Golden Circle Private Evening Tour: Chasing the Midnight Sun

Itinerary

1. 1
   Reykjavik Pass by

   Your private vehicle picks you up directly from your Reykjavík accommodation at 5 PM. No transfer, no assembly point - the tour starts from your front door. Pickup time will be confirmed 24 hours in advance.

2. 2
   Thingvellir National Park 1 hour · Admission included

   Iceland's most historically significant landscape and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Þingvellir is the place where the world's first parliament - the Alþing - was founded in 930 AD. By early evening the site is calm and largely to yourselves. The walk through Almannagjá canyon carries a thousand years of Icelandic history, and the wide open rift valley in the low afternoon light is a world away from the midday tourist rush.

3. 3
   Stop 30 minutes

   One of the Golden Circle's best-kept secrets, Faxifoss stretches 80 metres wide across the Tungufljót River in a broad, unhurried cascade that most tour buses drive straight past. In the evening light the waterfall glows warmly against the green riverbanks, and the salmon ladder at its base is active in summer. Rarely crowded at any hour, it is almost entirely your own by evening.

4. 4
   Geysir 40 minutes

   Strokkur erupts every five to eight minutes regardless of the hour - but the steaming geothermal field in the low evening light has a quality that daytime visits rarely capture. The steam catches the amber sun, the colours of the surrounding hillsides deepen, and the landscape feels quieter and stranger than it does at noon. Strokkur shoots up to 30 metres into the air with each eruption. You will want to watch it more than once.

5. 5
   Gullfoss Falls 1 hour · Admission included

   This is the reason for the 4 or 5 PM departure. Gullfoss in golden hour - when the sun is low on the horizon and the light falls warm and sideways across the canyon and the falling water - is one of the most visually striking things Iceland offers in summer. The two-tier waterfall drops 32 metres into its canyon, and in the evening the mist and the light interact in ways that are impossible to forget in person. With most visitors long gone, the viewing platforms are yours.

6. 6
   Kerid Crater 45 minutes · Admission included

   On the return south, the tour stops at Kerið - an oval volcanic crater with steep red walls dropping to a still, turquoise lake at the base. The colours here are extraordinary at any time of day, but in the last light of the Icelandic evening they become something else entirely. Walk the rim for the full panoramic view, or follow the path down to the water's edge. Entrance fee not included.

7. 7
   Reykjavik Pass by

   Your private vehicle drops you back directly at your Reykjavík accommodation. Estimated return time is around midnight, depending on pace during the evening. Door to door, start to finish.

Good to know

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels