Golden Circle from Reykjavik

[cinnam0n]

Doing an Iceland/Scotland cruise in August - this will be our first time in this part of the world.  Normally, we're not ones to do "touristy" things when on shore during a cruise, and rarely take the cruiseline excursions.  I typically do lots of research and we've done some really interesting things over the years. We will be in Reykjavik for one day only (7am-5pm), and a Golden Circle tour seems to be "the" tour to experience the best of Iceland.  Obviously there are tons of companies doing the tour, and they all seem very similar.  So, for you who have visited Iceland, is this what you would recommend?

[tashaaa]

Hi,

 

Maybe this helps...

We are going to Iceland end of May, and I reserved us a tour from NICE TRAVEL. Been reading on the forum, that they are good and they do a small group tour.

 

 

 

 

[cinnam0n]

Those tours look awesome - I hadn't looked at that company. However, I'm not seeing any time frames that will fit. We're in port from 7-5.I would for sure rather have a small group.

[Nitemare]

Troll is regularly recommended on TripAdvisor.

[edinburgher]

On 2/28/2024 at 1:29 AM, cinnam0n said:

Obviously there are tons of companies doing the tour, and they all seem very similar.  So, for you who have visited Iceland, is this what you would recommend?

Absolutely.😀

[Turtles06]

On 2/27/2024 at 8:29 PM, cinnam0n said:

We will be in Reykjavik for one day only (7am-5pm), and a Golden Circle tour seems to be "the" tour to experience the best of Iceland

 

Of course, you won't get "the best of Iceland" in a single day, but that tour will include some major highlights and it will be an interesting and good way to spend that day; it's what I would do if I were in port for just that day.  (The South Coast tour from Reykjavik is awesome and stunningly beautiful, but I don't think you really have time for that.) 

 

Check these folks out for private tours:

https://geoiceland.is/

 

https://sagatravel.is/

 

(read reviews here on CC as well as Trip Advisor.  Pay attention to post-pandemic reviews, as these terrific companies I believe reorganized during/after the pandemic.) 

[cinnam0n]

On 3/9/2024 at 4:24 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Of course, you won't get "the best of Iceland" in a single day, but that tour will include some major highlights and it will be an interesting and good way to spend that day; it's what I would do if I were in port for just that day.  (The South Coast tour from Reykjavik is awesome and stunningly beautiful, but I don't think you really have time for that.) 

 

Check these folks out for private tours:

https://geoiceland.is/

 

https://sagatravel.is/

 

(read reviews here on CC as well as Trip Advisor.  Pay attention to post-pandemic reviews, as these terrific companies I believe reorganized during/after the pandemic.) 

No, we're only in Reykjavik until 5 pm, so that limits the options.  We booked with Iceland Everywhere. 

[Mr. Click]

Trying to make the most of the 4 days we have in Reykjavik before our ship sails...We arrive at KEF about 8:30am and I do have a rental car arranged for the 4 days. My original thinking was to do the shorter South Shore loop on day way because we are flying overnight and then do the Golden Circle the next day and save the town touring for the next 2 days since we have to check in at the ship on Day 3 and then be back to drop the car and get back to the ship by 2pm on Day 4.  Then I read about Glacier Lake....and I really want to go up there so is is reasonable, doable to  start the Golden Circle on Day 1, do an overnight out towards the end of it and then combine Glacier Lake and the rest of the Golden Circle on Day 2 and just do one hotel night in Reykjavik?  Night 3 we are on the ship.  Not thinking about ice caves or glacier hikes, those days are pretty much gone but a chance to do a boat tour up there appeals to me.

[Slyfox16]

Has anyone used Prime Tours in Reykjavik? We are thinking of using them for a private tour of the Golden Circle

[Hlitner]

Tours are great for those who love tours.  Of course there are differences between large group tour (such as what is sold by cruise lines) and small group tours booked privately.  Our own preference, when it comes to the Golden Circle, has been to simply rent a car and drive it on our own.  Why?  It allows us to go where we want, stay as long or as short as we please, eat where want, etc.  Since we also have driven to many of the same places flooded by large bus tours, we do often listen-in on the explanations rendered by the professional tour guides (who often have different things to say about the same sites).

 

I will say that driving the Golden Circle is quite easy given the decent signage and use of GPS (on our phones).  Like most DIY driving trips the biggest advantage is not having to wait on others to go to the rest facilities, finish their shopping, their meal, etc.  

[Nitemare]

We really enjoyed our Golden Circle tour.  I agree with Hlitner that self driving is easy in Iceland, but we learned SO MUCH from our tour guide, that we found the price more than worth it.  Having a driver (it was a minivan tour, just a few bucks more expensive than a full sized bus) take us around on our first day in Iceland and hearing him talk about the country as a whole and the history involved with the Golden Circle really turned it from a great day to a memorable one, that has led to us returning to Iceland again and again.

 

We self drive now, but we always take at least one tour to learn more and to be able to ask questions and meet more people.

[scolyer]

On 3/18/2024 at 10:46 AM, Nitemare said:

We really enjoyed our Golden Circle tour.  I agree with Hlitner that self driving is easy in Iceland, but we learned SO MUCH from our tour guide, that we found the price more than worth it.  Having a driver (it was a minivan tour, just a few bucks more expensive than a full sized bus) take us around on our first day in Iceland and hearing him talk about the country as a whole and the history involved with the Golden Circle really turned it from a great day to a memorable one, that has led to us returning to Iceland again and again.

 

We self drive now, but we always take at least one tour to learn more and to be able to ask questions and meet more people.

Would you please tell us which company you used for your minivan tour? Thinking of doing the same.

Thanks in advance,

Sue 

[Nitemare]

17 hours ago, scolyer said:

Would you please tell us which company you used for your minivan tour? Thinking of doing the same.

Thanks in advance,

Sue 

It was enough years ago that I won't mention them as they may no longer be as good as they once were.  If you visit the Iceland forum at Tripadvisor, you will see the same few agencies recommended over and over again

[scolyer]

Thanks we often use TripAdvisor and have had mostly good experiences with the companies that they promote.   Will check them out for Iceland.

 

Happy Thursday 🙂

 

 

[Nitemare]

On 3/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, scolyer said:

Thanks we often use TripAdvisor and have had mostly good experiences with the companies that they promote.   Will check them out for Iceland.

 

Happy Thursday 🙂

 

 

Don't go by who they promote, those are just ads, and don't book thru them as they are a third party.  Use the Iceland Forum where travelers discuss touring options and book directly with a local provider