Reykjavik · Kerið · Gullfoss · Geysir · Þingvellir
Kerid Crater
A 7-hour Golden Circle day by bus from Reykjavik with a stop at Kerið Crater, the red volcanic crater with a lake at the bottom, 68.7 km by road from City Hall, then Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir.
- 4.8 / 5 27906+ Reviews
- 7 hours Duration
- 68.7 km By road from Reykjavik City Hall to the Kerið car park
- 700 ISK Entry at the ticket booth by the car park, November 2026
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Golden Circle Day Includes
Transport by bus with a guide, pickup if you choose it, and stops at Kerið, Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir. Food and drinks are extra.
Highlights
- About 7 hours from Reykjavik
- 20 minutes at Kerið (morning departures)
- Gullfoss, Geysir with lunch time, Þingvellir
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
What's Included
- Tour
- Guide
- Transportation by air-conditioned bus
- Pickup and drop-off (If option selected)
Good to know: Departures at 12:00 or later do not stop at Kerið. · Food and drinks are not included. · Bad weather can cancel the tour, with another date or a full refund. · Not suitable for: Children under 2 years · Not Included: Food and drinks
The Golden Circle Day, Stop by Stop
From a morning pickup in Reykjavik to the crater, the waterfall, the geysers and the rift valley, and back about 7 hours later.
Pick a Morning Departure
Kerið is on this tour's morning departures only: the departures at 12:00 or later skip the crater. The starting times show on the listing's calendar.
Pickup in Reykjavik
Pickup is available at hotels and the city's numbered bus stops, or meet the bus at Bus Stop 12, Höfðatorg. The first break is in Hveragerði, about 40 minutes out.
Twenty Minutes at Kerið
A photo stop of about 20 minutes at the crater: enough to walk to the rim and look down at the lake, not to go round it and down the stairs as well.
Gullfoss, Geysir, Þingvellir
45 minutes at Gullfoss, 80 at Geysir with time for lunch, and a walk at Þingvellir National Park, then about an hour back to Reykjavik. The whole day takes about 7 hours.
Photo Gallery
Kerið and the Golden Circle
The crater lake, Gullfoss, Strokkur at Geysir and Þingvellir, on the Golden Circle day from Reykjavik.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
BusTravel Iceland's Golden Circle full day from Reykjavik with a stop at Kerið on its morning departures, sold on GetYourGuide. Dates, pickup options and the live price open on its calendar.
Plan the Crater Stop
Kerið, One Question per Page
The entrance fee, the walk around the rim and down to the lake, the tours that stop there, the drive from Reykjavik, winter, and whether it is worth it.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. Each tour price is per person, in US dollars; Kerið's own fee is in Icelandic krónur.
Four Golden Circle Days That Stop at Kerið
How long you are out, how long you get at the crater, whether the Kerið fee is included, and what else is on the day. Prices from the listings, with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Full day by bus | Small group, more time | With Friðheimar lunch | With the Blue Lagoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From $88 per person (checked November 2026) | From $118 per person (checked November 2026) | From $144 per person (checked November 2026) | From $251 per person (checked November 2026) |
| Time Out | About 7 hours | About 8 hours | About 9 hours | About 11 hours |
| Time at Kerið | About 20 minutes, morning departures only | About 45 minutes | About 45 minutes | A stop, length not listed |
| Kerið Fee | Not named in the inclusions | Included | Included | Included |
| Vehicle | Bus | Van, small group | Bus with a driver-guide | Minibus |
| Also on the Day | Hveragerði, Gullfoss, Geysir with lunch time, Þingvellir | Hveragerði, Gullfoss, an hour each at Geysir and Þingvellir | Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, lunch time at the Friðheimar greenhouse | Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, about 2 hours at the Blue Lagoon |
| Best For | The Golden Circle at the lowest price, with a look into the crater | Time to walk round the rim and down to the lake | A slower day with the crater walk and a farm lunch | The Golden Circle and a lagoon soak in one day |
| Check dates | See the small group | See the EastWest tour | See the lagoon day |
More Ways to See Kerið
Other Golden Circle Tours That Stop at Kerið
A group of 19 at most, a day with 45 minutes at the crater and lunch at a greenhouse, and a day that ends in the Sky Lagoon. One card per tour.
