Iceland – Golden Circle to get you hooked

The Land of Magic

Iceland Golden Circle is designed for maximum awe. The nature is unparalleled to anything I have seen and the people of Iceland add to it. They are open, straight forward, speak an excellent command of English and care about the nature. They even created an Icelandic pledge asking you to be a responsible tourist. Getting around Iceland is best done by car, so if you have a chance to rent one, do so. The below trip focuses on South and West Iceland and can be covered in a week.

1. Blue Lagoon

An excellent way to start your Iceland trip is at the Blue Lagoon. It is close to the airport and offers perfect relaxation after the long flight. It is a very popular place so book your Blue Lagoon visit when you buy your flight ticket. For your basic entrance fee you will get a towel, a drink and a facial mask in the lagoon. The staff is prepared to help you take selfies in the water. You can buy a plastic poach at the entrance or at the bar would you choose to bring your phone into the water. The lagoon is surprisingly spacious, not too crowded but the amenities are.

2. Seljalandsfoss waterfall

Iceland is the land of waterfalls and I was particularly looking forward to seeing Seljalandsfoss. It is dropping from 60 m (200 ft) and you can walk behind it. I learned that is not possible in the winter but regardless the waterfall was beautiful with rainbows playing on the water. This waterfall is visible from Route 1, the ring road around Iceland and along the route you can actually achieve waterfall fatigue where you have seen so many of them that you do not stop for photos when you see the next one. Seljalandsfoss is also famous in the music industry, it was featured in Justin Bieber: ‘I’ll Show You’ clip.

3. Jökulsárlón – floating icebergs

Google map describes this place as a big glacier lake with icebergs and seals. Very factual but it does not describe the feel of the place. It is like taking a peek into another world where there are only 3 colors, black, white and blue. The blue of the iceberg is coming from the snow. When snow falls on the glacier and is compressed, the air is squeezed out and the ice crystals enlarge, making ice appear blue. Watching the icebergs is mesmerizing. They are breaking of slowly from the glacier, go to the lake and then work themself through the narrow opening of the lake to the sea. When you visit Jökulsárlón, go towards the sea as well, that’s where you see the man sized icebergs on the beach. Do dress warm and waterproof.

4. Vik and Reynisfjara Beach

Vik and Reynisfjara are both black sanded beaches with amazing views on the sea and basalt columns standing in the sea. From Reynisfjara you can see the arch bridge from Dryholaey, if you want to see the arch bridge from the other site, you can visit it through road 218. Both or all 3 are worth a stop by.

5. Geysir area

The Geysir area is part of the Golden Circle (day trip around Reykjavik) and accordingly is more crowded as well. It hosts an array of geysirs and hot pools, muds. To see a geysir eruption, Stokkur will be your friend. It erupts every 5-10 minutes and the eruptions can vary in size, so wait for a few round. The Great Geysir is moody on eruptions, it can have several years of dormant periods and usually erupts after earth quakes.

6. Gullfoss – the Golden waterfall

Gullfoss is the biggest waterfall to see in Iceland. It name means the golden waterfall in Icelandic, referring to the fact that in sunlight the waterfall appears to be of golden color. It is close to the Geysir area and ~1.5 hours from Reykjavik. The area is very well built out and allows you to discover the fall from different angles. The water drizzles, so wear at least a water resistant jacket when visiting.

7. Pingvellir National Park

Pingvellir is a unique place for Icelanders from both geological and historical perspective. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage and was a shooting location for HBO’s Game of Thrones series.

Pingvellir lies on the rift of 2 tectonical plates – the North Atlantic and the Eurasian plates. The plates are constantly moving away from eachother, causing small earthquakes and opening fissures at the speed of 2 cm each year. Over the past 2000 years there was no volcano eruption in the area but it is expected in the unknown future. There is a rift valley – 7 km wide where the fissures can be observed but for more adventures folks, you can actually dive or snorkel between 2 tectonic plates at Silfra. For a first visit I was satisfied with a hike in a fissure

As for history it is the place of the first Icelandic parliament, dating back 930 and today is the summer residence of the Prime Minister.

8. Arnarstapi

Arnarstapi was the biggest awe for me on the trip. It was so understated and offered so many surprises on each turn, it deserves its own post. Arnarstapi is a small fishing village at the edge of Snaefellsjökul National Park and is the entrance of Jules Verne’s Centre of the Earth subterranean voyage. The coast line is covered by basalt columns, arches, caves providing an excellent nesting ground for seabird and is simply mesmerizing to watch.

9. Snaefellsjökull National Park, Djúpalónssandur beach

Do make sure to stop at Djupalonssandur beach and go down to the beach. The short walk offers dramatic landscapes of rocks and arches and on the beach you can participate in the fishermen test. They are to qualify men for work on fishing boats. A man would need to lift them to hip height to qualify. The stones are: 1st for “Useless” weighing 23 kg (50 lbs), 2nd is 54 kg (120 lbs) for “Weakling”, 3rd is 100 kg (220 lbs) for “Half Strength” and 154 kg (340 lbs) for “Full Strength”. Would you be man enough to try?

The beach is also home to a shipwreck from 1948. Check out the pieces, they look stunning on the black sand.

10. Along the way

The trip to famous locations may take a few hours but unexpected sights compensate for it. Be aware of weather conditions as roads can be closed in case of bad weather. Road.is offers up to date information on the main roads. As we heard from a local person – she always spends the night before her flight in Reykjavik as you can never know if roads will be closed the same day or not. Do not be discouraged by bad weather. Unless it causes the roads to be closed, go out and do whatever you planned for the day. The weather changes so fast, by the time you get to your location it may be sunshine there. If not, the clouds just give a more dramatic background.