Geysir
Geysir is the hillside that gave the world the word, a geothermal field in Haukadalur where Strokkur erupts every four to ten minutes and the Great Geysir sleeps beside it. Forty minutes, free, ten minutes from Gullfoss, and the middle of the Golden Circle in any month.
Geysir in a nutshell
Geysir: what to expect
Before writing this we counted 72,000+ planned stops in Iceland on Stippl.
Forty minutes at Geysir covers three eruptions and the loop, and nobody sleeps there twice. Strokkur fires every four to ten minutes, the blue bubble first and then fifteen to twenty metres of water, the field loop passes the boiling pools, the fumaroles and the dormant Great Geysir in twenty minutes, the Haukadalur slope above gives the whole valley steaming from an empty viewpoint, Gullfoss sits ten minutes on as the other half of the same stop, and the rye bread baked in the ground is sold at the shop across the road. 66.77% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through.
Geysir is bound to Gullfoss, and it is the least-planned sight in the country. Nearly four in five Geysir trips on Stippl also carry the waterfall, the highest conditional share between any two Icelandic destinations, a typical Geysir plan is made 76 days ahead, the shortest lead of any Icelandic stop, and 13.1% of Geysir plans are made inside a fortnight, because the Circle is the default first day and the field needs nothing booked.
Park for free at the field, stand upwind of Strokkur at the rope and wait for the bubble, walk the loop and the slope, and drive the ten minutes to Gullfoss before or after. Skip the midday summer slot, when the coaches from three directions arrive at once, and skip any step off the boardwalks, because the crust around the pools is thin and the water is near boiling.
Plan Geysir in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the appWho Geysir is for
First-timers and children
A geyser that performs on a schedule short enough to hold anyone's attention, every four to ten minutes without a ticket.
Short-trip and winter visitors
Ninety minutes from Reykjavík on a maintained road, and the January share here on Stippl is among the highest of any Icelandic sight.
Photographers with patience
The blue bubble before the burst is the shot, and it takes a few cycles to time it from upwind.
Late planners
A typical Geysir plan on Stippl is made 76 days ahead, the shortest lead in Iceland, because the field needs nothing booked.
Circle drivers
Nearly four in five Geysir trips on Stippl also carry Gullfoss, ten minutes on, the tightest pairing of any two Icelandic stops.
Iceland-only travellers
68.6% of Geysir trips on Stippl stay inside the country, the Golden Circle on the first day of a single-country holiday.
Maybe not for you: anyone hoping to see the Great Geysir itself erupt, because in practice it does not and Strokkur is the performer; and midday summer visitors, when the coaches from three directions arrive at once and the rope is three deep.
The best time to visit Geysir
Summer
June to August
Long light and the coaches stacking between ten and four, with August the busiest month on Stippl and the hotel across the road booked out.
The shoulders
May, September and October
Thinner crowds, the aurora returning in September and the steam more visible in the cooler air, the best months for the rope.
Winter
November to April
The field at its most theatrical against snow and a dark sky, Road 35 paved and salted so the Circle runs when the ring does not, and the boardwalks iced.
Any hour
All year
Strokkur keeps its schedule around the clock, so an evening or early-morning visit has the field nearly empty.
- 66.77% of stops at Geysir on Stippl are a pass-through. Forty minutes for three eruptions and the loop, then Gullfoss, and the bed in Reykjavík or on Road 35.
- A typical Geysir plan on Stippl is made 76 days ahead, the shortest lead in Iceland. Nothing here needs a booking, and the Circle is the day people fit in when the rest is fixed.
- August is the busiest month on Stippl, and January holds up. Road 35 is paved and salted, so the Circle runs in winter when the ring road does not, and the steam shows better in cold air.
- Strokkur keeps a schedule. Every four to ten minutes, so nobody needs to hold a place at the rope and the front row rotates by local custom.
- The wind decides where the spray lands. The guides' rule is to watch which way the steam leans and stand upwind, because the spray is scalding at the moment of eruption.
- The boardwalks ice from November. Spikes are sensible from then on, the field's paths freeze before the roads do, and the loop takes twice as long in the dark months.
Add your Geysir dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Describe your trip, get a Geysir itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
Things to do at Geysir
Photo by Einar H. Reynis via UnsplashStrokkur
The eruption every four to ten minutes: the blue bubble swelling, then fifteen to twenty metres of water, watched from upwind at the rope.
The field loop
The boiling pools, the fumaroles and the dormant Great Geysir on a twenty-minute path, with the ropes as the whole rulebook.
The upper viewpoint
The Haukadalur slope above the field, a short climb with the whole valley steaming below and almost nobody up there.
Gullfoss, ten minutes on
The two-tier waterfall and its canyon, the other half of the same stop and free like this one.
Geothermal rye
Bread baked in the ground for a day and sold at the shop across the road, with smoked trout if there is any.
Winter steam
The field at its most theatrical against snow and a dark sky, on the same schedule as summer and with a fraction of the people.
The areas of Geysir
The field
The eruption
Strokkur, the pools and the loop path, the whole free sight on one hillside, with the rope as the boundary and the wind as the variable. For everyone.
The eruption every few minutes, but the rope is three deep at midday in summer.
Across the road
The services
The hotel, the restaurant with its soup buffet and the big shop, the Golden Circle's main services on one car park. For lunch and the bed.
The Circle's main services and the bed at the sight, though the prices are the Circle's.
The Haukadalur slopes
The walk above
The forest walk and the viewpoint above the field, a short climb to the whole valley steaming below with nearly nobody on it. For walkers.
The field from above and nearly empty, and a climb in the wind.
Road 35 to Gullfoss
The other half
Ten minutes of farm country between the two sights, with the greenhouse lunches and the farm ice cream along it. For drivers.
