8-Day Iceland Winter Guided Tour: South Coast, Golden Circle & Glacier lagoon
This 8-day guided tour circles Iceland’s Ring Road in winter with a small group of up to 16 travelers. Six of the seven nights are spent in countryside hotels in prime Northern Lights territory, including the Lake Mývatn area and the Eastfjords, where your guide monitors aurora forecasts each evening and takes the group to the best available viewing spot when conditions allow.
The itinerary covers the Golden Circle, the south coast from Seljalandsfoss to Reynisfjara, Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach, the Eastfjords, Lake Mývatn, Akureyri, and the waterfalls and hot springs of West Iceland. Five two-course dinners featuring local produce are included at countryside hotels on days two through six. Airport transfers, all admissions, and a 20% deposit to secure your place are also included.
Note: This tour is operated by a partner of Iceland Tours.
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valid for arrival dates through the end of March 2026. Offer ends soon.
On this tour you will...
Stay in idyllic countryside locations with prime opportunities to spot the Northern Lights
Glimpse remote corners of Iceland, like the stunning Eastfjords and Lake Mývatn
Experience the mind-blowing sights of the world-famous Golden Circle route in winter splendor
Witness plunging waterfalls and towering sea cliffs along Iceland's beautiful South Coast
Explore charming Akureyri, known as the capital of North Iceland
Visit entertaining museums and immerse yourself in Reykjavík’s great foodie scene
Top attractions
Downtown Reykjavík
Gullfoss
Þingvellir National Park
Geysir and Strokkur
Skógafoss
Seljalandsfoss
Vík í Mýrdal
Skaftafell
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Lake Mývatn
Goðafoss
Akureyri
Deildartunguhver
Hraunfossar and Barnafoss
Blue Lagoon
Why book a guided group trip with Iceland Tours?
Pick from wide range of departure dates
Expert local guidance in English
Travel with like-minded adventurers
24/7 emergency helpline in Iceland
Secure your booking with just a 20% deposit
Handpicked local accommodation options
Your 8-day guided group itinerary
A shared airport transfer collects you from Keflavík Airport and brings you to your hotel in central Reykjavík. The rest of the day is free to explore the city at your own pace. Laugavegur is the main street for cafes, restaurants, and browsing. Hallgrímskirkja church is a short walk up from the centre and the tower gives a good view over the city. Your guide will run a brief group meeting in the evening to cover the week ahead.
Highlights
Downtown Reykjavík
Extra activities
ExtraFlyOver Iceland
ExtraPerlan Museum Wonders of Iceland & Northern Lights Show
Your first full day on the road covers the Golden Circle route. Þingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are visibly pulling apart. In winter, snow settles in the fissures of the Almannagjá rift valley and the park is quieter than at any other time of year. At the Geysir geothermal area, Strokkur erupts every six to ten minutes against a backdrop of steam and snow. Gullfoss drops in two stages into a deep canyon, with ice formations building along the falls and canyon walls through the coldest months.
The day also includes a visit to Friðheimar, a working farm where tomatoes are grown year-round in geothermally heated greenhouses.
The LAVA Centre in Hvolsvöllur is an interactive exhibition on Iceland’s volcanic history and is the first stop of the day. From there the route continues east along the south coast. Seljalandsfoss falls 60 metres and a path runs behind the curtain of water when conditions allow in winter. Nearby, Skógafoss drops the same height with a wider flow, and a staircase runs up beside it. The Skógar Folk Museum next to the falls documents centuries of rural Icelandic life.
The day ends at Reynisfjara black sand beach near Vík, where stacked basalt columns back the beach and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks stand offshore. Dinner is included at your accommodation, which is chosen for its dark sky setting and Northern Lights potential.
An early start for a full day in the glacial southeast. Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park has hiking trails through birch woodland with views of glacier tongues and waterfalls, including Svartifoss with its dark basalt column backdrop.
Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon is where icebergs calved from Breiðamerkurjökull glacier drift through deep water in shades of white, blue, and ash-grey. Winter light gives the lagoon a different quality than in summer, and seals move between the ice throughout the year. Directly across the road, Diamond Beach collects ice chunks on black volcanic sand. Dinner is included at your accommodation in the Djúpivogur area, positioned for Northern Lights viewing after dark.
The Eastfjords are one of the quieter sections of the Ring Road in winter. Steep mountains drop into long narrow inlets and small fishing villages sit at the heads of fjords that see few tourists outside summer. Reindeer are sometimes spotted on the mountain slopes during winter months, having come down from higher ground.
Stops include Stöðvarfjörður and Fáskrúðsfjörður, the latter a town with strong French maritime heritage that houses a Northern Lights photography exhibition. The route continues north to Lake Mývatn, considered one of Iceland’s best locations for aurora viewing due to its altitude and minimal light pollution. Dinner is included at your hotel in the Mývatn area.
The Námaskard geothermal area near Mývatn has bubbling mud pools, steam vents, and mineral-stained ground that looks particularly vivid against winter snow. The Skútustaðagígar pseudo-craters were formed when lava flowed over wetland and caused steam explosions, leaving behind distinctive rounded formations across the lakeshore.
Goðafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods, sits on the road to Akureyri. The falls divide into two horseshoe-shaped cascades and take their name from the legend that Iceland’s lawspeaker threw his pagan idols into the water when the country converted to Christianity in the year 1000. Free time in Akureyri follows, Iceland’s largest town outside the capital, set at the head of Eyjafjörður, the country’s longest fjord. Dinner is included at your accommodation in the Skagafjörður area.
The route through Borgarfjörður passes Deildartunguhver, one of Europe’s highest-flow hot springs, where boiling water emerges from the ground and is piped to towns up to 64 kilometres away for heating. Hraunfossar is a series of small cascades filtering up through lava rock and flowing into the Hvítá river, while Barnafoss nearby is a set of rapids where the same river narrows through a rocky passage.
The route also passes Reykholt, once home to the 13th-century scholar Snorri Sturluson, who wrote much of what is known about Norse mythology and early Icelandic history. The day ends back in Reykjavík with the evening free to explore the city.
A shared airport transfer collects you from your hotel approximately three hours before your flight and takes you to Keflavík Airport.!
What’s included?
Quality accommodation every night
Continental breakfast every day
4 two-course dinners in the countryside featuring local cuisine (Days 3, 4, 5 & 6)
Airport transfer
Local transport with guidance in English
Admission to Friðheimar greenhouse
Admission to Lava Center
Admission to Skógar Folk Museum
Admission to Northern Lights photo exhibition in Fáskrúðsfjörður
24/7 emergency helpline when you’re in Iceland
Carbon offsetting of your tour
VAT, taxes & service fees
Flights to Iceland
Food & drink, unless otherwise stated
Attraction entrance fees, unless otherwise stated
Personal travel insurance
Stay in well-located hotels and guesthouses that are highly rated by visitors and handpicked by experts.
On this trip, you’ll stay at the following hotels or similar:
- Day 1 – Fosshotel Reykjavík
- Day 2 – Hótel Örk
- Day 3 – Magma Hótel
- Day 4 – Hótel Breiðdalsvík
- Day 5 – Hótel Laxá
- Day 6 – Hofsstaðir Country Hotel
- Day 7 – Fosshotel Reykjavík
Customer reviews
Read what real customers had to say about this tour
FAQs about our guided group trips
On this type of tour, you’ll travel around Iceland by bus with the same driver-guide for the length of your trip. Guided group tours are a great way to make like-minded friends, as you’ll spend time with the same travelers for your whole vacation.
You’ll get to stay in accommodation around the country, and some tours include a few evening meals too. After a day’s exploring, you’ll go back to your private room and meet your guide and group the next morning to continue your trip.
