Every day trip starts in Reykjavik. Most of them end in hot water.
Which Golden Circle coach stops at Kerið. Whether the glacier lagoon is worth ten hours on a bus. What a northern lights tour does when the sky stays grey. Reviews of the tours you can book from the capital.
A first long weekend: dinner on foot, the Golden Circle, the glacier lagoon, a hot soak.
Four bookings to hang three or four days on. What each one costs, and what the people who went thought of it.
01The first eveningReykjavik Food Walk – Local Foodie Adventure in IcelandA walk through the old centre with a tasting at every stop. The quickest way to learn what Icelanders actually eat.
02The classic loopGolden Circle, Kerid, & Secret Lagoon TourÞingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, with Kerið crater and a soak in the Secret Lagoon on the way home.
03The long day eastJokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Full-Day Guided TripFive hours each way to watch icebergs drift out of Jökulsárlón. Leave early and sleep on the coach.
04The last afternoonBlue Lagoon: Admission Package with Drink, Towel, and MaskThe Blue Lagoon is twenty minutes from Keflavík airport, so it fits before a late flight home.
Gullfoss, Vík or the glacier lagoon: three ways to leave Reykjavik for a day.
Almost every day trip starts with a pickup at your hotel or a numbered bus stop in Reykjavik. What changes is how far the coach goes and how long you spend on it.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater · from $82
The Golden CircleÞingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, back in town for dinner.
The South CoastSeljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and the black sand at Reynisfjara.
SnæfellsnesKirkjufell, lava fields and a glacier at the end of a peninsula.
JökulsárlónIcebergs in a lagoon, five hours east. A very long day.
All 330 day trips from Reykjavik →
The northern lights, by coach, by boat or in a super jeep.
From September to April the aurora appears over Reykjavik on clear, dark nights. Tours drive away from the city lights to find a gap in the cloud, and most offer a free second try if the sky stays empty.
Reykjavik between day trips: the harbour, a hot dog and Hallgrímskirkja.
Everything in Reykjavik →
The capital is small enough to cross on foot in an afternoon. Spend the first evening eating, keep a museum ticket for the day the wind wins, and take the harbour boat on a calm morning.
The first eveningLamb soup, skyr and the harbour hot dog
about 3h· from $142· on footLamb soup, rye bread baked in hot ground, skyr, and the hot-dog stand by the harbour that has been feeding the city since 1937.
The wet afternoonFlyOver, Perlan and a lava show
1–2h· from $20· indoorsA hanging-seat flight over the highlands, an ice cave built inside Perlan, and real molten lava poured into a room in front of you. The plan for the day the wind cancels everything else.
Boats from the Old HarbourWhales in Faxaflói bay
about 3h· from $30· all yearBoats leave the Old Harbour, ten minutes on foot from the centre, for minke whales and white-beaked dolphins in Faxaflói bay, and in summer the puffin islands.Crampons on Sólheimajökull, blue caves under Vatnajökull.
A glacier walk needs no experience, only boots the guide straps crampons onto. The caves need winter. Both are the day people are still describing at the departure gate.
What people visiting Reykjavik book most.
The whole Reykjavik list →If you only have a weekend in the capital, this is the short answer.
1
Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater
Travel from Reykjavík by air-conditioned bus to Kerið crater, Gullfoss, the Strokkur geyser and Þingvellir National Park. An English-speaking guide adds Icelandic stories and context along the way. The day lasts 7 to 8.5 hours; departures at noon or later skip Kerið, so check the start time before booking.
From · $82
Read our review →2
Reykjavik Food Walk – Local Foodie Adventure in Iceland
from $146
3
Northern Lights Bus Tour from Reykjavik
from $73
4
South Coast Waterfalls, Black Sand & Glacier Tour
from $126
5
Whale Watching and Marine Life Cruise
from $87
6
Sky Lagoon Entrance Pass With 7-Step Spa Ritual
from $111
7
Golden Circle, Kerid, & Secret Lagoon Tour
from $132
8
Iceland South Coast Full Day Small-Group Tour from Reykjavik
from $139
Iceland runs two different trips a year, and the calendar picks yours.
