Golden Circle Tours at Christmas & New Year: What Runs and What's Open (2026–27)

Why Is Christmas in Iceland Different, and Why Does It Matter for Your Tour?

Icelanders celebrate on the evening of 24 December, not the 25th. Church bells ring across the country at 18:00, families sit down to dinner, and the country goes quiet from early afternoon. Firefly car rental's guide to Icelandic holidays describes Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as public holidays "from 1 PM". Under Icelandic labour agreements, everything after 12:00 on 24 and 31 December, plus all of 25 December and 1 January, counts as a "major holiday" (stórhátíðardagur) with the highest pay rates. That's why so many businesses close, and why the ones that open often charge more.

The season runs for 13 days, from 24 December to Þrettándinn on 6 January:

• The Yule Lads (jólasveinar): thirteen mischievous lads come down from the mountains one per night from 12 December. Each leaves a small gift in children's shoes on the windowsill, and they head home one by one until the last leaves on 6 January.
• Grýla and the Yule Cat: their mother Grýla and the Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn), which supposedly eats anyone who didn't get new clothes for Christmas, complete the cast.
• Þorláksmessa (23 December): the last big shopping night. The shops stay open late, Laugavegur fills with people, and many families eat fermented skate.

The 2026–27 Holiday Calendar

Other Experiences You Might Enjoy

Between the holidays, the usual winter day trips from Reykjavík keep running: a Golden Circle coach day to Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, a soak at the Secret Lagoon or Sky Lagoon, a Langjökull snowmobile ride, Silfra snorkelling, an evening northern lights hunt, and on 31 December a New Year's Eve fireworks cruise from the Old Harbour.

Day by Day: What Runs, What's Open, What's Closed

Hours come from the businesses' own published holiday hours where we could find them: Þingvellir, the Secret Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon (official pages), Strætó (its 2025–26 holiday notice), and Krónan and Hagkaup (their 2026–27 hours as compiled by Iceland Highlights). Where 2026–27 hours haven't been published yet, we've used last season's pattern, so check before you go.

Do Golden Circle Tours Run on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day?

Yes, but there are fewer departures and less published information about them. The big operators don't post their holiday schedules as a list. The only way to know whether your tour runs on 25 December is to open the booking calendar and pick the date. Here's what we could confirm for 2026–27:

• Reykjavik Excursions / Icelandia (and Gray Line, in the same group) runs dedicated holiday products. The Golden Circle & Reykjavík Christmas Walk costs from 29,999 ISK (≈ $248 / €221 / £190) and lasts 9 hours: a 3-hour festive food-and-culture walk from 09:00 (meet at 08:45 at the Elding office by the Old Harbour), then the Golden Circle in the afternoon. The operator's page says it runs only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in December. In 2026 that pattern rules out 24 and 31 December (both Thursdays), and 25 December is unconfirmed, so check the live calendar on icelandia.com. It isn't sold on GetYourGuide. The standalone Reykjavík Christmas Walk is from 19,900 ISK (≈ $164 / €146 / £126).
• Arctic Adventures: its New Year's Eve guide says its New Year's Day tours "range from the iconic Golden Circle to the ethereal Northern Lights", and its December 2025 press release says select ice cave tours run daily through the holidays. It also sells its own New Year's Eve fireworks cruise (31 December 2026, 1.5 hours, listed from 178 USD in October 2026).
• Small-group and private operators are the most flexible on 24–25 December. Several multi-day Christmas packages deliberately put the Golden Circle on Christmas Eve itself: Iceland Tours' 6-day GT04 Christmas tour promises "Christmas Eve marveling at mindblowing sights on the Golden Circle".

