Accounts from travellers who booked these Dettifoss guided tours, in their own words. Several are critical, and those are the ones worth reading first: they are where the real information about this walk and this road is.
“Saw a great deal of Iceland in a single day and the guide answered everything we asked. If I went again I would want longer at Dettifoss — there is more down there than the stop allows for.”
Jean, United States · solo · August 2026
From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day Trip w/ Lunch
“Goðafoss and Dettifoss are unlike anything I have seen. Dettifoss has two paths: a short one near the top, and one five minutes longer that takes you to the bottom where the spray really finds you. Take the waterproofs for that one.”
Ray, United States · couple · August 2026
From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day Trip w/ Lunch
“Great variety, and we were glad we brought snacks to go with the sandwich because there was a lot of walking. We traded the Húsavík stop for a look at puffins, which suited us.”
Karen, United States · family · July 2026
From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day Trip w/ Lunch
“Nine hours and not a drop of water or a snack provided, so bring both. The guide was good and the nature baths were the highlight. Take flip-flops and a bag for a wet swimsuit.”
David, United States · couple · August 2026
Akureyri North Iceland Waterfalls and Nature Baths Small Group Tour
“Högni added a couple of extra stops for the three of us who were not swimming, and the vehicle was comfortable all day. We saw every major site in the area, Dettifoss included.”
Cindy, United States · group · August 2025
Akureyri North Iceland Waterfalls and Nature Baths Small Group Tour
“We went in January and Dettifoss was a completely different place from the summer version. Our guide filled the long drive with local customs and legends.”
David, United Kingdom · couple · January 2026
Akureyri North Iceland Waterfalls and Nature Baths Small Group Tour
“An excellent day with my nephews, aged eleven and fourteen. I am marking it down only because the walk to Dettifoss in February was genuinely difficult and we should have been told what footwear to bring.”
Anna, United States · family · February 2025
Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfalls Day Tour from Akureyri
“Nordbert watched the conditions all day and handed out spikes for the icy ground at Goðafoss and Dettifoss. He had a story for everything.”
Kremena, Bulgaria · group · October 2025
Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfalls Day Tour from Akureyri
“Too many places for nine hours. Dettifoss needs longer than it gets, and more than half our group could not walk back in time. The path is further than people expect.”
Tuck Ming, Singapore · group · October 2024
Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfalls Day Tour from Akureyri
“Wet, cold and windy: real Icelandic weather. Marta reordered the stops to dodge the crowds at Dettifoss, which is not easy in August.”
Lorna, Canada · couple · August 2026
Cruise Tour Godafoss and Myvatn Lake and Dettifoss Small Group
“Generous with time at the stops that did not deserve it and short at the ones that did. A long unplanned lunch cost us the cave.”
L. K., United States · first-timer · August 2026
Cruise Tour Godafoss and Myvatn Lake and Dettifoss Small Group
“Bo reordered the stops so we reached Dettifoss and Goðafoss when they were quieter, and told us why as he did it. It made a real difference at both.”
Maria, United States · couple · August 2026
Akureyri Port: Dettifoss, Goðafoss and Lake Mývatn Tour
“Four of us on the day and they ran it anyway rather than cancelling. Plenty of time at each stop, and the best BLT I have eaten.”
Jon, United States · solo · July 2026
Akureyri Port: Dettifoss, Goðafoss and Lake Mývatn Tour
“Our guide stopped at small places that were not in the brochure and the day was better for it. Dettifoss was the one we had come for, and it did not disappoint.”
Loretta, United States · couple · August 2026
From Akureyri: Diamond Circle Tour with Waterfalls
“A March departure, and a wonderful day at Dettifoss despite the weather. Of all the guides we had in two weeks in Iceland, Ingi gave us the best sense of how Icelanders actually live.”
Julian, United Kingdom · couple · March 2025
From Akureyri: Diamond Circle Tour with Waterfalls
“Listed as ten hours, but our ship only gave us seven at the port. Because it was private we chose which stops mattered, and we still got our time at Dettifoss.”
