Winter Wonders of Iceland – Small Group Adventure

6 days / 5 nights
6 days / 5 nights
Þingvellir National Park, the site of Iceland’s ancient parliament
Þingvellir National Park, the site of Iceland’s ancient parliament

Adults

Ages 12+

2

Children

Ages 2-11

0

Infants

Ages 0-1

0

Discover top attractions in winter with a local guide

Join a group of up to 16 like-minded adventurers on this 6-day winter tour of South Iceland. Traveling by minibus, you’ll see the famous Golden Circle, including the Strokkur geyser and Gullfoss waterfall, in their icy winter splendor.

This itinerary then takes you along Iceland’s jaw-dropping south coast, with its epic waterfalls, pristine black sand beaches, and gigantic glaciers. You’ll also visit the Jökulárslón glacial lagoon, where you can watch icebergs drift out to sea.

Of course, winter is the best time to hunt down the Northern Lights. This trip includes a guided aurora-hunting tour. You might be lucky enough to see them if conditions are right!

Also included is admission to the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s oldest and most famous geothermal spa.

This tour is operated by a partner of Iceland Tours.

See the big group version of this guided tour.

Travel styleGuided group
Trip length6 days / 5 nights
VibeSocial
SeasonWinter
(13 Oct–4 Apr)
TransportBus
Starts fromReykjavík
Minimum age8 years
Tour codeGT02

On this tour you will...

  • See tumbling waterfalls and bubbling geysers on the Golden Circle

  • Soak in the geothermal waters of the iconic Blue Lagoon

  • Walk along volcanic black sand beaches

  • Marvel at icebergs bobbing on Jökulárslón glacial lagoon

  • Visit Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site

  • Hunt for the Northern Lights above frosted winter landscapes

Top attractions

The Tjörnin pond in Reykjavík in summer

Downtown Reykjavík

The Gullfoss waterfall in summertime

Gullfoss

Þingvellir National Park, Iceland, in autumn colors

Þingvellir National Park

The Strokkur geyser erupting in winter against a sunset

Geysir and Strokkur

Vik Church with Reynisdrangar sea stacks in the distance

Vík í Mýrdal

A rainbow over the Skógafoss waterfall on a sunny day

Skógafoss

The Seljalandsfoss waterfall covered in icicles

Seljalandsfoss

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon at sunrise with a pink sky

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

The edge of the Vatnajökull glacier

Vatnajökull Glacier & National Park

Mountains in the Skaftafell Nature Reserve on a cloudy day

Skaftafell Nature Reserve

A man floating in the Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon

Why book a guided group trip with Iceland Tours?

  • Pick from wide range of departure dates

  • Expert local guidance in English

  • Small and big group options available

  • 24/7 emergency helpline in Iceland

  • Secure your booking with just a 5% deposit

  • Handpicked local accommodation options

Your 6-day guided group itinerary

Your 6-day guided group itinerary
Staying inReykjavík
Driving distance50 km (31 mi)
Staying inReykjavík
Driving distance50 km (31 mi)

Transfer from Keflavík International Airport to Reykjavík (included).

If you’re arriving earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. We’d be happy to make suggestions based on your interests. 

One of our favorite activities after a long flight is to visit one of the neighborhood geothermal pools. It is so refreshing to relax in the warm water, breathing in the fresh Icelandic air. It’s a wonderful way to get to see Icelandic daily life and maybe meet a few locals. It’s also nice to take a stroll in the old city center, perhaps visiting one of the museums or relaxing with a cup of coffee in a cozy café.

Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavík offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses, making dinner a wonderful way to get better acquainted with Iceland’s capital.

Please note: If you have added extra nights in Reykjavík before your tour, our guide will meet you and the group for the start of the tour on Day 2 according to the standard “Winter Wonders of Iceland Group Adventure” itinerary.

