Do you have one spare day in Reykjavik? Then spend it in the Golden Circle trip, no objections please!
The famous Golden Circle is a popular route between 3 of Iceland’s most visited attractions. Starting in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, you’ll get a small idea of Icelandic nature beauty. Waterfalls, geysirs, craters, natural hot spring thermal river, all the natural beauty of Iceland in just one day!
Of course you can you drive it in one day!
The Golden Circle covers around 230 kilometres and it can easily be done in one day. There are many guided coach tours but we’d suggest you go self-guided, so that you choose exactly how long you want to stay at each attraction. As throughout our whole visit in Iceland we were stopping every 10- 15mins (we wish it was every 5 mins but we had strict timeline). Have in mind that although you can drive the 230 kilometres in 3 hours, start your road trip quite early, you will need it.
What to visit in Golden Circle in A Day
1. Hrunalaug Hot Spring
After proper research (on Instagram) I found that super cute small hot spring and I wouldn’t stop showing to KK so we had to get there, so first stop: Hrunalaug. This very instagramable hot spring is in a private land. Therefore, you will need to pay about 7 euros to enjoy it. It’s super small so it gets packed up easily, so our suggestion is to go and have a look first before you pay the fee and then decide whether you stay or not. The landscape there is beautiful and there is a small concrete room with a turf roof which makes the scenery even more beautiful but we were a bit unlucky and it was busy already when we got there, so we decided to leave.
Secret Lagoon Hot Spring is nearby but since we were going to Blue Lagoon the day after we were more excited about geysers and waterfalls. But if you prefer hot springs then you might want to go have a look.
2. Gullfoss
Next stop: Gullfoss. Foss in Icelandic means waterfall, so this is another waterfall, a very impressive one and one of the most iconic ones. There is a small path taking you closer to the waterfall. It’s very impressive to see the impetus of the water from that close, it’s a bit scary and wet, so don’t forget your waterproof jacket. The water originating from Langjökull glacier travels in Hvítá river before cascading 32 meters down Gullfoss’ two stages in a dramatic display of nature’s raw power. That waterfalls breaks down in 2 levels which make it very impressive. There is also a local delicatessen from where you can enjoy the view to the waterfall.
3. Geysers
Geysers. These magical “creatures” of nature. Yes, creatures because who says they are not alive? They wake up (ok, erupt, same thing) every a few minutes . I don’t know if you are lucky and you have seen geysers before, but that was my first meeting with something so bizarre. I was standing there waiting for them to erupt and I was getting so excited every time they were erupting and no matter how long we were there, they didn’t let us down, they wouldn’t stop erupting, very reliable! They are located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River.
Strokkur is a famous fountain-type geyser and it erupts every 6–10 minutes, as high as up to 30 meters. Some history around it, Strokkur was first mentioned in 1789, after an earthquake helped to unblock the conduit of the geyser. In 1815 its height was estimated to have been up to 60 metres and it continued to erupt until the turn of the 20th century, when another earthquake blocked the conduit again. In 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since without letting the visitors down.
Around Strokkur, there are also mud pools and other geysers and it smells funny, I am sure you get what I mean…but the landscape is very unique, you don’t want to miss it.
Geysir (also known as the The Great Geysir) is another famous geyser as it was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. Geysir is not as reliable as the Strokkur as its eruptions are infrequent, it wakes up about 3 times a day and it can hurl up boiling water up to 70 metres, so you would be very lucky to see it waking up.
4. Kerid Crater
When in Iceland, I thought many times that although I would never imagine myself living in this country, it has breathtaking landscapes that I would never imagine and I don’t think I will find in many other countries, well this crater was one of those.
This volcanic crater lake is one of the several in the area which is a volcanic zone. There is a small entrance fee (about 3 euros) to entry. Enjoy the walk around the caldera and take the steps down to the lake. It’s totally worth visiting.
5. Reykjadalur Hot Spring - Thermal River
Iceland is full of hot springs but of course KK chose the one that we had to hike about an hour to get there. Reykjadalur is a long thermal river and at the top there are also a couple small waterfalls. It’s a beautiful place, a natural spa in between mountains but to get there you need to cross the mountains. Some women carrying their children at their back gave me strength and determination to hike all the way up there and I don’t regret it, as relaxing in a hot river surrounded by beautiful pure nature was a unique experience.
On the way there you will see steaming vents and chimneys, beautiful waterfalls but keep walking, you will understand when you will reach the right spot. It’s also worth passing the river with all the people enjoying the warmth of the water and reach the “start” of the river, you will find some really nice waterfalls there.
Tips when visiting Reykjadalur Hot Spring
Tip #1: Apart from your swimming suit and towels , don’t forget to take some water with you as the bath dehydrates you and you had one hour of hiking to get there and one more to get back to the parking.
Tip #2: Although there is a path to follow to get to Reykjadalur it would be good to have trainers, if not proper hiking shoes. The condition of the path depends on the season you are visiting so be ready!
Τip #3: Once you reach the thermal river have in mind that the water is hotter further up stream so you can more or less choose the temperature that works the best for you.
Where to eat
Well I don’t have many suggestions as I had packed lots of snacks and skyr yoghurts for our road trip so we didn’t have a proper lunch. However, we were told that Efstidalur farm is a nice place to visit and have lunch there. Another highly rated place is Tryggvaskáli but again, we didn’t visit it ourselves so I can’t tell you much.
Is Blue Lagoon part of the Golden Circle tour?
It really depends on what you are willing to visit in one day. Our day in Golden Circle was full and it would be too tiring to visit Blue Lagoon on that day too, that’s why we dedicated half a day in Blue Lagoon. In any case you want to take your time in Blue Lagoon and relax so it’s better if you are not in a hurry and tight schedule.
You can read about our visit in Blue Lagoon, along with Reykjavik’s best, here.
What we left for next time
Langjökull Glacier. One of the few things we didn’t do in Iceland was to explore a glacier with a snowmobile. If you’re on a self-drive like us, you can get picked up from and returned to Gullfoss waterfall. Maybe this is something you’d like to experience as part of the Golden Circle tour.