SMALL GROUP OF 19Golden Circle and Kerið Crater Small Group Tour
Nicetravel's Golden Circle day in a group of 19 at most, about 8 hours with hotel pickup in Reykjavik and Wi-Fi and USB chargers on board: Þingvellir, Strokkur at Geysir, Gullfoss, and a visit to Kerið crater, included, before the return around 17:00. Food and drinks are extra.
45 MINUTES AT KERIÐReykjavik: Golden Circle, Tomato Farm and Kerið Crater Tour
EastWest's 9-hour Golden Circle with an English-speaking driver-guide and hotel pickup from 8:30: Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir, lunch time at the Friðheimar tomato greenhouse (food not included), and about 45 minutes at Kerið, admission included. Bilingual English and Spanish on Thursdays; not advised for infants.
ENDS IN THE SKY LAGOONReykjavik: Golden Circle, Kerid Crater and Sky Lagoon Tour
Nicetravel's 11-hour minibus day with pickup between 8:30 and 9:00: Þingvellir, the Haukadalur geothermal area with Strokkur, Gullfoss and Kerið, entry included, then the Sky Lagoon from just before 17:00 to 19:00 on a Pure or Sky Pass chosen at booking, back in Reykjavik around 19:20. Bring a swimsuit; lunch is extra.
Kerið on the Golden Circle
How a Visit to Kerið Works
Where the crater is, what the fee covers, how long the walk takes, which tours stop there and for how long, and when to go.
Kerið Crater is a red volcanic crater with a lake at the bottom, in Grímsnes, 68.7 km by road from Reykjavik City Hall. You pay 700 ISK at the ticket booth by the car park, walk the rim (about 0.8 km around) and, if you like, take the wooden stairs down to the water. Most people see it on a Golden Circle day: BusTravel Iceland’s Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater stops there on its morning departures, from $88 a person (checked November 2026).
The short answer
If you have no car, take a Golden Circle tour that names Kerið in its stops. BusTravel Iceland’s full day leaves Reykjavik in the morning, breaks in Hveragerði, gives about 20 minutes at the crater, then 45 minutes at Gullfoss, 80 at Geysir with time for lunch and a walk at Þingvellir National Park, back about 7 hours after pickup. It has 27,906 reviews (checked November 2026). Its departures at 12:00 or later skip Kerið, so book a morning one.
Check dates for the morning tour
Twenty minutes is enough to stand on the rim and look down at the lake. It is not enough to walk round and go down the stairs as well; for that, pick a tour that gives about 45 minutes at the crater, or drive there yourself.
Pick your kind of visit
Reykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater
About 7 hours by bus; 20 minutes at Kerið on the morning departures, then Gullfoss, Geysir with lunch time and Þingvellir.
Check dates →Reykjavik: Small-Group Golden Circle & Kerið Full-Day Tour
Arctic Adventures' small group by van: about 45 minutes at Kerið with the fee included, then an hour each at Geysir and Þingvellir.
See the small group →Reykjavik: Golden Circle, Kerid Crater, & Blue Lagoon Tour
An 11-hour minibus day: the Golden Circle and Kerið, entry included, then about two hours at the Blue Lagoon with entry and a towel.
See the lagoon day →Drive Road 35 and stay an hour
With a rental car you choose the light and the time: an hour is enough for the rim, the stairs and the lakeside path. Kerið is 15.1 km by road from Selfoss on the way to Geysir.
Read the drive guide →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Where Kerið is
Kerið sits beside Road 35, Biskupstungnabraut, the road that runs from Route 1 near Selfoss up to Geysir and Gullfoss. Its Google Maps place, claimed by the owners, is Kerið Crater; the car park and ticket booth are at Kerið 1, 805 Klausturhólar. From Reykjavik City Hall it is 68.7 km by road, about an hour’s drive; from Selfoss church, 15.1 km. That position is why the Golden Circle tours add it: it is on the way to Geysir or on the way back from Gullfoss, not a detour.
The loop drawn on the map is 241 km by road: City Hall to Þingvellir’s Hakið viewpoint (47.6 km), on to Geysir (60.6 km), Gullfoss (9.9 km), Kerið (54.2 km) and back to City Hall (68.7 km). Tours run it in either direction. Golden Circle tours with Kerið compares the order and the time each one gives at the crater, and Reykjavik to Kerið covers the drive.
