Akureyri is where a Dettifoss day starts. The falls are about two hours east, there is no shorter route, and every guided departure that reaches them leaves from this town or its cruise pier. This page sorts them by the number that actually decides your day.
Seven to ten hours, of which about four are driving. You are collected from your hotel or the pier between eight and nine, taken east over the Mývatn heath with two or three stops on the way, given between thirty and ninety minutes at the waterfall, and returned in the late afternoon.
What you are buying is not entry. Dettifoss has no gate and no ticket, and parking is free. You are buying the driving, the guiding, and somebody who decides at seven in the morning whether Route 862 is worth using — a decision that matters for a third of the year.
Reykjavik is roughly 600 kilometres away and has no day trip to offer; its products are six and seven-day circuits. Akureyri is two hours out, which is why almost every guided departure to the falls starts here.
Route 862 is not in winter service between January and early April. Every day tour listed cancels with a full refund when the weather closes the day, and several offer another date instead. That is a service, not fine print.
Goðafoss, the Hverir mud pools, the Skútustaðagígar craters, Dimmuborgir, and on the longer circuits Ásbyrgi and Húsavík. A there-and-back drive gives you none of them.
The last stretch of path ices from autumn to spring. Guides on several of these departures hand out spikes at the car park, and you cannot buy a pair there.
| A day tour from Akureyri | Driving yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | From $209 per person | Fuel, plus the hire car |
| Total time | 7–10 hours, fixed | 5–7 hours, your call |
| At the falls | 30–90 minutes, stated per departure | As long as you like |
| Other stops | 5–7, chosen for you | Whichever you choose |
| The road decision | The operator's, with a refund | Yours, on a road you do not know |
| Winter | Runs when it can, refunds when it cannot | Route 862 out of winter service Jan–Apr |
| Selfoss | Only on the long stops | Whenever you want |
| The east rim | Not available — no departure uses it | Yours, in summer |
In July, with a hire car and an unhurried day, driving is cheaper and more flexible and we say so plainly on the guide to doing it without a tour. From October the balance shifts, and it shifts hard.
You get: transport, a guide, the road decision, several stops you would otherwise drive past, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on every one of these.
You don't get: entry to anything, because there is nothing to enter. Food is excluded on all but two departures, and there is no café at Dettifoss. Mývatn Nature Baths entry is extra where a day includes it. Tips are excluded on some. And the east rim is not on offer from anybody.
Price band. $209 to about $400 per person for a shared seat; the private departure is $2,242 for a group of up to four.
Duration. Seven hours at the shortest, ten at the longest.
Booking window. A few days ahead in summer and on cruise days. Some departures are flagged as likely to sell out, and several need a minimum number of travellers to run at all.
Season. Every listing runs in summer. Not one states a season, and travellers report reaching the falls in February and March — check the operator's own calendar for a winter date. The month-by-month page has what the road will be doing.
| Departure | At Dettifoss | Total | Rating | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akureyri Port: Dettifoss, Goðafoss and Lake Mý | 1.5 hours at Dettifoss | 7 hours | 5 (11) | From $278 |
| Lake Mývatn and Powerful Dettifoss Day Tour fr | 1.5 hours at Dettifoss | 8 to 9 hours | 4.8 (50) | From $401 |
| From Akureyri Port: Diamond Circle Guided Day | 80 minutes at Dettifoss | 8 hours | 4.6 (253) | From $209 |
| From Akureyri: Diamond Circle Tour with Waterf | 1 hour at Dettifoss | 8 hours | 4.9 (34) | From $243 |
| From Akureyri Lake Myvatn and Dettifoss Small | 1 hour at Dettifoss | 8 hours | 5 (3) | From $245 |
| Private Diamond Circle Tour from Akureyri | 45 minutes at Dettifoss | 10 hours | 4.8 (6) | From $2242 |
| Cruise Tour Godafoss and Myvatn Lake and Detti | 40 minutes at Dettifoss | 7 to 9 hours | 4.9 (20) | From $273 |
| Lake Myvatn, Dettifoss and Goddafoss Waterfall | 40 minutes at Dettifoss | 7 to 9 hours | 4.8 (38) | From $306 |
| Port Akureyri: Godafoss Waterfall, Myvatn and | 40 minutes at Dettifoss | 8 hours | 5 (9) | From $255 |
| Akureyri North Iceland Waterfalls and Nature B | not stated | 9 to 10 hours | 4.8 (40) | From $345 |
If you are based in Reykjavik and not travelling north, none of these is for you — the honest answer is a multi-day circuit or a different waterfall. If your day is bounded by a sailing time, take one of the four shore excursions that leave from the pier and carry a return guarantee, rather than a general day tour.
And if it is July, you have a hire car and nothing else booked, drive it. You will spend less, stay longer and get the falls to yourself at eight in the morning. That is worth saying plainly, even here.
Seven hours with a climb to the rim of the Hverfjall crater, ninety minutes at the falls and a packed lunch included. Capped at fifteen, and it refunds in full if your ship never docks.
From $278 per person
Ninety minutes at the rim, in a 4x4 carrying twelve, collected from your hotel at nine in the morning. Built around the waterfall rather than around the circuit, and it shows in the pace at every stop.
From $401 per person
The volume leader and the cheapest seat on the page. Eight hours by coach from the cruise pier, eighty minutes at the falls, all five Diamond Circle stops, and a sandwich and water handed out on the way.
From $209 per person
The top-rated of the circle days at 4.9, and currently selling below its listed fare. An hour at Dettifoss and a full hour at Ásbyrgi, with pickup included and eight hours from Akureyri.
From $243 per person
Eight travellers at most, the smallest cap listed, with pickup arranged individually with you after booking. A full hour at the falls across an eight-hour day, and an owner who guides it personally.
From $245 per person
Ten hours with your party alone, priced per group of up to four rather than per seat. You set the running order, which is worth more than it looks when a port day is shorter than the itinerary.
From $2242 per group
Seven stops timed against a sailing, with a cruise-ship return guarantee and every fee and tax already in the fare. Forty minutes at the falls, and a café stop that comes late enough to bring your own.
From $273 per person
Forty pickup points across town, which solves an awkward address better than anything else here. Seven to nine hours, forty minutes at the falls, the Mývatn cave and craters, group capped at seventeen.
From $306 per person
The only departure stating wheelchair access, in a minibus rather than a full coach, returning at least forty minutes before you sail. Eight hours from the cruise terminal, ending with the view across the fjord.
From $255 per person
Three waterfalls including Selfoss, which no other departure names, then an optional soak at the nature baths to finish. Nine to ten hours, with pickup from your hotel, the centre or the airport.
From $345 per person
For the day these produce, Dettifoss in one day from Akureyri. For how to pick between them, how to choose a Dettifoss tour.