Sleep in, have a proper breakfast, and still see the Golden Circle before dinner. Arctic Adventures' afternoon tour starts with a Reykjavík pickup at noon and fits the classic stops into about six hours in a small group.

What you'll see on the afternoon Golden Circle tour

Þingvellir National Park is a rift valley where the Eurasian and North American plates are pulling apart, and the site of Iceland's first parliament, the Althing. You'll see the Almannagjá rift, the Silfra fissure and views across Þingvallavatn lake.

Gullfoss, the 'golden waterfall', drops in two steps into the Hvítá canyon at the edge of the highlands, 32 metres in total, fed by the Langjökull glacier.

At the Geysir geothermal area, the original Geysir is now dormant, but Strokkur erupts every 4 to 10 minutes. Stand upwind unless you want a free shower.

Kerið is a volcanic crater around 6,500 years old, about 270 metres across, with a blue-green lake inside and red volcanic rock on its slopes. A loop around the lake takes about 20 minutes and gets you the best photos.

Good to know before you go

Pickup starts at 12:00 from authorised points in Reykjavík, so be at your pickup spot by then. It can take up to 30 minutes for your guide to arrive, so don't panic at 12:05. The tour runs for about 6 hours in a minibus, and the route passes through Hveragerði.

Choose this tour if you'd like an unhurried morning, or if you arrived on a late flight and need the day to start slowly. You get the same four headline stops as the full-day versions, in less time.

Pro tip: wear shoes with some grip. The Gullfoss paths are often wet with spray and the Kerið rim is gravel, and neither is kind to smooth city soles.