up to 40 meters.
Gullfoss Waterfall
The melting water from Iceland´s second biggest glacier, Langjökull, falls into a deep canyon forming the majestic “Golden Falls”. On a sunny day, you can see the glacier Langjökull in the distance and enjoy a rainbow in the mist of the waterfall, an Instagram blockbuster waiting to happen!
Optional Activities
1) Snowmobile
Go on a snowmobile tour on Iceland's second largest ice cap. Once you are at our base camp we suit up for the tour, we offer snowsuits, gloves, helmets, and shoe-covers if needed. We go over a safety briefing before heading out to the Snowmobile tour so that everyone feels safe and secure to start the tour.
OR
2) Dog-sledding
This tour will operate with a sled on snow or with a kart on DRY- LAND depending on the conditions. Feel the power, excitement, and energy of our amazing sled dogs as they are harnessed to go. During the ride your Musher guide will drive your team while sharing his knowledge and passion about dogsledding.
Spend the night in Hvolsvollur.
Day 3: South Coast
Skogafoss
Further west along the coast is Skógafoss waterfall. Skógafoss is an incredibly picturesque sight. Tucked in a little gorge, the river Skógá tumbles down a 60 meter cliff before continuing down the landscape towards the Atlantic Ocean. Alongside the gorge a staircase can take you to the shelf above the waterfall for stunning views. See if you can count your steps on your way up.
Seljalandsfoss
The adventure begins when your arrival is announced by the powerful theatrics of Seljalandsfoss. Bring a raincoat and you’ll be able to make the short hike behind the falls. The scene behind the fall and the trembling ground from the power of the falling water makes for an automatic Instagram blockbuster!
Reynisfjara, the Black Sand Beach
Heading further west, we visit the black sand beach of Reynisfjara where the massive waves of the Atlantic meet the unique basalt columns in the cliffs above the sand. Rock pillars in the water and the cliffs of Dýrhólaey are seen in the distance. This area of the south is also a paradise for bird lovers, as Puffins and dozens of other unique species nest on top of these cliffs in the summertime from June to August.
Optional Activities
1) Glacier Hike in Sólheimajökull
Sólheimajökull is a part of Mýrdalsjökull, one of the biggest glaciers in Europe. It is featured in detail in the 2012 documentary "Chasing Ice," an award-winning investigation of climate change. Once you reach the ice, you’ll be given plenty of time to marvel at the eerie silence and feeling of isolation, as if you and your fellow hikers are alone in a vast, empty world of ice and snow. You’ll view millennia-old blue ice, created when oxygen bubbles are trapped in the snow and compressed into ice by the enormous weight of the glacier pressing down upon it. You’ll be able to gaze deep into a glacier moulin, a vertical shaft like a well, which can go all the way to the bottom of the glacier.
OR
2) DC3 Plane Wreck
Visit the famous plane wreck on Solheimasandur. This plane wreck of the US Navy has been sitting on the vast black sand since 1973.
Spend the night on the south coast.
Day 4: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Starting this day by heading to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, a 200m deep glacial lagoon fed by Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of Europe’s largest glacier. Enormous icebergs come from Breiðamerkurjökull all year round so the lagoon is usually filled with ice that floats south. We will give you the opportunity to book a boat ride between the icebergs during summertime and get a closer look at the millenary ice. If boating is not your thing, then we walk alongside the glacier lagoon enjoying the magnificent views and dead silence of Icelandic nature.
Diamond Beach
On the other side of the road the icebergs from Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon float into the Atlantic Ocean where they are quickly thrown back to shore by the tide and winds. This black sand beach is full of smaller ice rocks in all shapes and sizes, sparkling like diamonds in the daylight. The ice itself comes in all shades of white and blue forming beautiful contrasts, guaranteed to make your Instagram account pop!
Optional Activity
Summer: Amphibian Boat Tour or Zodiac Tour
Winter: Blue Ice Cave Tour
Amphibian Boat Tour is an exciting boat trip on the lagoon in an amphibian boat. During the excursion you sail among the huge icebergs in the picturesque scenery of Jökulsárlón. On the boat you get to taste the 1000 year old ice and if you are lucky you might even see some seals. The excursion takes 30–40 minutes and includes an English speaking guide who explains to you the geology and facts of the lagoon. Other languages may be offered upon request.
