Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri
Max 12Pickup1.5 hours at the falls
From $401 per person
Dettifoss Day Tour vs Driving Yourself: An Honest 2026 Comparison
Short answer. In summer, with a hire car and an unhurried day, drive it — the road is paved, the falls are free and it will cost you fuel. Between October and May, or with a ship or a flight at the end of your day, book a seat. The deciding factor is the road, not the money.
Most comparisons of this kind are really about price. This one is not. A Dettifoss day tour from Akureyri starts at $209 a head, and a tank of fuel costs less than that. On money alone, driving wins and the article is over. The reason it is not over is Route 862.
The short answer
Drive it yourself if it is June to September, you have a hire car already and your day has nothing depending on it. Book a seat if it is October to May. Book it too if you are off a ship or catching a flight, or if two hours each way on an unfamiliar road does not appeal at the end of a long trip.
The arithmetic, both ways
| Driving yourself | A guided day | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Fuel, plus the hire car you may already have | From $209 per person |
| Time | About 5–7 hours, your call | 7–10 hours, fixed |
| At the falls | As long as you like | 30–90 minutes, stated per departure |
| Other stops | Whichever you choose | 5–7, chosen for you |
| Who decides on the road | You, at 7am, on a road you do not know | The operator, with a refund if it is no |
| If the weather closes it | You lose the day and the fuel | Full refund or another date |
| Driving | Four hours of it | None |
| Winter | Route 862 out of winter service Jan–early Apr | The operator makes the call |
For two people in July the sums favour driving by a wide margin. For one person in October they do not, and for four people in a hire car in July they favour driving overwhelmingly. That is the honest shape of it.
The case for driving yourself
Route 862 is paved from the Ring Road to the west car park, and any car manages it in summer. Dettifoss is free, parking is free, and there is no timed entry to miss. Arrive at eight in the morning or six in the evening and the light is better and the car park is not full of coaches. You can also walk on to Selfoss without checking a watch, which most tours cannot give you.
You also get the east side. No guided departure uses Route 864, so if you want the head-on view or Hafragilsfoss, driving is the only way. See roads and access for what that costs in time.
💡 Useful tip. If you drive, go early rather than late. The Diamond Circle coaches converge on the west viewpoint around midday, and an 8am arrival gives you the falls close to empty with the same light.
The case for booking a seat
Four hours of driving is four hours of driving, and it comes at the end of a day that also involves walking. On a guided departure that time is somebody else's problem. The day also picks up Goðafoss, Hverir, the Mývatn craters and often Ásbyrgi on the way, which a there-and-back drive does not.
The stronger argument is the road. Between January and early April, Route 862 is not in winter service. It is not barriered, but nobody is guaranteeing it. The decision about whether to drive it belongs to somebody who drives it every day. Every day tour listed refunds in full when the weather closes the day; your hire car does not.
And then there is the ice. The last stretch of path freezes from autumn to spring, and travellers have described needing crampons to walk it. Guides on several departures carry spikes and hand them out. That is not a service you can buy at the car park.
⚠ If your day ends with a ship or a flight. Book a seat. Two hours each way on a road that can close, against a fixed sailing time, is the one scenario where self-driving is the wrong call in any month. Dettifoss shore excursions carry return-to-ship guarantees; a hire car does not.
Verdict by traveller
| If you are | Do this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Two people, July, with a hire car | Drive | Cheaper, more flexible, better light early or late |
| A solo traveller in June | Either | One seat costs about what the fuel does |
| Anyone, October to May | Book | The road call and the spikes are worth the fare |
| Off a cruise ship | Book | Return guarantees, and a refund if the ship does not dock |
| A party of four in summer | Drive | Four fares against one tank is not close |
| A party of four with one day | Consider the private tour | $2,242 per group of four, ten hours, your running order |
| Nervous about Icelandic roads | Book | Two hours each way on unfamiliar gravel-edged tarmac |
Doing both
There is a version where you take a guided day for the Diamond Circle: Goðafoss, Mývatn, Ásbyrgi, Húsavík. Then, with a second day and a car, you drive back to Dettifoss alone and stay as long as you like. It is not the cheapest plan. It is the one that gets you both the circuit and the waterfall properly, and it is what we would do with three days in Akureyri.
What a hire car actually costs you here
Worth doing the sum properly rather than comparing a fare against a tank of petrol. If you are hiring a car specifically for this day, the day rate, the fuel and the insurance excess together will land close to two guided fares, and you still do the driving. If the car is already booked for a week of Iceland, the marginal cost of one more day is fuel alone and driving wins outright.
The other line nobody puts in the sum is what a lost day costs. Fly to Akureyri for a short trip, drive out to a road that turns out to be shut, and you have spent the day and the fuel with nothing to show. A booked seat converts that into a refund and a different date.
Three things a guide gives you that a car cannot
- The morning road call. Somebody who drives Route 862 every week deciding at seven whether today is a day for it.
- Spikes. Several operators carry them and hand them out when the path is frozen. You cannot buy a pair at the car park.
- The stops you would not make. Hverir, the Skútustaðagígar craters, Grjótagjá — the things you drive past when the waterfall is the objective.
Whichever you choose
Read the month-by-month page before you commit to a date, and visiting Dettifoss for the walk, the kit and the facilities. If you are booking, Dettifoss Tours lists every departure by the minutes it gives you at the rim.
Tours that fit this trip
From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day Trip w/ Lunch
Lunch includedCruise pier80 minutes at the falls
From $209 per person
If the date is October to May, or your day ends with a ship, this is the list to book from. See the tours