Christy, United States · family · August 2026
Private Diamond Circle Tour from Akureyri
“A very packed day and we saw an enormous amount, Dettifoss included. Good lunch on the way round, and ice cream I was not expecting.”
Tom, United States · couple · August 2022
Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri
“Being a small group made the whole thing more personal. Never too long in the car in one stretch, and enough breaks for food along the way.”
Jonathan, United States · group · September 2017
Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri
“Picked up on time and we enjoyed everything we saw. Our driver was not an experienced guide though, so we came away feeling we had missed the history and the detail behind the places.”
Sea Mom, United States · family · August 2017
Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri
“Extraordinary sights, and the other-worldliness of Lake Mývatn and the volcanic ground around it was completely unexpected. Dettifoss is spread a long way from the rest, so a full day is what it takes.”
Kathy, United Kingdom · repeat visitor · October 2017
Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri
The single most repeated complaint has nothing to do with the tours and everything to do with the ground. From autumn to spring the last stretch to the viewpoint freezes, and travellers describe it as difficult and in one case as needing crampons. On another departure the guide simply handed spikes out at the door. If you are travelling between October and May, ask the operator whether they carry them, and take boots with grip either way.
The Diamond Circle is 250 kilometres and the biggest circuits attempt it in nine hours. Where that goes wrong it shows up as forty minutes at Dettifoss and a group that cannot all walk back in time. The fix is to read the minutes on the card before you book: the departures here range from thirty minutes at the falls to ninety, and that is the difference between two quite different days.
Two departures include a packed lunch and the rest do not, and there is no café at Dettifoss. One traveller's summary of a nine-hour day was that not a drop of water was provided. That is accurate, it is stated on the listing, and it is easily solved in a shop in Akureyri before you leave.
Several accounts describe turning up as one of two or four travellers and having the operator run the day anyway, which on a capped-at-fifteen departure makes for something close to a private tour. It cuts both ways: a few of these trips need a minimum number of bookings to run at all, and cancel with a refund when they do not fill.
These are the operators’ own figures, taken from each tour’s booking listing on the day we captured it. They are not our ratings, we do not collect reviews, and they move.
| Tour | Rating | Reviews | Operator | Departs from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-Day Around Iceland Small-Group Tour from Reykjavik | 4.9 | 750 | Arctic Adventures | Reykjavik |
| From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day Trip w/ Lunch | 4.6 | 253 | BusTravel Iceland | Akureyri Port |
| 4, 5, 6 or 7-Day Small-Group Ring Road Tour from Reykjavik | 4.9 | 76 | Nicetravel ehf | Reykjavik |
| Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour from Akureyri | 4.8 | 50 | Star Travel Iceland | Akureyri |
| Akureyri North Iceland Waterfalls and Nature Baths Small Group Tour | 4.8 | 40 | Star Travel Iceland | Akureyri |
| Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfalls Day Tour from Akureyri | 4.8 | 38 | Imagine Iceland Travel | Akureyri |
| From Akureyri: Diamond Circle Tour with Waterfalls | 4.9 | 34 | The Traveling Viking | Akureyri |
| Cruise Tour Godafoss and Myvatn Lake and Dettifoss Small Group | 4.9 | 20 | Fox Adventure | Akureyri Port |
| 7-Day Small Group Journey Around Iceland | 4.8 | 17 | Snaeland Travel | Reykjavik |
| Akureyri Port: Dettifoss, Goðafoss and Lake Mývatn Tour | 5 | 11 | Saga Travel | Akureyri Port |
| Port Akureyri: Godafoss Waterfall, Myvatn and Dettifoss | 5 | 9 | Fox Adventure | Akureyri Port |
| Private Diamond Circle Tour from Akureyri | 4.8 | 6 | Your Friend In Reykjavik | Akureyri |
| From Akureyri Lake Myvatn and Dettifoss Small Group | 5 | 3 | Viltour Iceland | Akureyri |
Reviews tell you how a day felt. For how the days are put together, see Dettifoss Tours, and for what the road will be doing when you go, the month-by-month page.