The Golden Circle

Read about our arrival and soak in the Blue Lagoon here: Day 1; Reykjavik. On to day two... 

We got an early start to our Golden Circle day. The Golden Circle is made up of a bunch of iconic Icelandic sites and the roads you take to see them sort of makes a circle.

Our first stop was Þingvellir National Park. We arrived around 8:30 and it was misting. We got out at the visitor center took some pictures and hoped back in the car and headed to parking lot 5 further down the road. By this time it was raining and we both said that given the option we would rather not start a hike in the rain. And the parking payment station was out or order so we didn’t know how to pay for parking.

Þingvellir National Park

Next, we stopped at the Geysir Geothermal Area which was awesome! It was the first time either of us had seen a geyser and it was just so cool to see it go off ever few minutes.

 After the geyser we stopped to take part in Horsepetting at Margeiri, Bru's Farm. And that is exactly how you type it into Google Maps to find it! It was 200isk to get some “candy” for the horses and pet them. They weren’t really in the mood to be petted and just wanted some treats.

Waterfalls were next! Gullfoss Waterfall and Faxifoss. We had our packed lunch at Gullfoss before we hit the road for Faxifoss (packing our own sandwiches is a way to keep the budget on track!). 

Top pictures: Gullfoss Waterfall, bottom waterfall is Faxifoss

After the falls was viewing and hiking into Kerið. There is a small fee associated with visiting this site. Kerið was formed about 6,500 years ago and lies at the northern end of a row of craters known as Tjarnarholar, It is oval, about 885.8 ft long and 557.7 ft wide and 180 ft deep: the depth of the water at the bottom varies between 23 and 46 ft deep.

And last on our list for the Golden Circle was Raufarholshellir Lava Tube. They give tours every hour on the hour and it’s a good idea to get there about 30 minutes prior to get in on the tour as they only take about 20 people in at a time. This too has an entrance fee since it is on private property and requires a guide.

Left: Raufarholshellir Lava Tube; Right: Kerið

There were a few sites on the Golden Circle itinerary that we did not get to see: Bruarfoss Waterfall, because, per Google maps, the only way to get there was by using a private drive that was closed off by a gate. And I did not know this and didn’t know if there was another way to get there. And Laugarvatn Fontana, a geothermal bath spa. We didn’t stop here because they were not open when we passed by, they open at 11am. I really wanted to stop here because they also bake bread in the ground using geothermal heat…something for next time!

We made it home with just over an hour to spare before our northern lights tour!