Golden Circle in winter: what changes and what to book
Doable all winter, with four to six hours of light, icy paths and a closed lower Gullfoss trail. Take a morning tour and don't drive it in a storm.
The short version
- In December, Reykjavík gets roughly four to five hours of daylight. Start by 09:00 to see Gullfoss in the light.
- The lower path at Gullfoss is often closed for ice in winter. The upper viewpoint normally stays open.
- Strokkur at Geysir keeps erupting every few minutes all winter. Nothing about it is seasonal.
- Golden Circle roads are main roads and usually cleared, but wind and black ice close them on bad days.
The Golden Circle works all winter. Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss don’t close, and snow suits them. What changes is the light, the ice and the roads. Take a tour that leaves early in the morning, wear something with grip on your shoes, and don’t plan to drive it yourself on a day with a storm warning.
Daylight, month by month
The Golden Circle is roughly 230 km as a loop from Reykjavík, and a full day with stops. In winter the day isn’t long enough for all of it in the light.
Roughly: late October and February give you eight or nine hours of daylight. November and January give five to six. Around the December solstice, the sun rises after 11:00 and sets around 15:30. Add a pinkish twilight either side, which is often the best light of the day.
So timing matters more than in summer. A tour leaving Reykjavík at 09:00 reaches Þingvellir around sunrise in December and Gullfoss while it’s still light. An afternoon tour does not. The Golden Circle Afternoon Tour, from €88, has departures as late as 16:00. That’s a fine choice in March. In December you’d reach Gullfoss in the dark.
Ice at the three stops
Þingvellir. The paths through Almannagjá are wide and gravelled but can glaze over. The park grits the main ones. Walk slowly and hold the rail on the steps.
Geysir. Strokkur erupts every few minutes all year. The paths around the hot springs are often wet ice, and the steam freezes on everything nearby. Stay behind the ropes: the ground and water are scalding, whatever the air temperature.
Gullfoss. The waterfall partly freezes in cold spells, with curtains of ice along the sides. The lower path to the edge of the falls is often closed in winter, sometimes for weeks. The upper viewpoint by the café normally stays open, and gives the better view anyway.
Cheap slip-on shoe spikes solve most of this. You can buy them in Reykjavík outdoor shops and petrol stations.
Driving it yourself in winter
Routes 36, 35 and 37 are main roads and usually cleared early. In calm weather an ordinary car on winter tyres is fine. The problems are wind on the open stretches, black ice and snow showers that cut visibility to nothing. Check umferdin.is for road conditions and vedur.is for warnings before you leave, and turn back if they say to.
If you’re not used to driving on ice, or you’ve landed that morning, let someone else drive. Our winter driving guide has more. For the general bus-or-car question, see Golden Circle: bus or self-drive.
Winter tours worth looking at
The plain version with a lights hunt. Golden Circle & Northern Lights Tour, from €131, runs the classic day plus Kerið crater, then goes back out after dark to look for the aurora. That’s twelve and a half hours in all. The lights part is weather-dependent and never promised.
With a lagoon. Golden Circle, Secret Lagoon & Northern Lights, from €226, adds a soak at the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir before the evening hunt. Warm water between the cold stops is the best thing about a winter Golden Circle. Bring a swimsuit and a towel. For other lagoon options, see Golden Circle add-ons.
With the glacier. Langjökull sits just north of Gullfoss, and winter is when the glacier add-ons feel most like winter. Golden Circle & Ice Cave Tour in Monster Truck, from €255, drives you onto Langjökull in a glacier truck and into a natural ice cave, eleven hours from Reykjavík. Golden Circle Small Group & Snowmobiling Tour, from €343, gives you an hour on a snowmobile on the same ice cap, two people sharing a machine unless you pay for a solo ride.
Glacier add-ons are the first thing cancelled in high wind. When they are, you get a refund or a new date. Book them early in your trip so there’s room to move.
Our honest take
In winter, book a morning tour and let someone else drive. The three stops are quick, the walking is short, and the risk is all on the road.
If you only do one version, take the Secret Lagoon day. You see the Golden Circle properly, you get warm in the middle, and the lights hunt is a bonus rather than the point. If you want a glacier too, the monster truck ice cave day is the better value of the two add-ons, and it’s the one that feels like winter.
Skip the afternoon departures between November and January. You’ll pay less and see Gullfoss in the dark.