The other half of the stop and the lunches, but a road rather than a place.
See every Geysir neighbourhood on one map
Save the areas you like and Stippl plots your days so you're not crossing the city twice.
Where to stay at Geysir
The hotel across the road is the bed at the sight, with the restaurant and the shop attached and the field a two-minute walk away for an evening eruption, and the farms along Road 35 toward Gullfoss take the overflow. 66.77% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, which is the Circle day doing what it does.
The field
free
No beds on the hillside itself; the hotel across the road is the nearest, €155 to €280 a night.
Across the road
€155–280
The hotel at the sight with the restaurant attached, €155 to €280 a night by season.
The Haukadalur slopes
A few cottages and a guesthouse up the valley, €120 to €220 a night.
Road 35 to Gullfoss
free
Farm guesthouses and the hotel by the falls, €130 to €260 a night.
What to eat at Geysir
The soup buffet with refills
Slow lamb, the evening plate
Rye baked in the geothermal ground
The greenhouse lunch nearby
Farm ice cream
Discover food spots in Stippl
Find restaurants and markets on the map, save them to your itinerary, works offline too.
Geysir customs and what not to do
The ropes are the rulebook
The crusts around the pools are thin and the water is near a hundred degrees, and every year visitors are burned stepping off the path.
Nothing goes in the vents
Coins and stones have damaged geysers here before, and the field's dormancy history is partly a story of human interference.
Let the front row rotate
The eruption comes every few minutes, so nobody needs to hold a spot, and locals treat crowding the rope as poor form.
The name is the country's gift
Every geyser on earth is named after this hillside through the verb geysa, to gush, and the locals know it.
Bread comes out of the ground
Rye tins buried for a day in geothermal soil, sold at the shop, and the sulphur in the air is the oven.
The Circle is a day, not a race
The three sights are ninety minutes from the capital and ten minutes apart, so the field gets its forty minutes rather than one eruption and the car park.
Do
- Stand upwind of Strokkur and wait for the bubble
- Walk the loop and the slope above
- Pair the field with Gullfoss, ten minutes on
- Bring spikes for the boardwalks from November
- Eat the soup across the road
Don't
- Step off the boardwalks or the marked gravel
- Throw anything into the vents
- Hold the front row through three eruptions
- Come at midday in summer expecting space
- Wait for the Great Geysir to erupt
What a Geysir visit costs
The stop
€0
Entry, parking and the whole field, free.
With lunch
about €21
The soup buffet across the road, with refills.
The Circle day
€50–105
Fuel, Þingvellir's parking, Kerið and a meal.
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about Geysir
Every geyser in the world is named after Geysir. Through the Icelandic verb geysa, to gush, and the word entered English from this one hillside in Haukadalur.
The Great Geysir has been dormant for years. Its last significant eruption is dated to either 2000 or 2016 depending on who is asked, and Strokkur thirty metres away does the work.
Strokkur at Geysir was cleared and revived by locals in the 1960s. After decades of blockage, which is why the field still performs on a schedule.
Rye bread is baked in the geothermal ground at Geysir. Buried for a day in tins and dug up dark and sweet, then sold at the shop across the road.
Geysir has the shortest planning lead of any Icelandic stop on Stippl. A typical plan is made 76 days ahead, because the field needs nothing booked.
Nearly four in five Geysir trips on Stippl also carry Gullfoss. The highest conditional share between any two Icelandic destinations, and the two are ten minutes apart.
Local tips for Geysir
Parking is still free here
Þingvellir and Kerið charge and Geysir and Gullfoss do not, which the Circle no longer takes for granted.
Road 35 is paved and salted
The reason the Circle runs in winter when the ring road does not, and the field keeps its schedule in the snow.
The crust is thin
The water is near boiling, so the boardwalks and the marked gravel are kept to without exception, and burns are the field's regular injury.
Stand upwind of Strokkur
The spray is scalding at the moment of eruption and the wind decides where it lands, so watch which way the steam leans.
Hands held at the rope
The temptation to reach is the exact hazard, and the ground beyond the path is not solid.
A pass-through, planned late
66.77% of Stippl stops here are no night at all and 13.1% of plans are made inside a fortnight, because the Circle is the day that fits around the rest.
Geysir questions, answered
Forty minutes: enough for two or three eruptions and the loop around the field, with the slope above if the legs want it. 66.77% of stops here on Stippl are a pass-through, the middle of the Golden Circle day between Þingvellir and Gullfoss, with the bed back in Reykjavík.
Almost certainly not: the Great Geysir has been effectively dormant for years, and nobody agrees on the date of its last real eruption. Strokkur thirty metres away goes every four to ten minutes, the blue bubble first and then the water, and that is the show everyone came for.
No. Entry and parking are free, and the hotel, the restaurant and the shop across the road are separate businesses. Only 13.1% of Geysir plans on Stippl are made inside a fortnight, but the field itself needs nothing booked and takes walk-ups at any hour.
To the rope, which is close. Past it the ground is thin crust over near-boiling water, and that is where the injuries happen every year, so the rule is upwind at the rope with children's hands held and nothing thrown into the vents.
Either, since they are ten minutes apart and nearly four in five Geysir trips on Stippl carry both; coming from Þingvellir, Geysir comes first. Put the Circle into Stippl as one day with the three stops in order, then ask people who have driven it in subreddits like r/VisitingIceland whether Kerið was worth the detour.
Yes, and it is the field's most atmospheric season: cold air makes the steam visible, the snow frames the pools and Strokkur runs on the same schedule all year. A typical Geysir plan on Stippl is made 76 days ahead, the shortest lead in Iceland, because Road 35 is open in every month.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Geysir in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app