On GetYourGuide, these three listings are the ones to check for the holiday dates. Open the calendar and pick 24 or 25 December to see whether a departure is on sale:

• Small group, Christmas Eve morning: From Reykjavik: Small Group Golden Circle Day Trip, from $128, 4.6/5 from 243 reviews. Pickups start at 08:30, groups are capped at 19, and Kerið's entry fee is included. The listed 8–9 hours would bring you back after the buses stop on the 24th, so ask about the return time.
• Private, Christmas Day: Iceland Reykjavik: Golden Circle Private Tour, from $697, 4.8/5 from 33 reviews. Your own driver can time the day around the holiday closures. The review base is small, so read the recent ones.
• Big bus, 26 December or 1 January: Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater, from $91, the most-reviewed Golden Circle tour on GetYourGuide (4.8/5 from 27,757 reviews). Check 24/25 December availability too.

What to Expect on a Holiday Departure

1. An itinerary swap. Friðheimar is a standard lunch stop on many tours (Reykjavik Excursions' Golden Circle reaches it at about 10:15). Arctic Adventures' Friðheimar page says "the only days Fridheimar is closed are 24th, 25th, and 31st December and 1st January", although Friðheimar's own site lists no closures. Expect lunch at Geysir or Gullfoss instead, or a packed lunch.
2. Earlier returns on 24 and 31 December. Guides want to be home for 18:00 dinner too. No operator we checked publishes fixed early-return times, so ask.
3. Possible holiday pricing. We found no published holiday surcharge from the big operators. Staff pay is higher on these days, though, and private and small-group prices for the week often reflect that.
4. Fewer backup dates. If weather cancels your 25 December tour, the next free seats may be days away. This is the biggest risk of holiday travel; see what to do if your tour is cancelled.

What About Northern Lights, Snowmobiling and Silfra on the Holidays?

• Northern lights tours: some operators run on 24 and 31 December, often at a premium, and many don't. On 24 December the bigger problem is the moon (see below). Golden Circle and aurora combos (Reykjavik Excursions' evening part normally departs at 21:00 from October to March), such as From Reykjavik: Golden Circle and Northern Lights Combo (from $163, 4.3/5 from 396 reviews), are a better booking on 26–30 December or 1 January than on Christmas Eve. We compare them in our Golden Circle and northern lights combo guide.
• Langjökull snowmobiling: this is weather-dependent at any time of year, and on holidays a cancellation leaves you few rebooking options. Book it early in your trip (27–30 December is ideal) so you have backup days. From Reykjavik: Golden Circle and Glacier Snowmobiling combines both from $343 (4.7/5 from 1,508 reviews).
• Silfra snorkelling and diving: Þingvellir's service centre, which sells Silfra permits, is open on all the holidays with shorter hours. Operators' holiday availability varies, so check the calendar for 24, 25 and 31 December specifically: Reykjavík: Silfra Fissure Snorkeling between Two Continents starts from $134 (4.7/5 from 2,424 reviews). More in our Silfra snorkelling guide.

What's Open on the Golden Circle at Christmas and New Year?

The sites themselves can be visited 24 hours a day on every day of the holidays. Þingvellir, the Geysir geothermal field, Gullfoss and Kerið have no gates, and parking machines and apps keep working: Þingvellir 1,000 ISK, Geysir about 1,000 ISK via the Parka app, Kerið 700 ISK per person. Parking charges were introduced at the upper Gullfoss car park in autumn 2026, so check the price on arrival. What changes is food, toilets and warm rooms.

Our verdict: on 25 December and 1 January, plan to eat at Geysir or Gullfoss (call ahead) or bring lunch. The Secret Lagoon is the most dependable warm stop on the Golden Circle over the holidays: its official site lists only 24 and 31 December as short days, closing at 18:00 instead of 19:00. From Reykjavik: Golden Circle, Kerid, & Secret Lagoon Tour (from $130, 4.8/5 from 6,531 reviews) adds the soak to a guided day, and our Secret Lagoon guide covers prices and what to bring.

