Destination: the Golden Circle, Iceland

After a great day trip to the southern coast of Iceland, I woke up early the following day to head out once more for another day trip, this time for the Golden Circle. A highly-popular itinerary, the Golden Circle takes tourists east of Reykjavik for a taste of geysers, volcanoes, waterfalls, and everything in between. Especially for those on a short layover, this tour is great for seeing Iceland at a glance.

I headed to the pickup location (Hlemmur Square) where I boarded a small van with no more than eight other people– unlike the previous day’s tour, which was a bus, the one for the Golden Circle was much smaller and more intimate. Definitely made it easier for getting on and off, all the while less people to handle for the tour guide, I’m sure. I made friends with a woman from Peru, who was also solo-traveling– we ended up taking photos for each other at the different sites, which gave us plenty of great memories from the trip.

We started our day by driving to Þingvellir (or “Thingvellir”) National Park, where it was the former site of the Icelandic parliament from the 10th to 18th centuries, along with being the place where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates come together. Our tour guide gave us some time to explore the vast national park which was incredibly flat– I could see for miles and miles, with Europe on one side and North America on the other. It was surreal, to say the least.

Aside from that, however, I didn’t find the landscape particularly picturesque, and it started raining during our visit. I was fine with my windbreaker and hood, but unfortunately, my fellow passengers hadn’t prepared well for the weather, as I assumed they were just on a layover and didn’t pack waterproof clothes– as a result, they were absolutely soaked once we boarded the bus again and headed off to our next destination on the Golden Circle.

It was about a 45-minute drive to our next spot, which were Strokkur and Geysir, two of the most-famous geysers in the country. Located on a hot bed of bubbling, sulfuric ponds, these two geysers are quite the sight to look at. Especially for the former, which is still really active, and people can stand to observe it blow every three to four minutes. As for Geysir, it’s relatively dormant, reputed only to blow once every century, the last being in 1896, so it doesn’t appear that it’ll be active anytime soon!

*fun fact* The old “geyser” comes from the Icelandic “geysir,” which has the same meaning. Interesting that English has incorporated and Icelandic word into its language!

After our lunch break at the geyser site, we continued on to Gullfoss, aka “the Golden Falls.” It got its name due to the fact that, on a good day, the water tumbles down to create a golden effect on the land, which sadly wasn’t the case when I visit. Again, it was a consistently-overcast day, with intermittent rain. Despite the dreary weather, the waterfalls themselves were still breathtaking, and they were probably the highlight of the day.

Gullfoss is a two-tiered waterfall, with the lower falls having a dramatic drop that seemingly disappears into the Earth. During our visit, I decided to make my way to the upper falls, which required scaling down a rather slippery pathway just adjacent to it. I also got a bit wet from the waterfall’s spray, but the reward at the end made it worth it. Additionally, I also headed up to a vantage point above Gullfoss for views of both the upper and lower falls, which made for a picturesque photo. Along with Seljalandsfoss in the south of Iceland, Gullfoss has got to be one of my favorite waterfalls in Iceland.

Our next stop was a brief one at Kerið crater lake. Its water was a brilliant turquoise blue, even more striking in contrast with the red, dusty earth surrounding it (due to iron oxidation). I admit, it felt as if I was on Mars as I made a lap around the entire crater, which took no more than 20 minutes. After a few photos and a visit to the bottom of the crater, I returned to the tour van to head out to the final destination.

We ended our tour at the Blue Lagoon, which has got to be the most popular place for tourists to visit. For those who have an *extremely* short layover (24 hours or less), many of them opt just to go to the Blue Lagoon, all the while spend time in Reykjavik. That said, it was ridiculously-packed when we arrived at 17:00. Our tour didn’t include the entrance fee to the Blue Lagoon, so it required paying extra by booking on its website in advance. It was a steep fee of 85€, but all the same I was interested in experiencing it.

If weather had been dreary in the day, then it turned for the worse. By the time we reached the Blue Lagoon, it was pouring up a storm! Because of that, my experience at the Blue Lagoon wasn’t the best, as I found myself pricked with rain pellets outside in the massive geothermal hot tub. Seriously, the rain and wind were so intense that it almost felt like hail! Not the most pleasant way to experience the hot tub, let alone end my day.

After perhaps 30 minutes in, I decided to get back inside the spa to get warm. I enjoyed a complementary beer at the bar before drying off and returning to the tour van to head back to Reykjavik. The Blue Lagoon proved to be incredibly underwhelming, not to forget unreasonably overpriced– at least I got to see the milky-blue waters, but otherwise, I would choose to go somewhere else next time, as I’m told there are plenty of other geothermal hot springs in Iceland that are less crowded and less expensive.

It’d been a tiring day exploring the Golden Circle, but I’m glad that I got to do it. I would say that, compared with the other day tours I did in Iceland, the Golden Circle was my least-favorite, as I found it significantly more touristy and the landscapes not as beautiful as the southern coast or Snaefellsnes Peninsula. All the same, I still got to see some cool places, including Strokkur and Gullfoss, and I do recommend the Golden Circle for those who are visiting Iceland for the first time.

More adventures in Iceland coming up soon!

 

— Rebecca