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Golden Circle Surprise - Minibus Tour with Aurora Watching

Iceland's most popular attractions in winter

Product-ID: AA29

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Gullfoss waterfall in winter with snow covered ground

Close up of male in a beanie hat staring up to northern lights night sky

Kerid Crater Covered In Snow Photographed From Above in Iceland

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About Tour

Explore the Golden Circle in a minibus.

Highlights

Thingvellir National Park
Geysir Geothermal Area
Gullfoss Waterfall
Kerid Crater Lake
Northern lights tour

Included

Pick up and drop off at hotels or guesthouses in Reykjavik
Tour in a minibus
All entrance fees
English guidance
Northern lights watching
Hot Cocoa, chocolate & blanket
Unlimited re-try valid for 3 years to take a tour when no Northern Lights are seen

What to bring

Warm clothes
Sturdy shoes
You can rent hiking shoes and waterproof clothing in the booking engine
Shoe Spike Grips (Oct-Apr)

Tour Snapshot

Availability Aug - April

Duration ~11 hours

Departs From Reykjavik

Minimum age 6 YEARS

Difficulty Easy Suitable for most people in fair condition.

Ratio 1:18 Guide to client ratio

Meet on Location No

Pick Up Yes

From

174

Per

Adult

Get the best value for money by booking a combo tour for up to 10% less!

Combo deal
Expert Guides
Free Wi-Fi
Free Cancellation
No Booking Fees
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From 206 USD

174

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Itinerary

The popular route called the Golden Circle has been a classic tour in Iceland for many decades. It depicts the traditional 3 main attractions of the island, and they can easily be visited in one day.

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is where the Althing - an open-air assembly that represented the whole of Iceland - was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. The present Thingvellir Church, a protected building, dates from the 1850s, but it is on the site of a much larger church dating from the early 11th century.

At Thingvellir the Eurasian and North American plate boundaries which run through Iceland are clearly visible - the plates are moving apart here and the land between them is subsiding.

Geysir Geothermal Area

From Thingvellir we head along the mountains to Laugarvatn village, Icelanders' summer residence for decades, and further on towards the world renowned geothermal hot spring area around Geysir, the hot spring that all other spouting hot springs on earth are named after.

Although the original Great Geysir is not active at the moment, its neighbour, Strokkur, will erupt every 5-7 minutes - so have your camera ready.

Gullfoss Waterfall

From here we drive to Gullfoss (the Golden waterfall). You can feel the spray of the glacial water on your face and on a sunny day a rainbow will be likely to show up and listen to all your wishes.

Kerið Crater

Kerid crater with bright blue lake in the base in autumn

Next, stop at Kerið Crater, a deep volcanic caldera known for its bright blue lake and colorful slopes. In winter, the contrast of snow and ice makes it even more magical. Take a short walk around the rim or head down for a closer look before returning to Reykjavík. Once there, you can grab dinner at one of the nearby restaurants before joining your evening Northern Lights tour.

Searching for the Northern Lights

colourful and bright northern lights in Iceland

Understandably, there is no promise of viewing the auroras. We will hope for the best and be prepared if luck smiles on us. We will drive to beautiful locations not far from Reykjavik, we will get out of the minibus and check for the northern lights. We will go to locations where there is no light pollution, so that we can get a good view of the Auroras.

If we still don't find the magical green lights, we look at the cloud cover and the aurora forecast and the guide will decide whether to go next. And on the way you can enjoy the beautiful scenery (if its not too dark).

The Aurora Borealis are usually neon green, though white, red and purple colors may also appear. To watch the northern lights surrounded by the magical Icelandic nature is like walking into a storybook full of mystical beings and locations.

Please note: Went to a tour but didn’t spot the Northern Lights? No worries, you can book another tour to see the lights free of charge. Note that this deal is unlimited and is valid for 3 years. So, don’t give up on your first time, get in touch with our Customer Care to witness this natural phenomenon. During a re-try, the tour is operated on a minibus.

Please note

This is a combination of two separate tours. If one of the tours is cancelled, you will still be able to join the other part.

FAQ

Is it guaranteed that I see Northern Lights on the tour?

The Northern Lights are natural phenomena and we, unfortunately, cannot promise you will see them. Their appearance depends upon atmospheric and weather conditions.

For more information on the Northern Lights, please have a look at our Northern Lights tours.

What camera settings do you recommend for photographing the Northern Lights?

We, unfortunately, do not have one simple answer to this question.

There isn’t just one single setting for your camera that ensures great photos. However, if you have manual options, you are probably best served with experimenting with various combinations of ISO, aperture, and exposure settings. As a rule of thumb, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2 8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed at between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have proven effective.

A good thing to keep in mind, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have given great results.

Different combinations may give very different results. Higher ISO setting will allow you to capture faster exposures, but the downside to this might be for example grainier images.

If the shutter speed is above 15 seconds it will result in a slight star movement.

Wider angle lenses are usually more versatile in low light settings, but longer lenses give you different options for compositions. Make sure that you remove all lens filters, as they may distort images. You will probably get the best results with manual setting for infinite focal length.

What if the Northern Lights tour goes ahead and no lights are seen?

Reimbursement is not given if the northern lights tour goes ahead and no lights are seen but we do offer you the change to join a Northern Lights Minibus tour free of charge.

Please contact our Customer Care to re-book your tour.

If my Northern Lights tour is canceled, what are my options?

When Northern Lights tours are canceled it’s usually due to unfavorable weather conditions.

In that case, your options will be to:

Reschedule for another day.
Get a full refund.

Please go to the customer portal to re-book your tour or contact us by phone at +354 562 7000.

How do I know if my Northern Lights tour is on for the evening?

The northern lights are a pretty difficult thing to predict. We recommend you to check en.vedur.is to see the forecast and if the level is high and the skies are clear then it’s very likely that the tour is going ahead. We do update our website’s tour departure sheet with the information at 17:00 pm the latest. If your tour is canceled then you will receive an email from us.

If we think there is no chance at all of seeing the lights we will cancel the tour. We don’t want to bring you out and disappoint if there is no chance of the lights to be seen.

Will we get pictures taken with the northern lights?

Yes, the guide on your tour will take a photo of you with the northern lights in the background.
These can be single or group photo’s and are free of charge.

Which months are the northern lights seen?

The Northern Lights season is from late August until mid-April. However, if you want to increase your changes of seeing them, it is best to wait until the clear winter months of mid-September until March.

Can the Northern Lights be seen from Reykjavík?

The northern lights depend on luck and weather if that is in your favor than you will be able to see the Aurora Borealis above the inviting streets of Reykjavík. Whether you see the lights or not they depend on two different factors. The first being the weather. If the sky is clear, no clouds, then you are halfway there to seeing the astonishing spectacle that is the Northern Lights (although light pollution can sometimes be a problem). Increased solar activity is the second half so, if these two merge together you may well be able to see the Northern Lights from Reykjavik.