Holiday Opening Hours: Lagoons, Shops, Transport and Services

The big takeaway: if you don't have a car or a tour booked, after 15:00 on 24 and 31 December you're effectively on foot. Strætó's 2025–26 notice says the last trips leave "around 15:00" (Route 3 from Mjódd at 15:21 was among the latest), and Route 8 doesn't run at all. Book a hotel within walking distance of your Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner. For a soak on Christmas Day, the Reykjavik: Sky Lagoon Entrance Pass With 7-Step Spa Ritual starts from $107 (4.8/5 from 7,961 reviews); pick your time slot for the 25th. The Blue Lagoon is covered in our Blue Lagoon guide.

Is Reykjavík Closed at Christmas? Where Can You Eat?

Mostly, from about noon on 24 December to the morning of 26 December, plus 1 January. A typical restaurant pattern looks like this:

"Closed" isn't absolute, though:

• Hotel restaurants are your safest bet on 24 and 25 December. Most serve fixed-price Christmas menus and need bookings weeks or months ahead.
• Some restaurants open on all five holidays every year. In 2025 these included casual places like Icelandic Fish & Chips and Bastard Brew & Food, plus several hotel dining rooms. The list changes annually, so check an up-to-date roundup in late November.
• New Year's Eve dinners are almost always fixed menus with set seatings. Many Icelanders eat at home, so fewer restaurants open, and the good ones fill up months ahead.
• Jólahlaðborð (Christmas buffets) run from mid-November to about 23 December at hotels and restaurants, at roughly 13,000–17,000 ISK per person (≈ $107–140 / €96–125 / £82–108). It's the best way to taste smoked lamb (hangikjöt), pickled herring and laufabrauð (leaf bread) if you won't be with an Icelandic family on the 24th.

Our pick: book your 24 December dinner at the same time as your flights. Then you can be out on the Golden Circle that morning without worrying. For food stops along the route on normal days, see our Golden Circle food guide.

How Dark Is It? Daylight and the Christmas Full Moon

• Daylight on 21 December 2026 (Reykjavík): sunrise 11:22, sunset 15:29, so about 4 hours 07 minutes of daylight, with useful civil twilight from about 10:03 to 16:48. A 09:00 tour departure reaches Þingvellir in blue twilight and gets you to Gullfoss in the best light around 13:00. For sunrise, sunset and the best tour departure in every winter month, see our winter daylight planner.
• Full moon: 01:28 on 24 December 2026. From 20 to 25 December the moon is up for the whole dark period, which washes out weak and moderate auroras. Strong displays still show through.
• Moon-free darkness returns from 26–27 December: about 2.7–7.9 hours per night on 27–30 December, about 9.6 hours on New Year's Eve (moonrise around 04:40 on 1 January), then the new moon on 7 January 2027.

Our verdict: if the northern lights matter to you, New Year is the better holiday trip than Christmas. On New Year's Eve, either watch early (19:00–20:30) or drive away from the fireworks to somewhere like Þingvellir, about 45 minutes from the city.

New Year's Eve in Reykjavík: Bonfires, Áramótaskaup and Fireworks

The rhythm of 31 December:

1. Shops close mid-afternoon.
2. Family dinner around 18:00.
3. Neighbourhood bonfires (brennur) at 20:30.
4. Everyone goes home for the TV satire Áramótaskaup at 22:30.
5. Back outside for the midnight fireworks.
6. Bars and house parties until about 05:00.

Where Are the New Year's Eve Bonfires in Reykjavík?

Ten bonfires were lit in Reykjavík on New Year's Eve 2025, almost all at 20:30. The locations barely change from year to year:

Nearby towns light their own: Seltjarnarnes (Valhúsahæð), Garðabær and Álftanes, and Selfoss (17:00, handy if you're staying on the Golden Circle).

Bonfires can be cancelled in strong wind (the cut-off usually quoted is 10 m/s), so check on the day. The city publishes the 2026 list in late December.

Our pick: Ægisíða if you're staying downtown. It's a walkable seafront setting with views across the bay to the fireworks. For the biggest blaze, go to Geirsnef.

Where's the Best Place to Watch the Midnight Fireworks?