All of our guided group tours start and finish in Reykjavík.
There are 2 group sizes available:
- Small group: Up to 19 people
- Standard group: Up to 32 people
Small groups offer a more intimate travel experience, whereas standard groups are more wallet-friendly.
You’ll likely be with people from a whole mix of backgrounds, from different countries and of different ages. Your guide will entertain you with fun facts and jokes as you journey around Iceland. It’s almost guaranteed you’ll be laughing along with your group!
There will most probably be a mix of solo travelers, couples, and small groups of friends and family.
The luggage restrictions on this guided group tour are as follows:
- 1 suitcase or large bag per person for clothes and overnight items
- 1 day bag for essential items, like a camera, extra clothes, and valuables
Each day your luggage will be loaded onto the bus. In the evening, you’ll take all your bags with you to your room.
Our guided group tours have fixed start dates and itineraries. While it’s not possible to customize the actual tour, you can tailor your trip with extra days and activities before or afterwards.
For example, you could add a couple more days in Reykjavík at the end of your trip. Fill these with day tours or exciting activities like ice caving and snowmobiling.
On a guided group tour, you’ll learn a lot about Icelandic history, nature, and culture from experienced tour guides. You’ll find their passion for the country infectious and gain a perspective on life in Iceland from these travel experts.
Guided group tours also mean you don’t need to worry about driving yourself on unfamiliar roads. They’re a fantastic way to explore Iceland if you want to meet like-minded travelers too.
That said, guided tours are by no means the only way to experience Iceland. If you’d prefer something more customizable, you could go for a multi-day tour by bus. Or if you want to set your own pace on a road trip, it’s hard to beat a self-drive tour.
Another option is a privately guided tour. This combines the experience of a locally guided tour with the intimacy of traveling in your own private group.
On an Iceland guided tour, you can expect to travel by bus in a small or large party. You can choose your preferred group size when you book.
Iceland small group tours are more intimate, whereas standard group tours are more wallet-friendly. The maximum number of people in a small group is 16, and 36 in a standard group.
Your driver-guide will lead the entire trip, which includes stays in the Icelandic countryside. Each day you’ll explore a new part of Iceland and enjoy commentary from your guide between stops.
As you’ll be with the same group of people throughout your trip, you’ll have the chance to socialize with fellow travelers and make friends (maybe even for life). There’s nothing like diving into Iceland’s epic nature for a bonding experience!
There’s plenty to enjoy on a guided tour of Iceland. The great thing about them is that you can access locations you never would have known about. And you can travel to seemingly out-of-reach regions, like the Icelandic highlands.
Here’s just some of what you could get up to on an Iceland group tour:
- Chase the Northern Lights in a remote countryside spot
- Tour the legendary Ring Road route
- See bubbling hot springs on the Golden Circle
- Explore ice cave country in Vatnajökull National Park
- Hop between stunning waterfalls on a south coast tour
- Follow in the footsteps of Vikings at Þingvellir National Park
- Watch an active geyser, Strokkur, erupt before you
- Admire freshly calved icebergs drift gently out to sea
- Roam the black sands of Reynisfjara beach
- Soak up culture and nightlife in downtown Reykjavík
- Dive into the country's food scene at Iceland's best restaurants.
Need more inspiration? Check out this Iceland Travel Guide.
All of the guided Iceland vacation packages featured here include local transport, accommodation, breakfast, airport transfers, and activities. Some also include dinners in the countryside, so check the specific package for details.
You can customize your guided trip with extra days in Reykjavík at the start or end of your vacation. Use these to pack in day tours or an evening Northern Lights tour. You could even pay a relaxing visit to the Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon.
In general, tipping is not as commonplace in Iceland as in some other countries. While tour guides would never expect to be tipped, they would receive them gratefully.
You can start planning your Iceland adventure right on this page. Browse the guided vacation packages above until you find the one for you.
