Fagradalsfjall Volcano TripsVolcano and Reykjanes Geopark Guided Tour
This volcano and Reykjanes geopark guided tour pairs a hike onto the cooled Fagradalsfjall lava with the boiling mud pools of Seltún and a walk through Grindavik, all in one 7-hour day from Reykjavik. ICELANDIA runs it by bus for $133 per person, with a live English-speaking guide and Wi-Fi onboard. It suits travelers who want more than a single hike: geothermal fields, rift scenery and the story of a town that built lava barriers to save itself, without giving up real time at the volcano. Watch the fine print though. The fish and chips lunch in Grindavik reads as part of the day in the description but is billed separately in the itinerary. If you only want the hike, compare it against the small-group Fagradalsfjall hike on our Fagradalsfjall tours by type page.
About This Tour
ICELANDIA runs this 7-hour day trip from Reykjavik by bus with a live English-speaking guide. The route runs from the city to the Seltún Geothermal Area, then to Fagradalsfjall for a guided hike of about 2 hours over a 5.5 km round trip, then to Grindavik for a 95-minute stop that includes the fish and chips lunch before the roughly 1-hour drive back. You are walking cooled lava from the 2021 to 2023 eruptions. Nothing is erupting now, so the product is the landscape and the story, not flowing lava.
The listing carries one real catch. The description presents the fish and chips lunch as part of the day, but the itinerary marks the Grindavik stop as an 'Extra fee' item, so the meal costs extra on top of the $133. Bring your own snacks and water as backup, and budget for lunch separately. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the activity, and you can reserve now and pay later.
$133 per person. The fish and chips lunch in Grindavik is an extra fee on top, priced separately per the itinerary
7 hours total, with about 45 minutes of bus time out and about 1 hour back
About 2 hours at Fagradalsfjall per the itinerary. The description separately describes a 45-minute hike to the viewpoint
5.5 km (3.4 miles) round trip to the viewpoint, with moderate elevation gain
Pickup available in Reykjavik, or meet at BSI Bus Terminal at least 15 minutes before departure. Drop-off at 37 locations across the city
Food and drinks are not included, so the Grindavik lunch is extra. No stated group size, one adult may accompany up to two minors. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before for a full refund
Check Dates and Availability
Starting times are shown when you check availability. Pickup options in Reykjavik depend on the date you choose.
Quick answer The day in numbers
This volcano and Reykjanes geopark guided tour costs $133, runs 7 hours from Reykjavik and includes a 5.5 km guided hike with about 2 hours at Fagradalsfjall.
Key takeaways
- The fish and chips lunch in Grindavik is an extra fee, not part of the $133, so bring a card or backup food
- Children under 10, people with mobility impairments and low fitness are excluded, see who it rules out
- You walk cooled lava from the 2021-2023 eruptions, nothing is flowing now, read the safety basics
- Compare it with the small-group hike or the geologist-led hike before booking
What the Price Actually Covers
The listing's green-checkmark list is short. Four items are included and the meal is not, despite how the description reads.
What is included
Your $133 buys bus transportation with Wi-Fi onboard, a live English-speaking guide, and the guided hike to the volcano. There is no entrance fee for the Fagradalsfjall hike itself. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and you can reserve a spot without paying on the day of booking.
- Bus transportation, round trip, with Wi-Fi onboard
- Guide, live commentary in English
- Guided hike to the volcano at Fagradalsfjall
- No entrance fee for the hiking area
What is not included
Food and drinks are excluded, and the itinerary marks the Grindavik fish and chips lunch as an 'Extra fee' stop even though the full description presents it as part of the day. That is the single most misleading line in the listing, so plan for it. The cheapest fix is to assume lunch costs extra, carry snacks and water, and treat the Grindavik stop as optional spending.
Our price guide totals the real cost of every tour type including parking for self-drivers.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bus with Wi-Fi | Yes | Round trip Reykjavik, 37 drop-off locations |
| Guide | Yes | Live, English |
| Guided volcano hike | Yes | About 2 hours, 5.5 km round trip |
| Fish and chips lunch | No | Listed as an extra fee stop in Grindavik |
| Food and drinks | No | Bring your own snacks and water |
| Parking | Not applicable | You are on the bus, no self-drive option is stated |
Where the money goes
This is a bus format, not a small-group hike. The listing states no group size, which is worth knowing before you book. If a small group is what you are paying for, the geologist-led hike caps at 6 travelers and the original local hike caps at 8, both for a bit more money and both more focused on the lava itself.
Sources: the operator's own listing on GetYourGuide, and Visit Reykjanes hiking and parking.