• Hallgrímskirkja (Skólavörðuholt): the heart of the chaos. Streets around it close to traffic from 22:00 to 01:00. It's loud and smoky, and people set off rockets right beside you, so bring eye protection.
• Perlan and Öskjuhlíð hill: our pick for a panorama of the whole city's fireworks.
• Landakotstún and Klambratún parks: local favourites, less crushed.
• From the sea: fireworks cruises leave the Old Harbour around 23:00 with a glass of bubbly. On GetYourGuide, Reykjavik: New Year's Eve Fireworks Cruise leaves at 23:00 and returns around half an hour after midnight, with a glass of champagne before midnight. It was listed from €155 (about $175) when we checked and is rated 4.4/5 from 56 reviews. Reykjavik Excursions and Arctic Adventures sell their own cruises.

Why so many fireworks?

• Sales window: fireworks are traditionally on sale to the public only from 28 December to 6 January.
• Who sells them: mostly ICE-SAR (Landsbjörg), the volunteer search-and-rescue association. According to Iceland Review, ICE-SAR holds about 75% of the fireworks market, and sales provide "about one-third of the association's total funding" and up to 90% of the funding of individual rescue teams in rural Iceland.
• Volume: Icelanders buy about 600 tonnes a year (Statistics Iceland figures reported by AFP).
• Curfew: private fireworks are banned between 22:00 and 10:00 on the other days of the season, but there's no curfew on New Year's Eve.

Buying your sparklers from a rescue-team stall directly supports the people who'd come looking for you on a glacier.

Should You Book a New Year's Eve Tour?

The bonfires are easy to do yourself, since the city sites are walkable or a short taxi ride away. A tour mostly buys you transport after the buses stop at 15:00. Neither bonfire tour is sold on GetYourGuide. For a New Year's Day Golden Circle, the Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater (from $91) is the listing with the most dates on sale; check 1 January in its calendar.

What Else Is There to Do in Reykjavík at Christmas?

• Christmas markets all finish by 24 December:
  • The city's Christmas village (Jólatorg/Hjartatorg area). In 2025 it ran 30 November to 23 December, Thursday 16:00–20:00 and Friday to Sunday 13:00–20:00.
  • Hafnarfjörður's Christmas Village (weekends in Advent).
  • The Heiðmörk forest Christmas market at Elliðavatn (Advent weekends; buy a real tree).
• Church on Christmas Eve: the traditional aftansöngur (evening service) starts at 18:00 on 24 December, when the bells ring nationwide. Hallgrímskirkja and Reykjavík Cathedral (Dómkirkjan) are the classic choices for visitors; arrive early and check the 2026 times on the church websites. Þingvallakirkja holds services at 14:00 on 25 December and 1 January.
• Þorláksmessa (23 December): walk Laugavegur in the evening crowds, then eat skate if you dare.
• Þrettándinn (6 January): bonfires, elf and troll processions and the year's last fireworks, as the Yule Lads go home.

Our Picks by Traveller Type

• First-timers on a Christmas trip: a small-group Golden Circle on 26 December, such as From Reykjavik: Small Group Golden Circle Day Trip, plus a Christmas Eve hotel dinner and Sky Lagoon or the Blue Lagoon on 25 December.
• Aurora chasers: come for New Year (27 December to 2 January). Do a Golden Circle and northern lights combo on 28–30 December, such as From Reykjavik: Golden Circle and Northern Lights Combo, and skip Christmas week for aurora.
• Self-drivers: do your Golden Circle on 25 December with a packed lunch and the sites almost to yourself, finishing at the Secret Lagoon (10:00–19:00). Fill up and shop on 23 December. Our winter driving guide covers roads, tyres and insurance.
• Families: the Golden Circle & Reykjavík Christmas Walk (Yule Lad stories plus geysers, booked on icelandia.com), then the 20:30 bonfire on New Year's Eve. Bonfires are very kid-friendly; midnight on Skólavörðuholt is not.
• Couples and splurgers: a private Golden Circle on 24 December, such as Iceland Reykjavik: Golden Circle Private Tour, with your driver timing the morning to get you back for an 18:00 dinner, plus a fireworks cruise on New Year's Eve. Our super jeep guide covers the 4x4 versions.
• Budget travellers: a big-bus Golden Circle on 26 December or 1 January, such as From Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full Day Tour (from $84, 4.6/5 from 2,505 reviews), and the free public bonfires. Christmas buffets are cheaper earlier in December.

