Iceland’s Golden Circle - The Ultimate Day Trip
One way or another, Iceland is simply one of those places you just have to visit! And whether you’re on a layover, spending just a few days in Reykjavik, or you have an action-packed Ring Road trip planned — the Golden Circle should be on your list of places to check out.
The Golden Circle is a series of popular natural attractions located relatively close to Reykjavik. Because it’s so easy to get to, it’s naturally become one of the most popular day trips in Iceland, so there are plenty of tour companies that will take you on this little adventure if your plans don’t involve renting a car.
Everyone should check it out, but if you don’t plan on being in the country for very long, it’s a great way to get a taste of what Iceland has to offer beyond the capital. Most often, you’ll find three main attractions as the “anchors” of the Golden Circle:
Beyond these, there’s no shortage of side stops and detours you can make. If you’ve got some extra time, be sure to check out places like Kerid Crater or the geothermal baths in Laugarvatn.
Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park.
At first glance this may seem like a regular old park (or, at least as “regular” as the landscape in Iceland can be), but Thingvellir actually has quite a lot going on.
This park is one of the few places on earth where the Mid-Atlantic ridge can be seen above the water. It’s here that the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, or rather, diverge, as this area is constantly drifting apart by about 2 cm every year. At the south end of the park you’ll find Thingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.
And it’s not only natural wonders you’ll find at Thingvellir; in fact, this park plays an important cultural and historical role in Iceland’s history. In the year 930, the chiefs of the 30 or so ruling factions that inhabited the island came together to form a national general assembly. Called the Althing, this two-week assembly convened annually for nearly 900 years at Thingvellir. (At the park you will see an Icelandic flag flying from a flagpole on a large rock. This marks the site of the Law Rock, the center of the Althing where all business was conducted.) Even after Iceland came under Danish rule in the late 14th century, the Althing still met to serve as a court of law until 1800 when it was officially disbanded. In 1844, the Althing was reconvened in downtown Reykjavik to serve as a consulting body to the crown, and when Iceland gained independence in 1918, the Althing once again became the governing body of a sovereign nation. This makes the Althing one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world!
In 1930, to celebrate the 1000th Anniversary of the founding of the Althing, the government passed legislation to turn Thingvellir into Iceland’s first national park, and in 2004 it was designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). You could spend hours in this park learning about all the history and taking in the unbelievable scenery!
After a quick walk between tectonic plates we were on our way to snorkel the Silfra Fissure.
We met our group and our dive master at the meeting point, received a safety overview, and got to it. We had to dress in these fancy Dry Suits! Honestly, it was a bit difficult to get in and out of the suit. My long haired friends - be mindful of your hair!
Dry Suits are thick neoprene body suits that helped to insulate us from the freezing water. They also had air valves that helped keep us buoyant and could be adjusted by the dive master during the dive.
Let’s get to the fun part – the dive! The group waddled over to the metal dock and each of us lowered ourselves into the water. After passing a float test to demonstrate that we knew the protocol, we floated forward through the fissure.
It’s hard to convey in writing just how beautiful (and drinkable!) the water was. The water that fills Silfra is filtered through layers of volcanic rock for up to 100 years, so what comes out is clear and pure.
It was certainly strange floating on top of the water. We’re a bit buoyant as is being on the larger side, but this time we were like The Blob in Heavyweights. The water could not have been clearer, or felt colder. The dry suits kept our bodies fairly warm, but our faces were exposed to the crispy glacial water which was a weird feeling. It was like having a hole in your wool sock!
We were in no rush for the experience to be over but all good things must come to an end. We finished floating through the ravine and exited the water. We enjoyed cocoa with our dive group and peeled ourselves out of the dry suits.
If you have a few hours during a visit to Iceland please do yourself a favor and check this out.
After we finished the dive we moved on to Geysir. This Geothermal area is a hot spot for tourists – literally. It contains several small and large pots of water, several of which have earned names. (And yes, this is where the English word geyser comes from). Geysir itself is considered dormant, the neighboring Strokkur erupts every 4-10 minutes. Witnessing this was such an amazing sight to see!
But please, if you consider visiting, be mindful of barriers placed in the area. This is for the safety of visitors and for the preservation of nature. We saw several international tourists walking past barriers to interact with the geysers, and it was dangerous on their part. This water is over 250˚F, which is hot enough to cause serious injury very quickly. Please try to practice Leave No Trace principles when possible - this includes footsteps.
After leaving Geysir we moved on to Gulfoss, our last stop on our Golden Circle day trip.
Gulfoss, or Golden Falls, is a tiered waterfall that cascades over 100 ft into a ravine.
In the summer as much as 459 cubic feet of water flows over Gulfoss every second.
Gulfoss, or Golden Falls, is a tiered waterfall that cascades over 100 ft into a ravine. In the summer as much as 459 cubic feet of water flows over Gulfoss every second.
As with the rest of the Golden Circle we were in awe of the power and splendor that nature presented. Even in May the strong winds at Gulfoss were frigid and misty from the falls so be sure to dress appropriately.
While that concluded our own trip to the Golden Circle, as we said there are several great things to do in the area.
One of the more popular “side” attractions along the Golden Circle is Kerid Crater, a volcanic crater that houses a small lake at the bottom that can be reached on foot.
While there are many volcanic craters in Iceland, Kerid is popular due to its easy to access location and the stark contrast of the mineral blue water against the red slopes, which is unusual when you consider much of the volcanic rock and sand in Iceland is black.
There’s a very short hike which leads you into the crater and up to the edge of the water, and in wintertime it is even a popular place to go ice skating!
We unfortunately did not make it to Kerid on this trip, but that just means we’ll have to see it next time.
After a great day in the Golden Circle you can head back to Reykjavik or drive east to set up camp for your big Ring Road trip as we did.
Thanks for getting away with the Mays!