The dark months
Aurora hunts need dark, clear skies, so they run from late August into April and are called off on cloudy nights. Natural ice caves in Vatnajökull open roughly November to March, once the glacier is cold enough to be safe.
The bright months
Around midsummer the sun barely sets, the highland roads to Landmannalaugar open, usually late in June, and puffins nest on the islands off Reykjavik from about May until mid-August.
Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon or the old pool at Flúðir?
The Blue Lagoon sits in a lava field near the airport, Sky Lagoon looks out over the sea at Kársnes, a short drive from town, and the Secret Lagoon is a village pool from 1891 on the Golden Circle. All three are geothermal; the price and the crowd are what change.
More hot springs →
From a FlyOver seat to a glacier helicopter: the Reykjavik price ladder.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what it costs per person. Iceland is dear, but a good share of the best days still come in under $100.
City walks, museum tickets, lagoon entries, whale boats and the classic Golden Circle coach.
Small-group Golden Circle days, the South Coast to Vík, Silfra snorkelling, glacier walks and ice caves.
Jökulsárlón in a day, lagoon-and-crater combinations, super jeeps and private drivers.
Two continents, a horse with five gaits, and a cave that melts every spring.
Plenty of countries have waterfalls and warm pools. Snorkelling a continental rift, riding a breed kept closed for a thousand years and walking into a cave that will not exist next year are Iceland only.
Silfra
In Þingvellir National Park the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart by about two centimetres a year, and the crack between them has filled with glacier meltwater that spent decades filtering through lava. It stays at two to four degrees all year and you can see more than a hundred metres through it. You float in a drysuit and look down into the gap.
- 1Silfra: Snorkeling Between Tectonic Plates – Meet on Location★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 5,001 reviews
- 2Silfra: Fissure Snorkeling Tour with Underwater Photos★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 2,731 reviews
- 3Silfra Fissure Snorkeling between Two Continents★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,712 reviews
The Icelandic Horse
Horses came over with the Norse settlers more than a thousand years ago, and no other horse has been let in since: an Icelandic horse that leaves the country can never return. They are small, sure-footed and known for the tölt, a smooth fifth gait that carries a rider across a lava field without spilling a drink.
- 1Red Lava Horse Riding Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 2,383 reviews
- 2Icelandic Horse Riding Tour in Lava Fields★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,356 reviews
- 3Icelandic Horseback Riding Tour with Pickup Option from Reykjavik★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,145 reviews
The Ice Caves
Meltwater cuts channels through Vatnajökull in summer, and when the glacier freezes hard in winter those channels become caves you can walk into. The blue comes from old, dense ice with almost no air left in it. Every cave collapses or floods in the spring melt, so the guides scout new ones each autumn.
- 1Katla Ice Cave and Super Jeep Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 2,110 reviews
- 2Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Ice Cave Guided Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,046 reviews
- 3Skaftafell: Ice Cave Tour and Glacier Hike★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,746 reviews
Four Icelandic bookings that will not wait for you to land.
Most day trips from Reykjavik run daily and can be booked the night before. These four run on timed entry, short seasons and capped groups.
- 01Blue Lagoon: Admission Package with Drink, Towel, and MaskEntry is sold by arrival time and summer afternoons sell out days ahead. Your ticket is for one slot, not one day.
- 02Silfra: Snorkeling Between Tectonic Plates – Meet on LocationSnorkellers must be at least twelve, able to swim and cleared on a medical form, and groups are small. Book once your dates are fixed.
- 03Katla Ice Cave and Super Jeep TourNatural ice caves are only safe from roughly November to March and group sizes are capped. A short season with small groups fills early.
- 04Puffin Watching Boat TourThe birds are only here from about May to mid-August. Outside that window there is nothing to see, whatever the boat.
Reykjavik to Höfn on the Ring Road: where the south-coast tours go.
Hveragerði
Skaftafell
HöfnBy place: the capital, the southwest and the south coast
By kind of day: ice, fire, water or a horse
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