This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commision at no additional expense to you.
Iceland has been a hot topic the past few years – and for good reason! Not only was it one of the first countries to reopen to international tourists, but the country is so stunningly scenic that everyone wants to visit. Any trip to Iceland should include time admiring the natural beauty that the country has to offer. Once great option for natural beauty can be found along the Golden Circle.
The Golden Circle is a loop through the countryside of western Iceland just outside of Reykjavik that features waterfalls, geysers, volcanic craters, and a National Park. This drive is easily done as a day trip due to it’s proximity to the capitol city of Reykjavik. Due to this, there are numerous tour groups offering daily trips along this route. If group tours aren’t your thing, it’s also possible to rent a car and drive yourself along the Golden Circle.
I visited Iceland for a quick 2.5 days on a layover while flying home from Denmark back in 2011. While staying in Reykjavik, I only had a short time in the country, but really wanted to get out of the city to see some of the natural wonders that make Iceland so beautiful and unique. I booked a tour through my hostel of the Golden Circle and was blown away by how much beauty there was to see outside of the city.
Along the Golden Circle there are four main stops that (nearly) all tours visit: Kerid Crater, Gullfoss Waterfall, Haukadalur Valley Geysers, and Thingvellir National Park. The tours starting in Reykjavik drive this loop either clockwise starting at Thingvellir National Park or counterclockwise starting at the Kerid Crater. The tour I took drove counterclockwise, stopping first at the Kerid Crater and last at Thingvellir National Park. I imagine either route is amazing!
Kerid Crater
The first stop on my Golden Circle tour was at the Kerid Crater, a lake-filled volcanic crater about 42 miles from Reykjavik. Formed after a volcanic explosion, the lake now sites in the caldera left from the explosion. The water in the lake is a beautiful blue that stands out agains the red dirt surrounding the lake.
This is a quick stop along the Golden Circle as there isn’t much to do other than look at the lake. The majority of the crater walls are too steep to walk down to the water, though I have seen pictures of people who have done so. Personally, I think the view from the top is the picture-perfect view! You can see the water, the crater, and take in the surrounding scenery. My tour didn’t spend too much time here. We stayed just long enough to take a few photos and read the nearby signage about the lake and crater.
Gullfoss Waterfall
My second stop along the Golden Circle was at Gullfoss, one of the most stunning waterfalls I have ever seen. It’s not a particularily tall waterfall, but the volume of water and scenery make this waterfall so beautiful and unique! The Hvítá river flows over the a set of steps before dropping into a crevice created by the rock walls.
The site is stunning! There is nothing around, so all that can be seen above the falls is river and endless grassland. There are different viewpoints by the falls that provide you with different angles to see the falls. From above, you can see the river tumbling over the steps before dropping into the unknown. From the lower viewpoint, you can actually see where the waterfall falls and the river continuing on below the falls.
Geysers in Haukadalur Valley
After the Gullfoss Waterfall, we continued along the Golden Circle to the Haukadalur Valley to see some of Iceland’s famous geothermal activity. Within Haukadalur Valley there are spewing geysers, bubbling mud volcanoes, and steaming fumaroles all giving insight into the geothermal activity happening internally.
There is a short trail that you can follow that takes you past some of the top sights of the valley. The largest and most popular sights are the two geysers called Geysir and Strokkur. Storkkur erupts pretty frequently, about every 5 – 10 minutes, and you will likey have the opportunity to watch it spew boiling water into the air a few times during your visit. Geysir erupts much more infrequently that Strukkur. When it does erupt, it can fly much higher into the sky than nearby Strokkur. I saw Strokkur erupt a few time during my visit, but not Geysir. Along the boardwalk you will see (and smell) fumes of steam coming from the ground escaping from small opening called fumaroles that emit a strong sulfur smell.
Thingvellir National Park
Our last stop of the Golden Circle tour was to Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir National Park is a really interesting location, both historically and geographically. Iceland’s first parliment was orginally located in the valley that is now the National Park. It is also the first National Park created in Iceland to help preserve this historic location. There are still old buildings left from this historic time in the park you can see. Thingvellir National Park is also a very interesting geographical location. It is situated in a rift valley between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and the rifts caused from the collision of the plates are filled with water that eventually feed into the nearby lake Thingvallavatn. We spent the most time at this stop since there was so much to see and learn.
Visiting Thingvellir National Park was my favorite stop on the Golden Circle tour. I loved learning about the history of the country. This is something I don’t tend to focus on when giving myself self-guided city tours like I did in Reykjavik. I also did not know that you can actually snorkel or scuba dive through the water-filled rifts in the park, but you can. This is now a bucketlist item I fully intend to do whenever I have the opportunity to return to Iceland!
Bonus Stop – Icelandic Ponies!
I honestly don’t know if this was actually a scheduled stop or if our driver stopped because we were all admiring the cuteness of the horses we passed. But either way, we stopped at a field where Icelandic horses were standing next to the fence by the road. This was a quick stop to briefly pet and take photos with the adorable Icelandic horses.
Icelandic horses are smaller than the typcal horse you see in America. Their size makes them resemble young ponies even when fully grown. There are tours that will take you on horse rides in Iceland, but I didn’t do that on my tour.
Pin It For Later
Pin this post below to make it easier to find later!
