Question about pickup for Golden Circle Tours

Posted by merryvm on 04/13/25 07:29 PM

Per advice from Frank II, we will book a "Golden Circle Tour"; HOWEVER, I'm soooo confused because they list all of these different places for pickup and I can't figure out which one is closest to our ship dock (Skarfabakki Harbour). I've looked all over on the booking site and all I can do is to "book it"; I can't ask any questions!!

It's my understanding that the Port Authority runs a free shuttle from Skarfabakki Harbour to Harpa Concert Hall (HOW FAR IS THIS FROM THE DOCK??). Maybe we will just use the free shuttle to get to downtown and then walk to the "pickup" location; but I have NO idea where everything is. I did read that many of the cruise company's leave from Bus Stop #12; Is there anyone that knows there Bus Stop #12 in relation to Harpa Concert Hall??

THANKS soooo much!!

Posted by mikliz97

Snohomish, WA

04/13/25 09:43 PM

3020 posts

What company are you looking at for doing a tour? I would not use Viator or any 3rd party, book directly with the operator.

From your ship dock to Harpa is about 4.5km of a walk.

If you take the shuttle, what time does it get to downtown? Most tours pickup around 8:30am, so you need to be at your stop earlier than that.

Bus stop 12 is about a 20 minute walk to Harpa.

The first thing is to check that you can get to downtown in time for any pickup. Then just pick one of the bus stops that the tour company picks up at, and when you book you click on that location.

Posted by Frank II

Freedonia

04/13/25 10:34 PM

16989 posts

First, is your cruise offering a Golden Circle Tour? If so, you won't have to go anywhere. The tour will come to you.

If not, there are some tour companies that do pickups at the cruise ship docks. You could do a search to find them.

If you can't find them, contact whichever tour company you want to use and ask them what the closest pickup point is to your ship.

Posted by CL

Salem, Oregon, USA

04/14/25 01:03 AM

3022 posts

This tour company has a map of all the tourist bus stops in downtown Reykjavik: https://www.re.is/pick-up-locations/ Bus stop #5 is closest to Harpa concert hall. Stop #12 is not close to the Harpa, but is technically closer to the cruise port (but it's not that close). There are no tourist bus stops near the cruise port.

These are simply designated spots for various tour companies to pick up customers. Whatever tour company you select, make sure you get clear instructions about which stop you should be at and specifically what time - the busses make a loop picking up people and you don't want to miss your bus. Based on your earlier post about docking in Reykjavik, you won't likely be able to take any of the regular bus tours as you arrive at 9 a.m. and most of them leave before then as mikliz97 noted. So that pretty much means a private tour on your own or using the cruise ship excursion.

Posted by mikliz97

Snohomish, WA

04/14/25 02:48 PM

3020 posts

If you are able to do a tour with other tour companies, think about whether you want a big bus tour or a small bus tour. On our first trip to Iceland, we used Reykjavik Excursions which CL mentioned. That was a big bus tour, but in October so very few people. We had no idea about these tours and just took this one. Now, when we have to do tours for excursions that require guides, I prefer the small bus ones instead, so about 12-16 people max. It is all a personal preference of course. We have had great luck with www.troll.is , but none of this matters if your timing doesn't work. So check everything out and see what you prefer.