Iceland is a road-tripper’s dream destination. Actually, Iceland is a dream destination for all kinds of travelers, but that’s besides the point. If you want to see the best of Iceland, renting a car is your best choice, and whether you are spending two weeks in Iceland or only two days, there is no more popular road trip route than the Golden Circle.
The Golden Circle is a collection of three extremely impressive sites just outside of Reykjavik, and driving between all three forms, you guessed it, a circle. These three sites are Thingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss. Any guide to Iceland will tell you to visit these three sites, and while, in my humble opinion, there are lots of things in Iceland that are even more impressive, the Golden Circle should definitely be on your list. We visited the Golden Circle on our second full day in Iceland and had an amazing day! Our trip to Iceland was packed full of adventure from start to finish, and our day on the Golden Circle route was no exception.
Thingvellir National Park
After an incredible (and exhausting) first day in Iceland visiting the Blue Lagoon and Fagradalisfjalll volcano, we went to bed by about 8:00 and woke up ready to hit the ground running on day two. We ate breakfast in our hotel room (which had a small kitchenette), then hopped in the car for a 45-minute drive to our first stop of the day, Thingvellir National Park.
Driving in Iceland is extremely easy (at least in the summer), and we loved having a rental car so that we could explore all the places we wanted to on our own time table. There are lots of tours that will take you to the Golden Circle from Reykjavik, but I’d highly recommend renting a car. We downloaded an audiobook of The Fellowship of the Ring, which was perfect entertainment in the car as we drove around Iceland.
When we arrived at Thingvellir National Park, it was a bit cold and cloudy, which is not unusual for Iceland by any stretch of the word. We were extremely lucky with the weather throughout our trip, and this was one of the only times we encountered a bit of rain, although I don’t think our experience is the norm.
Thingvellir National Park is famous for a few reasons. The first is that Europe’s first parliament, the AlÞingi, met in this location in the first century AD. The second is that the split between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates is located within the national park, meaning you are able to explore in between the two continents. So Thingvellir is a big deal from both a historical and a geological standpoint.
When we arrived at Thingvellir, our first activity was to walk to Öxarárfoss, a small but impressive waterfall a short hike from the parking lot. The landscape in this area, along with pretty much the rest of Iceland, is very rugged and beautiful.
Silfra
Our next activity was the main attraction of Thingvellir, for us at least: the opportunity to snorkel between the tectonic plates along the Silfra Fissure. The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart from each other at a rate of about 2cm each year. In some places, these fissures have filled with melted glacier water, and in the Silfra Fissure, you are able to snorkel or scuba dive between continents. How cool is that! Although we are certified scuba divers, we decided to snorkel at the fissure because the water is crazy cold, so there is no marine life, and it seemed like we would be able to see everything we wanted to see just from snorkeling.
We booked all of our group tours in Iceland through a company called Arctic Adventures, and I would definitely recommend them. They were always very professional, and we had great experiences all around, including snorkeling at Silfra.
When it was time for our snorkeling tour, the first step was to get geared up in a dry suit. We had never worn a dry suit before, so that was a new experience. For those of you who have never heard of a dry suit, it is the type of suit you wear when diving/swimming in really really cold water, and it basically turns you into a human marshmallow. We were laughing constantly because we felt so awkward and ungainly in our suits.
After a briefing, it was time to get in the water. The water in Silfra hovers around 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), so when I say it was cold, I mean it was really cold. Even with the dry suit on, I felt like I was experiencing the early stages of frostbite by the time I got out of the water.
But in spite of the discomfort, this experience was truly remarkable. The water was the clearest I have ever seen, and it was so unique to actually snorkel between two continents. After snorkeling, we were treated with hot chocolate to warm back up.
By the time we finished snorkeling, it was right about lunch time. We drove to the nearby town of Laugarvatn and had lunch at a restaurant called Lindin, which was very tasty. From there, our next stop was actually a waterfall called Bruarfoss, one of my favorite waterfalls of the trip, but since Bruarfoss isn’t technically on the Golden Circle route, I’ll save the one for my “favorite waterfalls in Iceland” post and skip on to our next stop: Geysir.
Geysir
For those of us who speak English, which theoretically includes anyone reading this post, the word “geyser” refers to a hole in the ground that water explodes from, more or less. Actually, all geysers get their name from this geyser, Geysir, also called the Great Geysir (wow I’ve used the word geyser a lot). The name comes from the old Icelandic word geysa which means “to gush.” Geysir itself doesn’t erupt all that often any more, but there are many other more active geysers in the area. The best known in Strokkur, which erupts every few minutes, and sends water up to 30m high!
Gullfoss
The last stop on the Golden Circle is Gullfoss. This magnificent waterfall is over 30m high in total and gushes at a rate of 140 cubic meters per second! Unfortunately, our weather started to take a turn for the worse by the time we reached Gullfoss, and we didn’t stay too long. Thankfully, the best views of the waterfall are just a short walk from the parking lot.
After seeing Gullfoss, it was time to drive to our Airbnb. We had had an amazing day on the Golden Circle, and it’s easy to see why this is Iceland’s most popular road trip itinerary. The stunning sights, and its accessibility to Reykjavik make the Golden Circle an easy choice for anyone visiting Iceland. You should definitely include the Golden Circle on your Iceland itinerary, but my advice is not to stop there. The Golden Circle is amazing, no question, but Iceland has so much more to offer in addition.
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