Gunnuhver is Iceland's largest mud pool area, named for a ghost story about a woman said to haunt the vent. Photo: Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The listing gives a structured itinerary with stated durations for each leg. Clock times are not published, so the sequence below follows the order and the durations the operator states.
Out of Reykjavik
The day starts either at a pickup point in Reykjavik or at BSI Bus Terminal, where you should be at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. The bus then drives about 45 minutes to the first stop. For scale, Reykjavik to Grindavik runs about 50 km via Route 41 and Route 43.
Seltún Geothermal Area
The first stop is Seltún in the Krýsuvík geothermal field, part of the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, which UNESCO designated in 2015 across 825 square kilometers. Expect bubbling mud pools, steaming vents and mineral-stained hillsides. The itinerary frames this as a photo stop and short visit, no fixed duration is stated.
The contrast with the black lava later in the day is the point of pairing the two.
The Fagradalsfjall hike, 2 hours
The hike is listed at 2 hours in the itinerary, with the description separately describing a 45-minute walk to the viewpoint over a 5.5 km round trip with moderate elevation gain. You are walking cooled lava from the eruptions of 2021, 2022 and 2023. The 2021 eruption alone produced 151 million cubic meters of lava over 181 days, the longest eruption in Iceland in the 21st century.
No lava is flowing now, so you are reading a fresh landscape, not watching one form. The ground can be uneven and sharp, and the listing excludes low fitness levels and mobility impairments.
Grindavik, 95 minutes and the lunch that costs extra
Grindavik gets a 95-minute stop covering a break, photo time and lunch. You walk past tectonic rifts and the protective lava barriers built to hold back the flows from the Sundhnúkur crater row eruptions that began in December 2023. The town is open to visitors, with caution advised.
The fish and chips lunch is the itinerary's extra fee item, so the 95 minutes is partly a paid meal stop. Bring a card, or bring your own food and use the time to walk the barriers.
Back to Reykjavik
The return drive is listed at about 1 hour, ending at one of 37 drop-off locations across Reykjavik, from bus stops in the center to hotels and the domestic airport. No return time is stated. In the darker months check daylight before booking, since Reykjavik sunsets pull in quickly toward winter.
Volcano and Geopark Tour on Video
A walk along the Seltún boardwalk, one of the geopark stops. Third-party video by RockboundAdventurer. We did not shoot it and have no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The listing is explicit about exclusions. If any of these apply to you, book a different format rather than hoping the pace will flex.
Children under 10
Children under 10 are not permitted, and one adult may accompany up to two minors, so a parent with three children aged 10 or over needs a second adult. The gas guidance from Safetravel.is also recommends children under 12 avoid the eruption area when gas pollution is present. For family options with less walking, see our guide to visiting with kids.
Mobility impairments and low fitness
The listing states the tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments or a low level of fitness. The 5.5 km round trip crosses uneven lava with moderate elevation gain, and there is no wheelchair access. If you want the volcano without the hike, the minibus sightseeing loop keeps walking to about an hour at the Nátthagi viewpoint, and the helicopter flight involves no hiking at all.
Anyone expecting flowing lava
The description's phrase about fresh lava flows reflects the cooled fields of the 2021-2023 eruptions. Per the Icelandic Met Office, no eruption is active, the most recent of the nine Sundhnúkur eruptions ended in early August 2025, and the next event cannot be predicted. If you want the most current framing of the landscape, our what you will see guide walks through the full timeline, and the Reykjanes volcanoes and hot springs tour is a listing that states the no-flowing-lava situation plainly.
Reykjanesviti was first built in 1878 and moved to its current clifftop site after the original tower cracked in an earthquake. Photo: Joe deSousa, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
What to Settle Before You Book
The questions to close out before you pay, plus what to wear for a Reykjanes day.
The terms and the pickup
Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and reserve now pay later is available. Confirm with the operator if your booking option includes hotel pickup or starts at BSI Bus Terminal, and arrive at the terminal at least 15 minutes before departure if you meet there. Ask which trail the guide plans to use that day, since the itinerary note says routes are subject to change.
What happens if gas or a new eruption closes the area
The ground under Svartsengi is rising again. The Icelandic Met Office reported about 29.1 million cubic meters of accumulated magma since the most recent eruption and about five centimeters of uplift over three months, and names a new magma intrusion and possible eruption as the most likely next step, with no predictable date. An eruption can close trails, roads and Grindavík at short notice rather than open a viewing.
Check the live gas forecast at loftgaedi.is and road status at road.is before you travel, and read our weather cancellations guide for how refunds work across the catalog.
