Half-Day Combo Tour to Goðafoss, Laufas and The Christmas House
Description
Our guides are fully qualified and have extensive knowledge of the area. Not only will you learn about the history, landscape and present day life on this tour you will also hear Icelandic folktales. This is a round trip through some of the most picturesque landscape in North Iceland. The total tour length is 4 hours. All travel time is included in that length. We first drive for approximently 35 min to Goðafoss, then another 30 min to Laufas Turfhouse Museum. From Laufas there is then another 30 min drive to the beautiful Christmas House & Gardens. After visiting the Christmas house we drive a short sightseeing around the town of Akureyri before dropping the passenger off. This is a fully guided, informative and enjoyable tour, all entrance fee is included in the tour price.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We drive past the Botanical garden and passengers can be droped off here at the end of the tour.
Godafoss waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland with easy access from both sides of the river. It is surrounded by stunning basalt columns.
The atmospheric and picturesque heritage site of Laufás is full of history with its large farmhouse and beautiful 19th Church. It has been the home of priests since at least 1047 until 1935 with the current priest still living on the premises. The house includes long corridors and many interconnected rooms. The current buildings are from the middle of the 19th century and furnished with household items and clothes from the period. One of Laufás characteristics is the Bridal room where brides prepared themselves for the big event. The existing church was built in 1865, among its special items is a pulpit from 1698. Laufás Visitor Centre has a cosy atmosphere and additional information about nature, wildlife and history of the vicinity. Local handcraft and souvenir shop and refreshments. The old turf house is part of the National Museum’s Historic Buildings Collection.
Open all year round, this magical house and garden looks like it came straight from a book of fairy tales. Outside in the garden there are plenty of hidden things for you to find and enjoy. Upon entering the Christmas House you are greeted with the warmth of a log fire and the songs and the scents of the festive season even in the middle of summer. Try to find the Icelandic Yule lad´s troll mother (Gryla) hidden in her cave. The Christmas House is a magical place to visit, all year round. Every corner is filled with Christmas magic so take your time to look around. Next to the Christmas house is a wonderful shop where you can sample local jams or buy a souvenir to take home. Great way to hear about and experience some local Christmas traditions.
At the end of the day we drive you around the town of Akureyri for a short guided tour. Highlights include the old town, Botanical gardens, Church of Akureyri and the town centre. Let your driver know if you would like to disembark at any of these locations.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up starts 15 minutes before the departure time of the tour. Our vehicles are marked with our name: The Traveling Viking
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The total tour length is 4 hours. All travel time is included in that length. We first drive for approximently 35 min to Goðafoss, then another 30 min from there to Laufas Turfhouse Museum, and from there another 30 min to the Christmas House. From the Christmas house we do a short sightseeing around Akureyri before dropping the passenger off.
Reviews(174)
This was a wonderful experience, all of the communication on meeting spots and drop off points was very clear. The tour was fun and there were so many stories that were told along the way that it enhanced the driving portion of the tour. Even though the Christmas House was a tourist trap the driver acknowledged this in a fun way and I thought it was a great ending to our tour.
This tour went off without a hitch. The guide/driver was so friendly and spoke very clearly. We were met at the cruise terminal where the tour originated and ended. Don’t hesitate to book this tour. It was great.
Excellent driver on our half day tour to Godafoss waterfall, Laufas and christmas hose,. Small groups tour tour. Plenty of time at each to explore. Very knowledgable driver and guide. Highly recommend. Traveling Viking have a tourist office at the cruise port. Easy to find.
Great to see Godofas waterfall. Spent an hour there the to history museum and Christmas shop. Small groups tour with maximum 18
The falls were great and the puffins but the Christmas house was a waste of time. The building was too small for the amount of people on the bus and the items looked old and tired and way overpriced. The guide was excellent!
Fantastic tour. It was only a small group (6 persons) so tour was by minibus. The guide, Lilli (not sure of Icelandic spelling), was lovely. She was a very good driver, gave us lots of information about the places we were visiting, those we were passing and fantastic anecdotes about Icelandic life in general. My husband had some mobility issues and she was very attentive to his needs, at the same time as coming up with solutions how he could see everything and not miss out. We initially booked through Viator, but on docking at the cruise terminal found The Travelling Viking had a kiosk on the dockside where you could also book trips. The staff in here were equally friendly and helpful. I would not hesitate to recommend The Travelling Viking for your trips from Akureyri.
Didn’t feel rushed and beautiful landscape and a great variety for the price! Great half day experience
It is a pleasant tour, but the sound system on the bus was awful and we could rarely hear any of the drivers commentary. If you pay that much for a tour, you deserve a good sound system.
Just enough time to see this area of Iceland, VERY good tour guide who told us stories about the area, comfortable bus, easy walking, fun day. Only thing that could make it better was to tell us which tour operator or what bus we should look for when we got off the ship.
This was overall a great tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and did a wonderful job passing that knowledge on to us as we drove through Iceland. The Goðafoss waterfalls were excellent (mini-Niagra), even though we were blasted by 45 mph wind and the volcanic grit that came with it. Laufas was also interesting and the guide there was also excellent. The Christmas House was basically an overcrowded gift shop...could have done without that. Logistics were excellent, as the tour bus was waiting ~100m from the cruise ship exit.
