Golden Circle Private Evening Tour: Chasing the Midnight Sun

About this experience

See the Golden Circle in the evening light of the Icelandic summer, when the day crowds have gone. Walk between two tectonic plates at Thingvellir National Park, watch Strokkur erupt at the Geysir geothermal area and feel the spray at Gullfoss waterfall. Along the way you also see the colourful Kerid crater, all under the low midnight sun.

The evening runs at your pace. Choose a sedan for 1-3 travellers or a van for up to 8.

Your guide collects you from your Reykjavik accommodation with a VAREN name tablet, helps with your luggage and has water on request.

Itinerary

1. Tour stop

   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.

   Pass by without stopping
2. Tour stop

   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. Tour stop

   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.

4. Tour stop

   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.

5. Tour stop

   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.

6. Tour stop

   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.

   Pass by without stopping

Know before you go

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Dress for changeable weather: waterproof jacket, warm layers, walking shoes, gloves and a hat. Evenings can be cool even in summer.
• Private tour for your group only: a sedan for 1-3 travellers or a van for up to 8.
• Your guide meets you with a VAREN name tablet and helps with your luggage. Water is available on request.
• This is an evening tour. Food options along the route may be limited in the evening, so eat before pickup or bring snacks.