Description
A Diamond Circle route with Lake Mývatn, Goðafoss and Dettifoss, built for travellers who want North Iceland's bigger natural contrasts.
Private pacing gives the route room to breathe, with time for photographs, questions and a rhythm shaped around your group rather than a fixed coach timetable.
Game of Thrones landscapes, Dettifoss, Selfoss, Mývatn Nature Baths and further highlights create a richly varied experience designed to make the landscapes of the north feel vivid, accessible and genuinely memorable.
Itinerary
Game of Thrones landscapes
Step into the real-world North beyond the Wall
Discover the lava caves, geothermal fissures and dark formations that gave Game of Thrones its unforgettable northern atmosphere. The experience connects recognisable screen settings with the much older Icelandic geology and folklore behind them, creating a rewarding route for devoted fans and curious nature lovers alike.
Dettifoss
Europe’s most powerful waterfall
Feel the ground vibrate as an immense volume of glacial water thunders into the dark Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. Spray, basalt walls and the raw width of the river give Dettifoss an elemental scale that photographs rarely capture, making the approach and first view an unforgettable highlight of the Diamond Circle.
Selfoss
Elegant cascades across a volcanic canyon
A short distance upstream from Dettifoss, Selfoss spreads in a graceful arc of countless white cascades. Its layered form and broad canyon setting provide a beautiful counterpoint to Dettifoss, showing how the same glacial river can shift from elegant detail to overwhelming force within a remarkably small area.
Mývatn Nature Baths
Warm geothermal water beneath northern skies
Ease into mineral-rich geothermal water with broad views across lava fields and the Lake Mývatn landscape. The warm blue pools create a beautifully relaxed contrast to the day’s waterfalls and volcanic terrain, turning a sightseeing route into a complete North Iceland experience when admission is included in the selected booking.
Goðafoss
The spectacular Waterfall of the Gods
Watch glacial water sweep across a broad horseshoe of dark rock before dropping in a brilliant white curtain. Goðafoss combines beauty, power and one of Iceland’s defining conversion-era stories, making it far more than a roadside waterfall and a magnificent gateway to the Lake Mývatn region.
Dimmuborgir
Lava castles, arches and Icelandic legends
Enter a labyrinth of lava towers, caves, arches and natural bridges left behind when a lava lake drained away more than two thousand years ago. The formations feel like a ruined fortress, while stories of trolls, hidden people and Iceland’s Yule Lads add a playful layer of folklore to the volcanic drama.
Skútustaðagígar pseudocraters
Crater-like shores born from steam explosions
Walk among green cones that look like volcanic craters but were formed when hot lava flowed across wetlands and trapped water flashed into steam. Their sweeping paths and elevated viewpoints reveal Lake Mývatn as a remarkable mosaic of islands, shallows, lava and distant mountains.
Grjótagjá
A secret fissure filled with blue geothermal water
Peer into a rift cave where dark lava frames luminous geothermal water and the North American and Eurasian plates pull slowly apart beneath the landscape. The intimate setting became internationally recognisable through Game of Thrones, but its vivid colour and raw geology are even more striking in person.
Hverir at Námafjall
Steam, ochre colour and bubbling earth
Step onto an otherworldly geothermal plain streaked with yellow, red and grey mineral colour. Hissing fumaroles, steaming vents and restless mud pots reveal the immense heat still shaping North Iceland underground, while the barren slopes of Námafjall create one of the region’s boldest photographic scenes.
Lake Mývatn
A volcanic lake alive with colour and birdlife
Shallow blue water, green wetlands, black lava and crater-shaped hills meet around Lake Mývatn, creating one of Iceland’s richest volcanic landscapes. The lake is internationally celebrated for birdlife, yet its greatest appeal is the constantly changing contrast between water, lava and open northern sky.
What is included
- Private transport and local guide
- Pickup and drop-off in Akureyri or Lake Mývatn
- Flexible route and sightseeing stops
- Private group experience
What do I need to bring
- Warm layered clothing
- Waterproof and windproof outerwear
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Water and refreshments
- Swimwear and towel when a geothermal lagoon option is selected
- Camera or phone
Good to know
Pick-up: Use the exact pickup point and departure time shown on your voucher.
- The order of stops follows the confirmed departure, daylight and current access.
- Food, drinks and lagoon admission are not included unless selected in the booking options.
Highlights
- Game of Thrones landscapes
- Dettifoss
- Selfoss
- Mývatn Nature Baths
- Goðafoss
- Dimmuborgir
- Skútustaðagígar pseudocraters
- Grjótagjá
Private Lake Mývatn, Dettifoss and Goðafoss Tour – Frequently Asked Questions
The guide can adjust pacing and the order of advertised stops around your group, conditions and opening times. Major additions must be requested in advance because North Iceland distances and confirmed admissions shape the practical route.
You might also like
A North Iceland shore excursion to Lake Mývatn and Goðafoss, planned for strong scenery within cruise timing.
A 10.5-hour small-group route from Reykjavík to two major waterfalls, a retreating glacier tongue and Reynisfjara’s basalt coast.
Discover Private Golden Snorkel in Minivan Tour, a richly varied Icelandic experience where the Golden Circle’s tectonic history, ...