Private Golden Circle and Northern Lights Tour

Your adventure begins with the legendary Golden Circle, Iceland’s most celebrated route, experienced at a pace that allows you to truly absorb each spectacular location. Your dedicated guide doubles as a professional photographer, capturing unlimited high-resolution images throughout both tours that are expertly edited and delivered via our self-hosted online photo gallery within 48 hours. This means you can be fully present in each moment, knowing every magical vista and candid expression is being preserved in stunning detail.

The journey starts in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Þingvellir National Park, where you’ll stand in the dramatic rift valley where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Walking between two continents is a profound experience made more meaningful by the park’s historical significance as the birthplace of Iceland’s ancient parliament. The cascading Öxarárfoss waterfall provides a perfect backdrop for your first professional photographs of this epic day. We continue to the legendary Geysir geothermal area, where Iceland’s volcanic power erupts before your eyes. 

While the original Great Geysir rests, its faithful neighbor Strokkur shoots boiling water 20-30 meters skyward every few minutes, creating spectacular moments that your photographer captures from multiple angles. The surrounding landscape of bubbling hot springs and steam vents embodies Iceland’s raw geothermal energy in vivid, otherworldly beauty. The crown jewel awaits at Gullfoss, the “Golden Falls,” where glacial water plunges dramatically into a rugged canyon in two powerful tiers. The thundering cascade creates rainbows in its mist on clear days, offering breathtaking views from multiple vantage points.

Your private photographer ensures you have stunning portraits with this natural wonder as your backdrop, capturing both the waterfall’s grandeur and your awe at witnessing such magnificent power. What elevates this experience beyond the ordinary is our exclusive lunch at Friðheimar Tomato Far, a hidden gem most visitors never discover.

This remarkable greenhouse operation grows fresh tomatoes year-round using geothermal energy, and their restaurant serves what many consider the world’s finest tomato soup alongside freshly baked bread. Dining surrounded by thriving tomato plants while Iceland’s landscape stretches beyond the glass creates a uniquely Icelandic experience that captures the country’s innovative spirit. 

Throughout the day, we also encounter Iceland’s beloved Icelandic horses, descendants of the original Viking steeds, whose unique five-gaited gait and friendly nature have captured hearts worldwide. These charismatic creatures provide wonderful opportunities for candid photography and connection with Iceland’s living heritage. The Golden Circle adventure culminates with a rejuvenating soak in Laugarás Lagoon, Iceland’s newest hot spring.

Unlike crowded tourist destinations, this intimate geothermal oasis offers a peaceful experience where you can relax in naturally heated waters surrounded by pristine Icelandic landscape. The contrast between warm, mineral-rich water and cool Icelandic air creates a magical sensation—and serves as the perfect transition between your daytime exploration and evening aurora adventure. After your interlude to rest and refresh (or, if the aurora is already dancing, immediately following the lagoon), your evening northern lights chase begins. This is when the day’s energy transforms into something mystical. Our expert team employs highly detailed weather, cloud, and aurora forecasts combined with real-time satellite imagery to position you in the absolute best conditions available.

Our smaller, nimble vehicle allows us to move swiftly between locations, chasing clear skies and optimal viewing conditions with an agility that larger tours cannot match. While others remain stationary, we escape cloud cover and pursue the dancing lights wherever they appear brightest. Your photographer, who has already captured your daylight adventures, now turns their lens skyward to document you beneath the aurora borealis. These aren’t generic northern lights photos—these are your personal portraits beneath nature’s most spectacular light show, with every shot focused on creating your perfect memories. The images capture not just the aurora’s ethereal dance, but your wonder, your joy, your connection to this extraordinary phenomenon. What truly sets this combined experience apart is our comprehensive all-inclusive approach.

We are the only northern lights operation in Iceland to provide warm winter jumpsuits for all guests on location, ensuring your comfort during the evening’s aurora viewing. No need to worry about Iceland’s winter temperatures when you’re wrapped in professional-grade thermal gear. We also provide outdoor chairs, so you can relax beneath the lights rather than standing throughout the evening. 

Throughout your northern lights adventure, we provide traditional Icelandic snacks, pastries, and chocolate, along with warm beverages including hot cocoa, tea, and soft drinks to keep you cozy. Authentic Icelandic Brennivín adds a local touch to your Arctic experience. We bring extra camera and mobile phone tripods so you can capture your own memories alongside the professional photography.

Our meticulous planning contributes to our exceptional 93% northern lights sighting rate, as we only venture out when both aurora activity and cloud coverage are favorable. This careful approach, combined with over a decade of experience reading Icelandic skies, means you’re investing in a carefully researched, expertly crafted experience designed to maximize your success. From the moment we collect you in the morning until we return you to your accommodation beneath a sky full of stars (and hopefully aurora), every detail is orchestrated to ensure this becomes one of the most extraordinary days of your life. By the time you finally rest your head, you’ll have walked between continents, witnessed geysers erupt and waterfalls thunder, soaked in geothermal springs, dined in a greenhouse, and danced beneath the northern lights—all captured in hundreds of professional photographs that prove this remarkable day wasn’t just a dream.

This is Iceland at its most spectacular, experienced in a single, unforgettable journey from dawn to aurora.