Highlights

The Tjörnin pond in Reykjavík in summer

Downtown Reykjavík

Extra activities

Riders on FlyOver Iceland above a virtual waterfallExtra

FlyOver Iceland

Staying inGeysir area
Driving distance185 km (115 mi)
Staying inGeysir area
Driving distance185 km (115 mi)

Start your adventure by visiting the fascinating Aurora Reykjavik Northern Lights Center. You’ll get a great introduction to the Northern Lights, how they’re formed, and the folklore surrounding them. You’ll also get tips about how to capture the Northern Lights on film. You can also get assistance from the staff in adjusting your camera’s settings for Northern Lights photos.

Depart Reykjavík and head onwards to Þingvellir (Thingvellir National Park), a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the world’s oldest parliament met for centuries on the shores of Iceland’s largest lake. This place makes us Icelanders enormously proud of our heritage, and your guide will show you some of the amazing sites here. You might even have a rare chance to walk between two continents!

Continue on to the geothermal fields of Geysir with bubbling mud pools and the high-spouting Strokkur hot spring. Last but not least, you’ll visit the dramatic two-tiered Gullfoss waterfall, a spectacular sight in winter when frozen mid-cascade. Stop at Skálholt, Iceland’s capital during the Middle Ages, now a culture center with a beautiful church. 

During the day you will also visit the town of Laugarvatn. The town is built around three hot springs, and the residents have cleverly harnessed the hot springs for heating, greenhouses and even cooking. You’ll visit a unique outdoor geothermal bakery where sweet Icelandic rye bread is baked in hot sands. You’ll have the chance to taste some of the freshly baked bread, hot from the ground. It’s especially delicious slathered in sweet Icelandic butter.

If weather conditions are right, your guide will take you on a northern lights hunt on foot in the area outside your hotel tonight, or on the evening of Day 3 or 4.

Highlights

Þingvellir National Park, Iceland, in autumn colors

Þingvellir National Park

The Strokkur geyser erupting in winter against a sunset

Geysir and Strokkur

The Gullfoss waterfall in summertime

Gullfoss

Staying inKirkjubæjarklaustur area
Driving distance200 km (124 mi)
Staying inKirkjubæjarklaustur area
Driving distance200 km (124 mi)

Drive along the south shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter. This is one of the main farming regions of the country, and the road will pass by typical Icelandic farms, often with Icelandic horses roaming in the fields.

This part of Iceland is home to the wonderful LAVA Center, an interactive, high-tech educational exhibition depicting volcanic activity, earthquakes, and the creation of Iceland over millions of years. Enjoy both the exhibit and viewing an interesting film about Icelandic volcanoes at the Center’s cinema.

Continue onwards. If the skies are clear you might see the area’s two most famous volcanoes in the distance: Mount Hekla (last eruption 2000) and Eyjafjallajökull (last eruption 2010). You might also possibly catch a glimpse of the Westman Islands archipelago off the coast of Iceland.

Stop at the spectacular Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls. If trail conditions are right, you might be able to walk behind the ribbon-like Seljalandsfoss falls. Skógafoss is a beautifully shaped waterfall that makes a perfect backdrop for a selfie. It has an interesting history geologically, and it just may also be hiding some buried treasure from the Middle Ages.

We’d like you to meet some of our best countrymen with a visit to an Icelandic Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR) base. Their joint mission is to prevent accidents and save human lives. ICE-SAR serves in both Icelandic and international rescue efforts. You’ll meet some members of the team and get an introduction to the unique ICE-SAR program.

Head onwards, passing Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, to visit Reynisfjara beach. Take a walk on the black sand, admiring the extraordinary rock formations and thundering waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Cross Eldhraun, a vast lava field created from a very destructive 18th-century eruption as you head into Southeast Iceland. The snows of winter make this landscape into something very mysterious.

Highlights

The Seljalandsfoss waterfall covered in icicles

Seljalandsfoss

A rainbow over the Skógafoss waterfall on a sunny day

Skógafoss

Vik Church with Reynisdrangar sea stacks in the distance

Vík í Mýrdal

Staying inKirkjubæjarklaustur area
Driving distance260 km (162 mi)
Staying inKirkjubæjarklaustur area
Driving distance260 km (162 mi)

Today you will be in a world of glaciers! You’ll be visiting the southern area of Vatnajökull National Park, named after Europe’s largest glacier. The total park area covers almost 14% of Iceland, making it the largest national park in Western Europe! Drive through vast sand plains created by glacial outwash as you head east.

