City Guide

🇮🇸 Tour Guides in Selfoss

Q: What is the Golden Circle and why is Selfoss a good base for it?

The Golden Circle is Iceland's most popular single-day itinerary, covering three iconic sites within a 300 km loop from Reykjavik: Þingvellir National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are visibly separating and where the Viking Althing parliament met from 930 CE), the Geysir geothermal area (where Strokkur geyser erupts every 6–10 minutes and where the original Great Geysir gave all geysers their name), and Gullfoss (a two-tiered waterfall plunging into a canyon cut by glacial meltwater). Selfoss sits at the southern edge of this circuit, roughly 45 km from Þingvellir and 50 km from Gullfoss, making it the closest substantial town to all three sites. Staying overnight here rather than Reykjavik cuts driving times significantly and allows an early-morning visit to Geysir before the day-tour coaches arrive.

Q: What is Kerið volcanic crater?

Kerið is a volcanic caldera 15 km north of Selfoss that collapsed roughly 6,500 years ago to form an oval crater approximately 170 metres wide, 270 metres long, and 55 metres deep. Unlike most Icelandic volcanic sites, which are raw lava or geothermal plains, Kerið has filled with a vivid turquoise lake whose colour comes from minerals dissolved from the surrounding volcanic rock. The contrast between the red and ochre crater walls, the black volcanic gravel path around the rim, and the electric-blue lake below is one of Iceland's most visually striking scenes — and because entry costs only ISK 400, it is among the country's best-value natural attractions. A path descends to the lake shore, and the full crater rim circuit takes about 20–30 minutes.

Q: What food is Selfoss known for, and what is skyr?

Selfoss sits at the centre of Iceland's Árnesýsla dairy farming region, and the surrounding farms produce a substantial share of Iceland's milk, cheese, and skyr. Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product with the texture of thick Greek yoghurt but significantly higher protein content, made by straining milk solids through a process that dates to the Viking Age — the Sagas mention it as a staple food on longships. It was almost unknown outside Iceland until the 2010s when Icelandic brands began exporting it internationally. In Selfoss, local producers sell it fresh from farm shops along Route 1, at a quality and variety that the exported product cannot replicate.

Iceland's agricultural heartland — the ideal base for the Golden Circle, Kerið crater, and the South Coast

Selfoss town in south Iceland with the Ölfusá River in summer — Photo: Martin Falbisoner · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why visit Selfoss?

Selfoss is a practical town of 8,000 people on the banks of the Ölfusá river — Iceland's largest by volume — and it has become indispensable to the Golden Circle itinerary by virtue of its geography. Within 65 km in three directions lie the three sites that define Iceland's most celebrated day circuit: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss. No other substantial town sits this close to all three. Þingvellir's layered significance is hard to overstate. The site sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge — the only place on Earth where this tectonic boundary is visible on land — and the rift valley it creates has been slowly widening since before the first humans arrived in Iceland. At the same time, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site because the Viking settlers chose this dramatic landscape for the Althing, the world's oldest surviving parliament, which first convened here in 930 CE and continued at this location until 1798. The Sagas read aloud at Þingvellir determined law, settled disputes, and on one occasion, in 999 CE, voted to convert Iceland from Norse paganism to Christianity. Scuba divers can now explore the crystal-clear waters of Silfra fissure within the park — the only place in the world where you can dive between two continental plates. Fifteen kilometres north of Selfoss, Kerið volcanic crater offers one of Iceland's most vivid and undervisited natural scenes: a caldera of red and black volcanic rock surrounding a turquoise lake, accessible via a rim path and a descent to the water's edge. It takes 30 minutes and costs ISK 400 — an almost implausibly low price for a view this striking. The surrounding Árnesýsla region is Iceland's productive agricultural heartland, producing a disproportionate share of the country's dairy products including the skyr that has been an Icelandic food staple since the Viking Age. Farm shops along Route 1 offer fresh skyr and local cheeses at a quality that exported brands cannot replicate.

How much should you budget for a guide in Selfoss?

Selfoss itself hosts several operators and the Golden Circle circuit is well-served:

Tour Type	Price Range
Golden Circle group tour (from Selfoss or Reykjavik)	ISK 9,000–14,000 per person
Silfra snorkel experience (licensed guide required)	ISK 16,000–22,000 per person
Silfra scuba dive (licensed guide required)	ISK 25,000–35,000 per person
Kerið + Golden Circle private guide (up to 6)	ISK 55,000–80,000
South Coast day tour (from Selfoss)	ISK 10,000–15,000 per person

When is the best time to visit Selfoss?