Next, check departure dates on the tour page. Guided group tours have fixed dates and durations, although you can extend your trip with extra days in Reykjavík if you like. This would be your chance to add activities, like exploring an ice cave or bathing in hot springs.
After that, simply follow the checkout instructions to complete your booking. You’ll receive a confirmation email straight away, followed by your travel documents closer to your departure date.
You can check dates on the individual tour pages. Guided tours are available in a small or large group, with separate departure dates for each.
There are weekly or fortnightly departures throughout the popular summer and winter seasons. Make sure you book in advance as spaces can sell out quick.
Because guided group tours have fixed departure dates, it’s a good idea to book your vacation package before your flights. Once you’ve received the confirmation from Iceland Tours, you’re clear to book with your preferred airline.
That said, you might want to do a rough check for flights before you book your package to get a feel for what’s available.
Iceland is well connected to Europe and North America with daily direct flights to lots of major cities.
When visiting Iceland, it pays to pack smart and be prepared. The weather is changeable and conditions are likely to be different to what you’re used to at home.
Here’s an Iceland packing list that’s good for all seasons:
- Warm, waterproof coat
- Toasty inner layers
- Hat, scarf, and gloves
- Sturdy hiking boots
- Sunglasses
- Moisturizer and lip balm
Carbon offsetting is already included as standard with every Iceland Tours package. We have partnered with an environmental fund in Iceland to cover the carbon footprint of the tour itself, so there is nothing extra you need to do or pay.
Iceland Tours is Travelife-certified, meaning our operations are independently assessed against sustainability standards covering environmental, social, and supply chain criteria. This certification reflects a commitment to responsible travel that goes beyond carbon offsetting, including how we select local accommodation and activity partners.
Carbon offsetting for international flights to and from Iceland is not included in the tour package, but your airline may offer offset options at the time of booking, or you can arrange this through a local or national environmental fund. For more on how we approach sustainable travel, see our sustainability policy and our article on responsible and sustainable travel in Iceland.
Six of the seven nights are spent in countryside locations chosen for their dark skies and minimal light pollution, including the Lake Mývatn area and the Eastfjords, both considered among Iceland’s best aurora viewing regions. Your guide monitors forecasts each evening and takes the group out when conditions are favourable. The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and depend on solar activity, cloud cover, and weather, so sightings cannot be guaranteed. The tour runs from mid-October through early April, covering the full duration of Iceland’s aurora season.
The main differences are group size, duration, and included activities. This tour has a maximum of 16 travelers, while the 9-day tour accommodates up to 24. This tour runs for 8 days and includes five dinners, admission to the LAVA Centre, Friðheimar greenhouse, Skógar Folk Museum, and the Northern Lights photo exhibition in Fáskrúðsfjörður. The 9-day tour includes additional stops in North Iceland such as Siglufjörður and the Herring-Era Museum, an introduction to Icelandic horses, and a guided Northern Lights tour on foot. The right choice depends on whether you prioritise a smaller group or a more extended itinerary with different inclusions.
The tour includes seven nights of Quality accommodation, continental breakfast daily, five two-course dinners at countryside hotels on days two through six, a shared airport transfer on arrival and departure, all transport with an expert English-speaking guide, admission to Friðheimar greenhouse, the LAVA Centre, Skógar Folk Museum, and the Northern Lights photo exhibition in Fáskrúðsfjörður, 24/7 emergency helpline support, and carbon offsetting of the tour. International flights, personal travel insurance, and most attraction entrance fees are not included. A 20% deposit secures your place.
The minimum age is 12 years. The tour involves bus travel between locations and walking at outdoor sites, some of which can be cold and exposed in winter. If you are travelling with a young person close to the minimum age and have questions about suitability, contact the team before booking.
Extra nights in Reykjavík can be added at the start or end of your booking. Additional days in the city give you time for optional activities such as visiting the Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, glacier hiking, snowmobiling, or an evening Northern Lights tour by boat. The team can advise on what works well alongside this itinerary when you enquire.