Visit Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon where you’ll enjoy the breathtaking sight of icebergs floating in the fantastic 180-meter (591-foot) deep glacial lagoon. Make sure that camera is charged and ready! Nearby is the dramatic beauty of Breiðamerkursandur (the Diamond Beach), named for the shrinking icebergs that settle on the black sands before drifting out to sea.

Next, you’ll view Svínafellsjökull, one of the most beautiful glacial tongues that are slowly creeping down from Vatnajökull. Visit the national park’s famous Skaftafell area, a site of outstanding natural beauty dominated by several magnificent glaciers.

After your amazing day, your group will return to your hotel.

Highlights

Mountains in the Skaftafell Nature Reserve on a cloudy day

Skaftafell Nature Reserve

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon at sunrise with a pink sky

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

The edge of the Vatnajökull glacier

Vatnajökull Glacier & National Park

Staying inReykjavík
Driving distance365 km (227 mi)
Staying inReykjavík
Driving distance365 km (227 mi)

Head back along the beautiful South Coast, enjoying a different view of the winter landscapes. Visit the village of Hveragerði, which is one of the few settlements in the world located directly in the middle of a geothermal area. Hveragerði is often called “The Flower Village” because of its many flower greenhouses heated by hot water from nearby springs.

Turn onto a southern coastal road and follow alongside the shoreline with its breathtaking sea waves, passing through a deserted community that once was a flourishing center for the region.
The trip then takes you through the surreal landscapes of the Reykjanes peninsula, where you can enjoy a dip in the famous Blue Lagoon, a unique wonder of nature with pleasantly warm, mineral-rich water in the middle of a black lava field.

Return to Reykjavík, where your guide will bid you farewell at the hotel.

Highlights

The Tjörnin pond in Reykjavík in summer

Downtown Reykjavík

Driving distance50 km (31 mi)
Driving distance50 km (31 mi)

Transfer from Reykjavík to Keflavík International Airport by Flybus (included).

Breakfast at your hotel. Please note that this might be a light breakfast if you are taking an early morning departure flight.

We recommend you depart from your hotel no later than three hours before your departure flight. We wish you a pleasant trip back to your homeland and hope to see you in Iceland again!

Highlights

The Tjörnin pond in Reykjavík in summer

Downtown Reykjavík

What’s included?

Quality accommodation every night

Continental breakfast every day

3 two-course dinners in the countryside featuring local cuisine (Days 2, 3 & 4)

Airport transfer

Local transport with guidance in English

Free on-board wi-fi

Admission to Aurora Reykjavík

Admission to Lava Center

Blue Lagoon Comfort admission (includes towel rental, silica mud mask, 1 drink)

Guided Northern Lights tour on foot

Visit to Icelandic Search and Rescue base

Visit to geothermal bakery and rye bread tasting

24/7 emergency helpline when you’re in Iceland

VAT, taxes & service fees

Flights to Iceland

Food & drink, unless otherwise stated

Attraction entrance fees, unless otherwise stated

Personal travel insurance

Your accommodation

On this trip, you’ll stay at the following hotels or similar:

  • Day 1 – Center Hotels Laugavegur 
  • Day 2 – Stracta Hotel 
  • Day 3 – Fosshótel Núpar/Fosshótel Glacier Lagoon/Hótel Klaustur 
  • Day 4 – Fosshótel Núpar/Fosshótel Glacier Lagoon/Hótel Klaustur 
  • Day 5 – Center Hotels Laugavegur 

Your transport

On this trip, you and your fellow travelers will journey around Iceland on a bus driven by your knowledgeable driver-guide.

Free on-bus Wi-Fi

Airport transfer via FlyBus

Trip summary

Adults

Ages 12+

2

Children

Ages 2-11

0

Infants

Ages 0-1

0

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