Iceland: Should we do private tour? Or just get on a bus for Golden Circle?

We have nearly 2 days in Reykjavik at the end of our cruise next month. I know we are going to spend a chunk of our partial day at the Blue Lagoon, and imagine our hotel will tell us the best way to get there on our own. But for our full day we want to do an active Golden Circle tour, which probably means not going on a bus with 30-40 other people.

Any idea if a private (or semi-private) tour would be significantly more expensive and who to do this with? I don't expect we'll ever get over there again, so we want to do this right.

Thanks!

Do yourself a favour, pick up a map and rent a car. We went to Iceland for the volcano in 2010 and it's wide open, friendly and easy to navigate. One of our (surprise) fave destinations.

$340 seems to be the best I can do for 2 days (a bit more than half that for 1 day). I'm hoping to do better than that. And let someone else do the driving.

Don't forget to factor in gas prices. Try hertz.is as they're currently offering a 15% off https://www.hertz.is/autumn?switch_lang=1&language=en

Here's the top ranked tour on tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189970-d1581470-Reviews-Iceland_Horizon_Golden_Circle_Tour-Reykjavik.html

Definitely factored in gas prices to our decision not to do this on our own.

And we like having a knowledgable guide to answer questions.

Am never too sure about TripAdvisor, but the ratings for that company seem too good to be fake!! (??)

We opted for Bustravel Iceland. Their tours are all small grouips. Ragnar is a wonderful guide, try to get him. We took the Golden Circle tour, but had a combination that included Blue Lagoon and the airport, very reasonable.

HI,

Can you send me/post contact info for the tour that you mention?

We just booked the transatlatic cruise leaving London on 8/25. We arrive to Reykjavik on Carribean Princess cruise on August 30. The ship is scheduled to arrive at noon and leave at 11 PM. The Golden Circle excusion (through Princess) is sold out and we are looking for alternatives.

We are interested to see the Golden circle but also to experience the Blue Lagoon. We would like to get your suggestions how to accomplish our goals, if possible.

Thanks

Dave at Iceland Horizons is at:

info@icelandhorizon.is

See the other threads about Iceland for my pictures