Sample Holiday Itineraries

Christmas Week, 5 Days (22–26 December 2026)

• Day 1 (Tue 22 Dec): arrive and take the Flybus. Do your big supermarket shop that evening (Krónan is open until 22:00).
• Day 2 (Wed 23 Dec, Þorláksmessa): the Golden Circle & Reykjavík Christmas Walk (Wednesday is an operating day), then the Laugavegur evening crowds.
• Day 3 (Thu 24 Dec): a morning lagoon (the Blue Lagoon closes at 16:00) or a short Þingvellir drive (visitor centre 09:00–12:00). Be back by 15:00, then the 18:00 bells and Christmas Eve dinner.
• Day 4 (Fri 25 Dec): a slow morning, then Sky Lagoon, or a self-drive to Þingvellir (visitor centre 10:00–15:00) and Kerið with a packed lunch.
• Day 5 (Sat 26 Dec): a full Golden Circle tour. If the clouds clear, try an aurora tour that evening, although there's under an hour of moon-free darkness, early in the evening.

New Year, 4 Days (30 December 2026 to 2 January 2027)

• Day 1 (Wed 30 Dec): arrive, then a Golden Circle and northern lights combo if you land early, or just the aurora tour (about 4–6 hours of moon-free evening darkness).
• Day 2 (Thu 31 Dec): a morning Golden Circle or the Traditions & Mystery Tour, back by 15:00. Nap, then dinner at your booked seating. Bonfire at 20:30, Áramótaskaup at 22:30 (in a bar or at your hotel), fireworks from Perlan or Hallgrímskirkja.
• Day 3 (Fri 1 Jan): a late start, then the Golden Circle from about 10:00 with the Secret Lagoon at the end. Friðheimar is reported closed, so eat at Gullfoss or Geysir (call ahead).
• Day 4 (Sat 2 Jan): Langjökull snowmobiling or Silfra before your flight; fully moon-free nights start from 2 January if you're staying on. From Reykjavik: Golden Circle and Glacier Snowmobiling combines the snowmobile ride with the three classic stops.

Can You Stay on the Golden Circle over Christmas?

Yes, and it's a lovely way to escape the city shutdown, as long as your hotel serves dinner on 24 and 31 December.

• Where to look: full-service countryside hotels that run their own restaurants, such as Hotel Geysir (three restaurants on site), Hótel Grímsborgir, ION Adventure Hotel, Hótel Selfoss and Hótel Rangá.
• What to confirm: holiday dinner menus and prices for 2026 weren't published when we checked. Email each hotel to confirm that a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner is served, the price, and whether it must be pre-booked.
• Bonus: a countryside base also gives you dark skies on New Year's Eve, and Selfoss lights its bonfire at 17:00.

Self-Driving over the Holidays: What Changes?

• Don't start out in the dark on 25 December or 1 January. Vegagerðin (the Road Administration) clears main routes to a holiday service level, so ploughing can start later than on a weekday. Check umferdin.is and the Icelandic Met Office forecast (vedur.is) before you leave.
• Stay off the roads at midnight on New Year's Eve. They're dark, icy and full of celebrating people.
• Fuel: pumps run 24/7 but are unstaffed, so you'll need a card with a PIN (or a pre-paid fuel card). Fill up on 23 December.
• Food: on 25 December and 1 January, assume nothing between Reykjavík and Flúðir is open. Pack lunch, a thermos and snacks.
• Parking: fees still apply on holidays. Budget about 2,700 ISK (≈ $22) for Þingvellir, Geysir and Kerið for one person (Þingvellir 1,000 ISK, Geysir about 1,000 ISK via Parka, Kerið 700 ISK), plus Gullfoss, where the upper car park started charging in autumn 2026; check the price on arrival. Our parking guide covers the payment apps.
• Gear: microspikes, a headtorch and proper winter layers. See our winter packing list.