What to wear
Bring hiking shoes, the only item the listing names. Reykjanes weather is wind and rain more than cold, with an average daily maximum of 11.1C at Keflavík airport in September, so pack waterproofs, warm layers, gloves and a hat. Expect sharp, uneven lava underfoot, which is exactly why ankle-covering boots earn their place.
Our packing guide covers the full seasonal list.
The lava rule and daylight
Walking on the lava is strictly forbidden even long after an eruption ends, because the crust can stay thin over hot rock underneath. Stay on marked paths, both for the lava rule and because of crevasse risk near some geopark features. In the darker months, check daylight before booking, since a 7-hour day trip can start and finish in the dark from late autumn onward.
Our best time to go guide lays out the month-by-month light and weather.
Hour by Hour
The sequence and durations come from the operator's itinerary. The listing does not publish clock times, so the time column stays empty.
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Pickup or BSI Bus Terminal
Meet at BSI Bus Terminal at least 15 minutes before departure, or use a Reykjavik pickup option where available.
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Bus to the peninsula
About 45 minutes by coach with Wi-Fi onboard, heading out of Reykjavik toward the Reykjanes peninsula.
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Seltún Geothermal Area
Photo stop and short visit among the bubbling mud pools, steaming vents and colored mineral deposits of the Krýsuvík geothermal field.
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Guided hike at Fagradalsfjall
About 2 hours in the itinerary, a 5.5 km round trip with moderate elevation gain to a viewpoint over the cooled 2021-2023 lava fields.
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Grindavik walk and lunch stop
95 minutes in the town, past tectonic rifts and the protective lava barriers. The fish and chips lunch here is marked as an extra fee item.
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Bus back to Reykjavik
About 1 hour on the coach, dropping at one of 37 locations across the city, including the domestic airport.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of where this listing wins and where it costs you.
What we genuinely like
- Three different landscapes in one day: geothermal mud pools, a cooled lava field and a town shaped by the eruptions, for $133
- About 2 hours at Fagradalsfjall with a live English-speaking guide, a real hike rather than a drive-by viewpoint
- 37 drop-off locations across Reykjavik, including the domestic airport
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and reserve now pay later keeps booking flexible
- Wi-Fi on the bus and a structured itinerary with stated durations
The honest downsides
- The fish and chips lunch reads as included in the description but is billed as an extra fee in the itinerary, so budget for it separately
- No group size is stated, so you may be hiking with a full coach
- No clock times are published, and the 7-hour format leaves less time at the volcano than the dedicated 4-hour hikes
- Pickup options depend on the date, and the BSI Terminal meeting requires arriving 15 minutes early
- Nothing is erupting, so the fresh lava flows of the description are cooled 2021-2023 fields
Who it's NOT for: Not for families with children under 10, wheelchair users, or anyone wanting a small-group hike focused only on the lava.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does this volcano and Reykjanes geopark guided tour cost?
The ICELANDIA day trip costs $133 per person for 7 hours including bus, guide and the guided hike. Food and drinks are not included, and the Grindavik fish and chips lunch is an extra fee, which our price guide factors into the real totals.
Is lunch included on this tour?
No. The description reads as if the fish and chips stop in Grindavik is part of the day, but the itinerary marks it as an extra fee item, so you pay for the meal separately. The volcano and Blue Lagoon day trip is the combo that includes its main paid attraction in the price.
How long is the hike at Fagradalsfjall?
The itinerary allocates about 2 hours at the volcano, and the description describes a 45-minute hike over a 5.5 km round trip with moderate elevation gain. For more time at the volcano, the small-group hike spends about 3.5 hours there.
Can I see flowing lava on this tour?
No. Nothing is erupting, per the Icelandic Met Office, so you walk cooled lava from the 2021-2023 eruptions and see the barriers and rifts around Grindavik. Our what you will see guide gives the full eruption timeline.
Is this tour suitable for children or people with limited mobility?
Children under 10 are not permitted, and the listing excludes people with mobility impairments or a low level of fitness because of the uneven 5.5 km lava walk. Our guide for kids lists the formats that work for younger families.
Where does the tour start and end?
Pickup is available in Reykjavik depending on the option you select, otherwise meet at BSI Bus Terminal at least 15 minutes before departure. The day ends at one of 37 drop-off locations across the city. Sort the Fagradalsfjall tours by length if another meeting point suits you better.
What is the cancellation policy?
You can cancel free up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and reserve now pay later is available. Our weather cancellations guide explains what happens when gas or a new eruption closes the area instead.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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