Golden Circle - shore excursion from Reykjavík in English

by SPS Travel · Reykjavík

Fine on your own

from €135 per person

No published departures in the coming months — ask us

Golden Circle - shore excursion from Reykjavík in English — SPS Travel

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16 photos from SPS Travel. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
8 hours
Difficulty
Easy
Season
All year
Starts in
Reykjavík
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Skarfabakki 312 Cruise Terminal
8 Skarfagarðar, Reykjavík
Guide
Guided in English
Departs
07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 …
Cancellation
Free until 24 hours before

About this experience

This day tour with an English-speaking local tour guide in a small group with a maximum of 19 participants is the ideal shore excursion for cruise ship passengers and takes you from Reykjavík along the so-called Golden Circle to well-known sights.
You will experience the earthquake fissure in a shopping center in Hveragerði, the volcanic crater Kerið, the impressive Gullfoss waterfall. Hot springs and the Strokkur geyser await you in Haukadalur.
You can experience delicious Icelandic ice cream at the Efsti Salur farm
On the shores of the warm Lake Laugarvatn there are hot springs that the locals use to bake bread.
In Þingvellir National Park you can experience plate tectonics. On the way back we will take a short detour through downtown Reykjavík.

The departure time and tour duration is suitable for the cruise ships in the port of Reykjavík. For example, if the ship arrives an hour late, the bus will wait.

Description from the operator, SPS Travel. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

Hveragerði - earthquake fissure
Keri crater
Gullfoss
geyser
Efsti-Dalur II - Ice Cream manufactory farm
Laugarvatn
Thingvellir National Park
reykjavik

Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
English speaking local tour guide

Not included

Food, snacks, ice cream and drinks are not included. There is the option to purchase these at several stops along the way

Good to know

Not wheelchair accessible
Not suitable for pets
Infants must not sit on laps
If you need a wheelchair but can walk a few meters and get on the bus, please let us know in advance. If you would like to take a trolley with you for a child, please inform us in advance.
Please note that a large portion of the time on the bus will be spent traveling time.
Our buses have a sign with "Golden Circle - SPS Travel" in the windshield

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is a forecast the operator judges unsafe. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

1SPS Travel decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Golden Circle & Friðheimar Visit From Reykjavik - Small Group Tour from Nordur Travel Services ehf is €114 — €21 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	SPS Travel · €135	Nordur Travel Services ehf · €114
How long it runs	8 hours	9 hours
Getting there	You make your own way	Picks you up

On everything we can measure, the Nordur Travel Services ehf tour is the better buy. The €21 is not buying anything we can point to, so unless you want this operator in particular, take the cheaper one.

Who this is not for

Not for late risers on your first morning — the earliest departure is 07:00, and Reykjavík pickups start before that.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

SPS Travel is one of 207 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

What travellers say about SPS Travel

Read all 7 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 5.0/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

Arvind Jayashankar
★★★★★ · 10 years ago
We were a group of 8 friends who stayed here in Selfoss. It was one of the highlights of our vacation to Iceland. We found his place absolutely lovely and in an amazing location. Extremely clean, everything looked like it was new, and the place was fully equipped and beautifully furnished with pretty much everything we needed. During the days, we were driving around the southern part of the country, the Golden Circle route and then further out all the way to Vik. We experienced the extremely volatile weather conditions in Iceland firsthand -- snowstorms, sunshine, clouds, rain and gale force winds. At night we mostly spent our time chilling out in the house, playing games, talking, having nice dinners and of course -- relaxing in the magnificent hot tub! The northern lights were a bit elusive but everything else made up for it. Waking up in the morning and looking out the large windows was a truly spectacular experience. There's a large mountain situated right across, and even a volcano further in the distance. We visited in winter and the endless carpets of fresh, untouched snow and the nature surrounding us was quite magical. I must mention that even before we arrived on the days leading up to our trip, Sven was very helpful and swift with all the communication. He arranged car rentals for us, gave us some tips on getting around and driving in Iceland. All the information we required about the house was neatly documented. To everyone else reading, we highly highly recommend staying here if you plan to visit southern Iceland!
Toby Gardner
★★★★★ · 9 years ago
Lovely house with great views. Well stocked and great position.

Reviews from Google · updated 23 Oct 2026

Read before you book

Cruise port to Keflavík airport transferGetting from Reykjavík cruise terminal to Keflavík airport: private transfers start around €147 a car, and you should book before the ship docks.
Cruise ship day in Iceland: what fits in six hoursShore excursions for cruise days in Reykjavík, Akureyri and Grundarfjörður — what fits inside a six-hour call and what to leave for another trip.

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Reykjavík, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Reykjavík →

One checkout, any number of operators
Rankings are not for sale
206 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted
If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €9 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.