Christmas Wonders of Iceland Group Adventure - Big Group Adventure

6 days / 5 nights
A house decorated with Christmas lights against the Northern Lights
A man floating in the Blue Lagoon
Reykjavik and Mount Esja covered in snow
A house decorated with Christmas lights against the Northern Lights
A man floating in the Blue Lagoon

Spend Christmas in Iceland and glimpse waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, and more

Celebrate Christmas somewhere different this year! On this 6-day tour of Iceland by bus, you’ll see the natural delights of the Golden Circle in their winter splendor. And you can taste your way through Christmas in Iceland with dinner included on 3 nights.

Once you’ve seen the Golden Circle, you’ll follow Iceland’s jaw-dropping south coast, with its epic waterfalls, pristine black sand beaches, and gigantic glaciers. You’ll also stop by the Jökulárslón glacial lagoon, where you see watch icebergs drift out to sea.

Also included in this package is a guided Northern Lights hunting tour. How magical would it be if you were lucky enough to see them at Christmas?

What’s more, you get admission to the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s world-famous geothermal spa.

This tour is operated by a partner of Iceland Tours.

Travel styleGuided Big group
Trip length6 days / 5 nights
VibeSocial
SeasonChristmas
(23 Dec only)
TransportBus
Starts fromReykjavík
Minimum age8 years
Tour codeGT04

On this tour you will...

  • Spend Christmas Eve marveling at mindblowing sights on the Golden Circle

  • Celebrate the festive season with a delicious Christmas dinner at your hotel

  • Head into the countryside to hunt for mesmerising displays of the Northern Lights

  • Stroll along the black sands of Reynisfjara beach and maybe even walk behind a waterfall 

  • See vast lava fields at Eldhraun and watch icebergs drift out sea at Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon

  • Learn about Icelandic traditions and folklore on a guided tour of Reykjavík

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

A rainbow over the Skógafoss waterfall on a sunny day

Skógafoss

The Seljalandsfoss waterfall covered in icicles

Seljalandsfoss

The Eldhraun lava field showing moss-covered lava rocks

Eldhraun lava field

Mountains in the Skaftafell Nature Reserve on a cloudy day

Skaftafell Nature Reserve

The edge of the Vatnajökull glacier

Vatnajökull Glacier & National Park

Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon at sunrise with a pink sky

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

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)

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. Just make sure you are back at the hotel in time for tonight’s walking tour.

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.

Early this evening you will enjoy a walking tour in downtown Reykjavik. One of our local guides who is an expert in Icelandic traditions and folklore will meet you at your hotel. Enjoy Reykjavik’s twinkling lights and festive decorations as your guide tells you about holiday traditions.

Today is St. Thorlak’s Day, a day when stores are open late into the evening and Icelanders enjoy last minute shopping and greeting friends throughout the day and evening. You’ll surely enjoy this cheerful backdrop for your walking tour.

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, your tour starts with the evening walking tour on Day 1 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 inHella area (dinner included)
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.

Tonight, enjoy a Christmas Eve buffet dinner at your hotel. 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.

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

Gleðileg jól! Merry Christmas! 

Drive along the South Shore, an area of Iceland that is especially beautiful to view in the winter. This is one of the main farm 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.

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.

Celebrate Christmas with a festive Christmas dinner at your hotel. You’ll also receive a gift to commemorate your Christmas visit to Iceland.

Staying inKirkjubæjarklaustur area (dinner included)
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 where you’ll have dinner.

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.

Driving distance50 km (31 mi)

Shared airport transfer to Keflavík Airport for your return flight (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!

What’s included?

Quality accommodation every night

Continental breakfast every day

Christmas Eve buffet dinner (Day 2)

Festive dinner (Day 3)

Two-course dinner in the countryside featuring local cuisine (Day 4)

Airport transfer

Local transport with guidance in English

Admission to Aurora Reykjavík

Admission to Lava Center

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

Visit to geothermal bakery and rye bread tasting

Visit to a local horse farm, including traditional Icelandic refreshments 

Christmas treats from Icelandic Yule lads

Guided Northern Lights tour on foot

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

More info

Stay in well-located hotels and guesthouses that are highly rated by visitors and handpicked by experts.

You’ll stay at the following hotels or similar:

  • Day 1 – Centerhotel Miðgarður 
  • Day 2 – Stracta Hotel Hella 
  • Day 3 – Hotel Klaustur 
  • Day 4 – Hotel Klaustur 
  • Day 5 – Centerhotel Miðgarður

Adults

Ages 12+

2

Children

Ages 2-11

0

Infants

Ages 0-1

0

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 16 people
  • Big group: Up to 36 people

Small groups offer a more intimate travel experience, whereas big 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 guided group tours 3 days and longer 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

The luggage restrictions on guided group tours up to 3 days are as follows:

  • 1 small carry-on luggage, bag size: 50 x 30 x 60 cm (19.9 x 11.8 x 23.6 inches)
  • If you have large luggage with you, please check with your accommodation if they offer luggage storage while on this tour. If that is not a possibility, you can pay an extra fee per luggage (2000 ISK) with 72 hours notice.

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.

Don’t take our word for it

See what hundreds of fellow travelers have to say about their trips with Iceland Tours.

Read customer reviews

#icelandmyway

See what travelers like you have been up to lately on Instagram.