The fee, the booth and the car park
Kerið is privately owned. Kerfélagið ehf., the company named on Kerið’s own site, charges 700 ISK a person (groups of 10 or more pay 650 ISK each), paid by card or cash at the entrance, in November 2026. Arctic Adventures bought Kerið in 2023. Parking is free, and Kerið’s site lists restrooms on site. Many of the Golden Circle tours include the fee; BusTravel Iceland’s full day does not name it in its inclusions, so carry a card. The entrance fee has the details and which tours include it.
The crater and the walk
Kerið’s owners describe the crater as about 6,500 years old, about 270 m long, 170 m wide and 55 m deep, its slopes of red volcanic rock with green moss, and the lake at the bottom shallow, between about 7 and 14 m deep as the water level varies. A path runs round the rim, about 0.8 km measured along the mapped path, and wooden stairs lead from the rim near the car park down to a path along the water. Allow about 20 minutes to look in from the rim, and 40 to 45 to walk round and go down. The Kerið hike maps the path and the stairs.
When to go
Kerið opens in daylight; its own site gives no clock hours. The colours of the rock and the water are strongest on a bright day. On 1 November 2026 the Icelandic Met Office’s sun table for Reykjavik had sunrise at 09:10 and sunset at 17:10, so a winter visit fits between late morning and mid-afternoon. Searching Icelandic news, the national road administration and Kerið’s own pages found no closure at the crater in the twelve months to November 2026. Kerið in winter covers ice on the stairs and the short days, and is Kerið worth it weighs the stop against the rest of the day.
If your trip is in the dark months, the same evenings are the season for the northern lights; northern-lights-tour-iceland.com sets out the months and what decides a good night.
The Crater and the Golden Circle in One Day
Book a morning departure: the afternoon ones of this tour skip Kerið. Dress for wind on the rim and wear shoes with grip for the stairs. Starting from $88 per person.
See datesMore Operators on the Golden Circle
Golden Circle Tours with Open Dates
Day tours from Reykjavik with live availability. Stops, what is included and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Kerid Crater: Questions
Where it is, the fee and parking, how long to allow, the hours, and the tours from Reykjavik that stop there.
A volcanic crater with a lake at the bottom, in Grímsnes in South Iceland. Kerið's owners describe it as about 6,500 years old, about 270 m long, 170 m wide and 55 m deep, with red volcanic rock on its slopes; the lake is shallow, its depth varying between about 7 and 14 m. It lies by Road 35, the road from Selfoss towards Geysir and Gullfoss, which is why so many Golden Circle tours stop there.
At Kerið 1, 805 Klausturhólar, by Road 35 (Biskupstungnabraut) in Grímsnes. The car park and ticket booth are on the crater's northwest side, 68.7 km by road from Reykjavik City Hall and 15.1 km by road from Selfoss church. The crater is privately owned: Kerfélagið ehf. charges the fee, and Arctic Adventures, which bought Kerið in 2023, runs the site. This site is an independent guide, not the owners. See Reykjavik to Kerið.
Yes: 700 ISK a person, paid at the ticket booth by the car park (November 2026). Groups of 10 or more pay 650 ISK each. The booth takes card or cash. Many Golden Circle tours include the fee; check the inclusions of the one you book. See the entrance fee.
No: parking is free. Kerið's own site lists free parking and restrooms on site; you pay for entry to the crater, not for the car park.
About 20 minutes to look in from the rim; 40 to 45 to walk round it and down to the lake. The rim path is about 0.8 km around, measured along the mapped path, and wooden stairs lead down to a path by the water. BusTravel Iceland's tour gives about 20 minutes; Arctic Adventures' small group and EastWest's day give about 45. See the Kerið hike.
Kerið opens in daylight. Its own site gives no clock hours, only that it is open when the sun is up, so in winter plan to arrive between late morning and mid-afternoon. On 1 November 2026 the Icelandic Met Office's sun table for Reykjavik had sunrise at 09:10 and sunset at 17:10. See Kerið in winter.
Yes, on most Golden Circle tours. BusTravel Iceland's full day stops at Kerið on its morning departures, for about 20 minutes, from $88 a person (checked November 2026); its departures at 12:00 or later skip the crater. Smaller groups give more time at the crater. See Golden Circle tours with Kerið.
Yes, as a stop on the Golden Circle rather than a trip on its own. It takes 20 to 45 minutes, costs 700 ISK and sits on the road between Selfoss and Geysir, so it adds little to the day. The colours are strongest on a bright day. See is Kerið worth it.
Still have questions? Email us at info@keridcrater.com