Holiday Booking Checklist

1. Book tours for 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January in September or October. Holiday departures are few, and the last week of December is the most expensive and most fully booked week of the season.
2. Choose free cancellation (24–48 hours) and note the operator's weather-cancellation policy.
3. Leave at least one backup day after any weather-sensitive tour (snowmobiling, aurora, Silfra).
4. Ask your operator: "Does this tour run on [date]? What time does it return? Which lunch stop replaces Friðheimar?"
5. Book Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve dinners when you book flights.
6. Pre-book airport transfers (the Flybus runs with arrivals) or taxis for arrivals on 24, 25 and 31 December.
7. Shop by 23 December for groceries and Vínbúðin (alcohol).
8. Pick a walkable hotel for the evenings of 24 and 31 December, since buses stop around 15:00.
9. Check the bonfire list (published by the city in late December) and the wind forecast on 31 December.
10. Recheck holiday hours in early December. Most 2026–27 hours are published only weeks ahead.

What If Your Tour Is Cancelled at Christmas?

You'll usually be offered a refund or a rebooking, but holiday rebooking slots are scarce.

• Ask straight away for the next available date, not "later this week".
• Have a backup that doesn't depend on the weather: a lagoon, the Perlan museum, a city walk or a Christmas buffet.
• If you're self-driving, a Golden Circle cancelled by a storm on 25 December moves neatly to 26 December or 1 January.

Road closures and weather fallbacks are covered in our winter tour or self-drive guide.

The Bottom Line

The Golden Circle's waterfalls, geysers and rift valley don't close for Christmas, and on 25 December you may have Gullfoss almost to yourself. What closes is the lunch stop, the shops and the buses, so the holiday version of the day needs a booked tour or a car, a packed lunch and a plan to be back by mid-afternoon on 24 and 31 December. If you can choose, 26 December and 1 January are the easiest Golden Circle days, and New Year beats Christmas for dark skies. For how much light each winter month gives you, continue with our Golden Circle winter daylight planner.

Notes on Hours and Sources

Checked in October 2026. Taken from official or operator pages: the Þingvellir visitor and service centre holiday hours (thingvellir.is), the Secret Lagoon's 24 and 31 December hours (secretlagoon.is), the Blue Lagoon's Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve hours and winter hours (bluelagoon.com), Strætó's 2025–26 holiday schedule (straeto.is), Reykjavík's 2025 bonfire list (reykjavik.is and the capital-area police on island.is), Icelandia's Christmas Walk, bonfire tour and Flybus pages (icelandia.com), and the GetYourGuide fireworks-cruise listing. From secondary or past-season sources, so recheck in December 2026: Friðheimar's closure days (reported by Arctic Adventures and others; fridheimar.is lists none), supermarket hours (Krónan and Hagkaup 2026–27 via Iceland Highlights; Bónus, Nettó and Vínbúðin based on 2025), restaurants open on the holidays, airport bus route 55, Reykjavík pool hours, the Gullfoss café hours (gullfoss.org) and the fireworks sales window. Not yet published for 2026–27: holiday hours for Laugarvatn Fontana (reopened 1 August 2026), Sky Lagoon, the Geysir Center, Gullfosskaffi and Efstidalur, hotel Christmas dinner menus, and most operators' day-by-day holiday departure lists, early returns or surcharges. Unofficial "hours" websites list holiday times for the Secret Lagoon and Sky Lagoon that contradict the official pages, so we ignored them. Gullfoss parking charges at the Gullfosskaffi car park were reported in October 2026; we could not confirm the price from an official source. Prices are 2026 listings converted at about 121 ISK to the US dollar, 136 ISK to the euro and 158 ISK to the pound. Bonfires depend on the wind, and every aurora tour depends on the weather.