Zodiac Tour - During the excursion you sail among the huge icebergs in the picturesque scenery of Jökulsárlón. On the Zodiac we are able to cover large areas of the lagoon and get closer to the icebergs than on the amphibian. When possible the Zodiac goes almost all the way up to the glacier (as close as safe). Passengers are provided with flotation suits and a life jacket. We don’t recommend taking children under the age of 10 on the Zodiac tour.
Blue Ice Cave Tour - You will get the opportunity of a lifetime to enjoy one of the world’s greatest wilderness, Iceland’s largest glacier. You are driven in a specially modified Super Jeep to the glacier, where you get to explore the glacier environment, enjoy a view out of this world, go into and underneath the glacier and experience the glacier’s beauty from the inside! Blue Ice Cave Exploration is truly a unique experience. An experienced local guide leads the way and shares a wealth of fascinating information about glaciers, icefields and their impact on our environment during our journey, making sure everyone enjoys themselves to the fullest. Our guides provide you with safety equipment (helmet and crampons) and the fun begins!
Spend the night on the south coast.
Day 5: Reykjavik City Tour
The Reykjavik city tour covers the city‘s top attractions, interesting facts, and stories that relate to history and culture in Reykjavik and throughout Iceland. Traveling the Reykjavik area and surrounding municipalities provides an excellent opportunity to discover various things to see or to do in Reykjavik during your stay in Iceland.
On this tour you will visit the Perlan glass dome where a 360 viewing platform provides some of the best places for sightseeing in Reykjavik.
After enjoying the spectacular view over Reykjavik city and its surroundings the tour proceeds to go to Reykjavik's seafront to the old Höfði building where an important summit between former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former U.S.S.R. Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev took place in 1986.
The next stop is Hallgrímskirkja church who's design was inspired by basalt lava columns, a common volcanic rock formation in Icelandic nature. From Hallgrimskirkja church, the tour explores Reykjavik city center in and around the Parliament building by Austurvöllur which, sometimes is referred to as "the Old town".
Optional Activity
1) Wonders of Iceland & Áróra Northern Lights Show
Located in Reykjavik's most iconic building, The Perlan – Wonders of Iceland, offers unforgettable experiences of Iceland’s rare and astonishing natural wonders. See, hear, and feel the power of volcanoes, earthquakes, & geothermal energy. Step inside the only planetarium in Iceland and take a visual journey through the unique landscape of Iceland to observe the Northern Lights. Enter a real indoor ice cave and learn about Iceland’s glaciers, their effect on the land and their bleak future. At last enjoy the observation deck with an amazing 360° view of Reykjavik.
AND/OR
2) Whale-watching Tour
Enjoy a magical 3 hr. cruise into Faxaflói bay with our expert crew and specially trained naturalists in search of the whales and wildlife of Reykjavík. The landscape surrounding the bay adds that something special to the experience and is certainly not to be missed.
AND/OR
3) Northern Light Cruise (Sep – Apr)
Search for Aurora Borealis away from the city lights, on this thrilling winter cruise. Northern Lights are best displayed under dark, clear skies. You can find these conditions from September until the end of April in Reykjavík. Watching the lights constantly change in intensity, color and movement in the vast starry space with the gentle lull of the ocean beneath is a thrilling, unique experience.
Spend the night in Reykjavik.
Day 6: Free at leisure - Departure
You will have this day at your leisure for shopping or any other activity you like to do before your flight back home.
Please note
Minimum age requirement for activities
Min. age for Blue Lagoon is 2 years old.
Min. age for Glacier Hiking is 8 years old.
Min. age for Zodiac Tour is 10 years old.
Min. age for Blue Ice Cave Tour is 12 years old.
Min. age for Snowmobile is 6 years old.
Min. age for Dogsledding is 4 years old. Max. weight for dogsledding is 95kg.Hotels used in this itinerary
Fosshotel Baron, Hótel Eyjafjallajökull, Fosshotel NuparNote: Similar accommodations in the area may be used if the accommodation(s) listed is/are not available.
For groups traveling in odd numbers, triple room will be arranged by default unless single supplement is selected. Family rooms/connecting rooms might/might not be available subjected to location and availability. Please kindly contact us for more information.
Seasonal Overview for Iceland:
Aurora Season: mid-September to March
Summer: June to September
Winter: October to April
Harsh winter: mid-December to mid-January
Check availability
Good to know
Meeting point: Keflavík International Airport, 235 Keflavíkurflugvöllur, Keflavík
What to bring
Wear clothing suitable for the weather and bring comfortable walking or hiking shoes (high heels are not recommended due to Iceland’s rocky terrain).