The Golden Circle and the Secret Lagoon | Private Tour
by Arctic Mike · Lagoons & spas · private · Golden Circle
- Self-guided
Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at Arctic Mike's own price and take our commission from them, not from you. What you get here is one checkout across operators, one confirmation, and one place to change or cancel it. If you ever find it cheaper on their own site, tell us and we will match it or explain why we cannot.
More photos of The Golden Circle and the Secret Lagoon | Private Tour
32 photos from Arctic Mike. Tap any one for the full-size original.
Duration
10 hours
Difficulty
Easy
Season
All year
Starts in
Reykjavík
Meeting
Hotel pickup available
Languages
EN
Start time
Time agreed after booking
Cancellation
Free until 10 days before
About this experience
If you visit Iceland for the first time, you cannot miss „The Golden Circle.” This iconic route represents one of Iceland’s most famous day tours. Due to the very close distance, 250 km (155 miles), the Golden Circle perfectly fits every schedule. When designing this tour, I wanted to introduce you to the most symbolic wonders of Icelandic nature. On that tour, we will visit many unique locations. We will hike around the crater of an extinct volcano and experience geyser eruptions. There will also be time for relaxing and soaking in the oldest thermal pool in Iceland. We will visit the Gullfoss waterfall and stay for lunch at the Friðheimar geothermal greenhouse. Dining among tomato plants is a unique food experience you will never forget. In addition, you will learn about the origins of Icelandic settlement in the birthplace of Icelandic democracy-Þingvellir National Park.
All the highlights I included in this tour are creating an Ultimate Golden Circle tour.
Description from the operator, Arctic Mike. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.
Where you go
- PICK-UP
- KERIÐ
- SECRET LAGOON
- FRIÐHEIMAR FARM
- GULLFOSS WATERFALL
- GEYSERS VALLEY
- ÞINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK
- REYKJAVIK
Included
I do my best to make my trips as comfortable as possible. That’s why I provide complimentary hot chocolate to keep as WARM 🙂 Additionally, I offer crystal clear Icelandic Glacial water in my car at no extra charge. Your comfort and safety is my priority. So you can also take advantage of Rain Gear and Crampons.
Good to know
Please. Remember to take hiking boots, a rain jacket, rain pants, and WARM layers underneath the jacket and waterproof gloves.
You might be lucky with the lovely weather, but you should also consider the windy and rainy/snowy options.
Cancellation for this tour
Free cancellation until 10 days before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.
If the weather cancels this tour
Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is a forecast the operator judges unsafe. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.
- 1Arctic Mike decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
- 2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
- 3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.
What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 10 days before departure, the operator's policy after that.
Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →
Sold out on your date?
Seats come back — a cancellation, or the operator adding a vehicle. Tell us the date and we will check once a day and email you if one opens. One email, then we delete the address; nothing else is ever sent to it.
Who this is not for
- Not for last-minute planners — free cancellation ends 10 days before, longer than most tours here.
- Priced per vehicle, so it is poor value for one or two people and good value for four or more sharing.
Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.
Why we list it
Arctic Mike is one of 154 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →
Read before you book
- Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon or Secret Lagoon — pick by what your day looks likeThree hot lagoons near Reykjavík, three very different days. We say which one fits an airport day, a city evening and a Golden Circle loop.
- Bolt the Secret Lagoon onto the Golden Circle, not the Blue LagoonSecret Lagoon, Blue Lagoon or Fontana as the hot-water finish to a Golden Circle day. Which is on the route, which fits the budget, which to book separately.
- Hot springs beyond the Blue Lagoon — Secret Lagoon, Fontana, Mývatn and KraumaFour geothermal pools that aren't the Blue Lagoon, which tour gets you to each, and which one we'd actually pick for a Golden Circle or North Iceland day.
Reviews from our travellers
Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.
No reviews yet from our travellers on this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.
Lagoons & spas — questions people ask
Is the Blue Lagoon worth it or is it too touristy?
It is busy and it is worth it, once. The water is milky blue from silica, the setting in the Reykjanes lava is unlike anywhere else, and it sits twenty minutes from Keflavík Airport, so it fits an arrival or departure day. Book a time slot in advance; it sells out. If crowds bother you, go early morning or after 20:00. The Secret Lagoon or Fontana on the Golden Circle are calmer and cheaper alternatives.
Can I do the Blue Lagoon on the way to or from the airport?
Yes, and it is the best way to use it. Transfers like IceTransfer's Keflavík to Blue Lagoon to Reykjavík (/experience/1036423/) or the reverse (/experience/1036419/) stop at the lagoon for a few hours with your luggage stored. Allow at least three hours at the lagoon and check that your slot lines up with your flight. Note that the Reykjanes eruptions have closed the lagoon at short notice; check its status before travelling.
What is the difference between the Secret Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon?
The Secret Lagoon at Flúðir is a simple, warm geothermal pool with a bubbling hot spring beside it and basic changing rooms. It is on the Golden Circle, so it slots into a sightseeing day (/experience/17050/, /experience/624446/). The Blue Lagoon is a spa: silica masks, swim-up bar, saunas and a price to match. If you want a soak after a day of waterfalls, Secret Lagoon. If you want the spa day, Blue Lagoon.
Do I have to shower naked before a pool in Iceland?
Yes, at every public pool and most lagoons. Swimwear off, wash thoroughly with soap, swimwear on, then into the water. It is a hygiene rule because Icelandic pools use very little chlorine, and it is taken seriously. Changing rooms are single-sex with open showers; some larger lagoons have a few private cubicles. Nobody looks. It feels odd for thirty seconds and then it does not.
One checkout, any number of operators
Rankings are not for sale
153 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted
If it falls short, we fix it
Pairs well with
Everything here goes into the same basket and the same single payment, however many operators it comes from.
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