The Golden Circle is one of the most visited areas of Iceland. Its close location to Reykjavik makes it the perfect destination for a day trip. The three main sites in The Golden Circle are Þingvellir National Park, Geysir Hot Springs, and Gullfoss Waterfall but there are many other stops you can make. In this blog, I will share with you what I visited as well as other possible stops so that you can create the itinerary that best suits your interests. Are you ready? Come join me for a One Day In The Golden Circle!
An Overview Of The Golden Circle
The Golden Circle is a circular route of approximately 300km in the south of Iceland, very close to Reykjavik. It got its name from its main waterfall Gullfoss, which translates as Golden Waterfall.
The are three primary stops on this route:
- The UNESCO heritage site Þingvellir National Park
- The Haukadalur Geothermal Area
- Gullfoss Waterfall.
Best Way to Visit The Golden Circle
There are different ways to visit The Golden Circle, mainly because it is one of the most visited places in Iceland. However, the most common ours are these two:
- Join an organized tour of The Golden Circle. There are hundreds of tours every day from Reykjavik. If you don’t want to have to worry about driving in Iceland, this is the perfect option for you. There are all sorts of tours, from the most simple ones with only the three main stops to more complete ones. It is even possible to do flying tours of The Golden Circle!
- Renting a car and driving yourself. This option will give you complete freedom to create your itinerary and schedule.
Hotels near The Golden Circle
There are many possibilities when it comes to accommodation in The Golden Circle.
- You can make your visit to The Golden Circle, a one-day trip from Reykjavik.
- Many other people decide to spend the night in Selfoss, the biggest town around this area.
- The third option is to spend the night in one of the many small cabins that you can find along the road while driving in this area.
Places to Eat in The Golden Circle Area
Finding a place to eat along this route is easy. There are places to get something to eat and drink on all the main sites on this route. However, if you want to save some money you can do as I did, which is to bring some sandwiches with you and do a small picnic at one of your stops. You will get to have lunch with dreamy views!
Looking for something a bit more special? Then you can eat at the tomato farm, Fridheimar near Reykholt. This is a tomato farm that specializes in tomato dishes with all-you-can-eat Tomato Soup and homemade bread as its star dish. It is open from 12h00 to 16h00 and I recommend that you make a reservation to ensure that you will be able to get a place to eat.
My itinerary for one day in The Golden Circle
Here’s the list of places I visited:
- Þingvellir National Park
- Haukadalur Geothermal Area
- Gullfoss Waterfall
- Faxi Waterfall
- Hranalaug Hot Springs
It is possible to do one or two extra stops if you spend a complete day at The Golden Circle. However, I wanted to do a short hike in Þingvellir National Park, which meant I had to plan for fewer stops.
The map on the right shows all the possible stops on The Golden Circle.
- Places in yellow: Places I visited.
- Places in blue: Places Other possible stops at The Golden Circle.
Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National park is a rift valley where the North American and Euroasian tectonic plates meet. It was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004 both for historic reasons (the World’s First Parliament was created here) and for its unique nature which consists of solidified magma lava fields covered in green moss.
In this park, you can visit many amazing places such as:
- The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. Þingvellir National Park is the only place in the world where these tectonic plates meet above sea level.
- Silfra Fissure. In this fissure between both tectonic plates, it is possible to do some scuba diving up to 100m.
- Þingvallakirkja. A small luteran church situate next to the Þingvallatn lake.
- Öxarárfoss. Oxarárfoss is a small waterfall that falls from the river Öxará
Most people visiting this park, limit themselves to these main sites but we decided to do a 7km hike around the park to have a more complete experience.
Haukadalur Geothermal Area
Haukadalur Geothermal Area is famous for its two geysers, Geysir and Strokkur.
The great Geysir is the Geyser after which this phenomenon was named. It used to be able to eject water more than 140m high into the air but it has been almost inactive since the 1960s. Occasionally, it still ejects water into the sky so if you are very lucky, you might be able to see it in action.
Next to Geysir, you can also see Strokkur, which luckily for tourists is very active and ejects water from the ground every 5 to 10 minutes.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is one of the most impressive waterfalls you will see in Iceland. It is divided into two levels with a total height of 32m with a flow of water of 140 cubic meters. This waterfall is so powerful that as soon as you step out of the car, you can hear its noise.
There are two different viewpoints from which you can see the waterfall, one from further away that will give you a frontal view of the waterfall and a second one from above.
Faxi Waterfall
Faxi Waterfall (also known as Vatnsleysufoss) is another waterfall on the Tungufljót river. It is not as powerful as Gullfoss but it is a quite peaceful waterfall to watch.
Important: You will have to pay 700 ISK for parking but they say you will get this amount discounted if you eat at their restaurant. This is what we did but the food was really bad and we got scammed and made us pay more than the price on the menu! I would not recommend at all eating there!
Hranalaug Hot Springs
Hranalaug is a thermal hot spring located in the small village of Fludir. There are three different natural pools all, each one of different depths and temperatures in which you can relax. To visit Hranalaug, you will have to pay a small fee of 1000 ISK (only cash accepted), which the owners use to maintain the area.
Hranalaug Hot Springs was the perfect way to end our day in The Golden Circle.
Other Hot Springs
- Lauvargatn Fontana: Geothermal Hot Springs located in the cute village of Lauvargatn.
- Secret Lagoon: Located in the small village of Fludir, this is Iceland’s oldest swimming pool with waters between 38 and 41º Celsius.
- Reykjadalur Hot Springs: Natural river with hot springs in Reykjadalur Valley. You will need to hike for 45 minutes to get there.
Other sites to visit
There are a few additional places that you can visit within The Golden Circle.
- Kerid Crater. This crater is completely round with a small lake in its middle. The contrast between the blue water and the brown and orange rocks will surely impress you.
- Þórufoss. This is a small waterfall east of Lake Þingvallatn. It is not as impressive as other waterfalls but it appeared in Game of Thrones as the home of the children of the Forest.
- Bruarfoss. A beautiful turquoise waterfall that is located only 14 km from The Golden Circle.
- Skalholt Cathedral.
Other articles about Iceland
- PLAN YOUR TRIP TO ICELAND ON YOUR OWN
- TWO WEEKS ICELAND ROAD TRIP ITINERARY
- 20 BEST THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN REYKJAVIK
- HIKING IN THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK
- RENTING A CAR & DRIVING IN ICELAND – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
- ONE DAY IN THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
- THE SKOGA TRAIL – THE HIKE BEHIND SKOGAFOSS
- KVERNUFOSS – THE LESS VISITED WATERFALL NEXT TO SKOGAFOSS
- HIKING IN SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK
- 21 WATERFALLS THAT YOU CAN’T MISS IN ICELAND
- KAYAKING IN JOKULSARLON
- KRAFLA VITI CRATER AND LAVA FIELDS
- HIKING IN DIMMUBORGIR
- HVERFJALL CRATER HIKE
- GLACIER HIKING AT VATNAJOKULL
- HVERIR GEOTHERMAL AREA
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