A reykjavik waterfall trip is not one drive, it is several, and they do not cost the same at the gate. Some sit inside a national park a short hop from the city; others are two and a half hours south, past a car park that charged nothing two years ago and now does. This page sets out which waterfalls are close enough for a half day, which need a full one, and where the parking fee changes the maths.
Öxarárfoss, inside Þingvellir National Park, is the nearest of the group and reachable on a short loop from the capital. Gullfoss and the south coast falls at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss sit further out, on routes that also reach Vík and Reynisfjara. Some of these appear on a single bus tour; others are easiest by car.
Our pickReykjavik: Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater
Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerið on one guided day tour
Travellers without a car who want Gullfoss and Öxarárfoss in one day
Reykjavik: South Coast Waterfalls, Black Sand & Glacier Tour
Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss plus a black sand beach and glacier stop
Travellers covering the south coast waterfalls without renting a car
What the maps get wrong about waterfall distance
A straight-line distance on a map does not say what the road actually costs in time, and the routes here are all one-way driving figures with no stops. Þingvellir, home to Öxarárfoss, is 47.6 km from Reykjavik by road, about 47 minutes each way. That makes it the shortest waterfall trip on this list, and it is also part of the Golden Circle loop that most Golden Circle tours already drive.
Gullfoss is 123.1 km out, 1 hour 52 minutes each way, and it sits at the far end of that same Golden Circle route alongside Þingvellir and Geysir. A loop touching all three runs to roughly 3 hours 45 minutes of driving, which is why the Golden Circle is sold as a single full day rather than three separate trips.
The south coast falls are further again. Seljalandsfoss is 128.2 km out, 1 hour 58 minutes each way, only a few minutes past Gullfoss in driving time despite sitting on a different route. Skógafoss is 154.9 km out, 2 hours 22 minutes each way, and it lies on the same road that continues toward Vík and Reynisfjara, so travellers doing one usually see the other on the same day. None of these figures include a single stop, a photograph, or a coach loading its passengers at the car park.
A rental car buys flexibility on timing but not on distance. The road time to Skógafoss and back, before a single stop, is 4 hours 44 minutes, and that is worth weighing against a full day on a tour bus covering the same ground.
Which stops charge to park now
Every one of the waterfalls Reykjavik trips reach used to have at least one free car park, and that is no longer true across the board. Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss both charge now, from car parks that used to be free. At Skógafoss the fee is 1,000 ISK, paid through Parka, and it covers up to eight hours in a single visit; the lot is open around the clock but overnight parking past that eight-hour window is not permitted. At Seljalandsfoss the fee is 900 ISK for a car up to eight seats, charged by Check-it, and it covers a full calendar day; the fee was cut from 1,000 ISK on 1 June 2026, though the operator's own seljalandsfoss.org site had not updated the figure at the time this was checked.
Gullfoss is the exception on this list. Parking there is still free, at both the upper and lower car parks, unlike Þingvellir and Geysir on the same Golden Circle route. Þingvellir charges 1,000 ISK for a car of up to five seats, which also covers Öxarárfoss since the waterfall sits inside the same park boundary.
None of these fees are large against the cost of the drive itself, but they add up across a day that visits three or four stops, and a traveller budgeting for the Golden Circle plus a south coast day should count on paying at more than one of them.
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Öxarárfoss is closer than the postcards suggest
Most photographs of Icelandic waterfalls online are taken at Gullfoss or the south coast falls, so it is easy to assume the closest waterfall to Reykjavik is a long drive away. It is not. Öxarárfoss sits inside Þingvellir National Park, 47.6 km from the city and under an hour's drive each way, fed by the Öxará river that early settlers diverted into the Almannagjá rift. At 12 metres (39 ft) it is far smaller than Gullfoss or Skógafoss, but it is reachable on a short half-day trip that does not require committing to the full Golden Circle loop.
Because it sits inside the park, the same 1,000 ISK parking payment that covers a Þingvellir visit covers a stop at the waterfall too, and one payment is valid across the park's P1, P2 and P5 lots for the whole day. A traveller pressed for time and wanting a genuine waterfall stop without a long drive has this one as the shortest option on the list.
Comparing height against how far each one is
Height alone does not settle which stop is worth the drive, since the tallest falls are not the closest ones. Anyone weighing the best waterfalls near Reykjavik against each other is really weighing height against drive time, and the two do not move together. Gullfoss drops a total of 32 metres (105 ft) across two stages, an upper drop of 11 metres and a lower drop of 21 metres, into a gorge 20 metres (66 ft) wide, and it is 123.1 km out. Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss are both taller at 60 metres (197 ft), and Skógafoss is also 25 metres (82 ft) wide, but both sit further south than Gullfoss, at 128.2 km and 154.9 km respectively.
For a single stop, Seljalandsfoss offers the tallest drop closest to the city among the south coast falls. For the shortest overall drive with a waterfall attached, Öxarárfoss wins by a wide margin, though it is a fraction of the height of the others. A traveller with one day and a rental car generally has to choose between covering more distance for height, as with the south coast route, or keeping the day short with the Golden Circle.
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The route this page has not covered yet
Everything above sits on the Golden Circle or south coast roads, and Reykjavik to glymur waterfall is a different route entirely, north toward Hvalfjörður rather than east or south. It is not among the routed drive times used elsewhere on this page, so no distance or time figure for it is stated here. What can be said is that it is not one of the roadside stops the Golden Circle or south coast tours already pass, so a traveller who wants it has to plan it as its own outing rather than adding it to one of the routes above.
Travellers weighing whether to add it to a Reykjavik itinerary should treat it as a separate decision from the Golden Circle or south coast day, not an extra stop bolted onto either.
Common questions
Is Gullfoss free to visit?
The waterfall itself has no entry fee, and parking at both the upper and lower car parks is also free, unlike most of the other Golden Circle stops.
Do I need a car to see these waterfalls?
No. Both the Golden Circle route and the south coast route, covering Öxarárfoss, Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss between them, run as guided bus tours from Reykjavik.
Which waterfall is the shortest drive from Reykjavik?
Öxarárfoss, inside Þingvellir National Park, at 47.6 km and about 47 minutes each way.
How should I budget for parking on a waterfall day?
Count on paying at most stops. Þingvellir, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss all charge, and only Gullfoss on this list is free.