June–August — Golden Circle at its best; wildflowers at Þingvellir, maximum daylight, all roads open
September–October — Autumn colours dramatic at Þingvellir; Northern Lights possible from mid-September
April–May — Spring snowmelt makes Gullfoss thunderous; Kerið crater lake at maximum colour saturation
December–February — Snow adds atmosphere to Þingvellir and Gullfoss; Northern Lights from Selfoss area on clear nights
Early morning Golden Circle — Arriving at Geysir before 9 AM avoids the day-tour coaches; Þingvellir at dawn is genuinely otherworldly

Jan

Feb

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Apr

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Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

5 Excellent 4 Good 3 Average 2 Below avg 1 Poor

See all destinations by month on our seasonal travel calendar.

How do visitors get around Selfoss?

Driving — Selfoss is 55 km from Reykjavik on Route 1; the Golden Circle loop from Selfoss covers approximately 200 km and takes a full day with stops
Rental car — The most practical option from Selfoss; vehicles available in the town and the airport at Keflavík 80 km west
Guided tours from Reykjavik — Most Golden Circle coach tours pick up at Reykjavik hotels; staying in Selfoss for independent exploration saves 1–2 hours of driving
Strætó bus — Long-distance buses connect Selfoss to Reykjavik (45 mins) and Hvolsvöllur to the east; Kerið, Geysir, and Gullfoss are not on public bus routes
Cycling the circuit — A small number of touring cyclists do the Golden Circle by bike; not recommended for the faint-hearted given the Route 1 traffic and distances

Did you know?

Þingvellir National Park sits directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the only place on land where this is visible: The rift valley at Þingvellir — where the Eurasian and North American plates are pulling apart at 2.5 cm per year — creates a landscape of parallel fissures, flooded canyons, and the Almannagjá gorge that visitors can walk through; the lake Þingvallavatn is Iceland's largest, fed by springs filtered through 40 years of underground travel through lava fields
Strokkur geyser at Geysir erupts every 6–10 minutes to heights of 15–40 metres: The original Great Geysir — which gave geysers their name from the Old Norse verb geysa (to gush) — erupts infrequently now after soap was poured into it by tourists in the 20th century; Strokkur next to it is now the main attraction and one of the world's most reliably regular natural geysers
Gullfoss drops 32 metres in two cascades into a 70-metre deep canyon: The glacial meltwater of the Hvítá river plunges first 11 metres then 21 metres in rapid succession into a narrow gorge that hides the lower section from most viewing angles; in the early 20th century a British investor attempted to dam Gullfoss for hydropower, but Icelandic farmers and the landowner's daughter Sigríður Tómasdóttir mounted a campaign that preserved it — she is now regarded as Iceland's first environmental activist
The Ölfusá river flowing through Selfoss is Iceland's highest-volume river: Fed by several glacier systems and the drainage from Þingvallavatn, the Ölfusá carries more water volume than any other Icelandic river and was historically fordable only at Selfoss — the town's name means 'waterfall estuary' and the first suspension bridge here, built in 1891, was Iceland's first road bridge and transformed the south's agricultural economy

Source: tour-guide.com — Free to cite with attribution

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Golden Circle and why is Selfoss a good base for it?

The Golden Circle is Iceland's most popular single-day itinerary, covering three iconic sites within a 300 km loop from Reykjavik: Þingvellir National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are visibly separating and where the Viking Althing parliament met from 930 CE), the Geysir geothermal area (where Strokkur geyser erupts every 6–10 minutes and where the original Great Geysir gave all geysers their name), and Gullfoss (a two-tiered waterfall plunging into a canyon cut by glacial meltwater). Selfoss sits at the southern edge of this circuit, roughly 45 km from Þingvellir and 50 km from Gullfoss, making it the closest substantial town to all three sites. Staying overnight here rather than Reykjavik cuts driving times significantly and allows an early-morning visit to Geysir before the day-tour coaches arrive.

What is Kerið volcanic crater?

Kerið is a volcanic caldera 15 km north of Selfoss that collapsed roughly 6,500 years ago to form an oval crater approximately 170 metres wide, 270 metres long, and 55 metres deep. Unlike most Icelandic volcanic sites, which are raw lava or geothermal plains, Kerið has filled with a vivid turquoise lake whose colour comes from minerals dissolved from the surrounding volcanic rock. The contrast between the red and ochre crater walls, the black volcanic gravel path around the rim, and the electric-blue lake below is one of Iceland's most visually striking scenes — and because entry costs only ISK 400, it is among the country's best-value natural attractions. A path descends to the lake shore, and the full crater rim circuit takes about 20–30 minutes.

What food is Selfoss known for, and what is skyr?

Selfoss sits at the centre of Iceland's Árnesýsla dairy farming region, and the surrounding farms produce a substantial share of Iceland's milk, cheese, and skyr. Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product with the texture of thick Greek yoghurt but significantly higher protein content, made by straining milk solids through a process that dates to the Viking Age — the Sagas mention it as a staple food on longships. It was almost unknown outside Iceland until the 2010s when Icelandic brands began exporting it internationally. In Selfoss, local producers sell it fresh from farm shops along Route 1, at a quality and variety that the exported product cannot replicate.