We arrived in Keflavik in the late afternoon and we took our rental car (check out our Driving in Iceland post for more information on renting and travelling with a car). First destination: Hella, where we had our airbnb booked for 2 nights.
On our way there we made a quick stop at the Blue Lagoon but, after researching opinions on various forums, we decided not to enter as we found multiple alternatives (cheaper and more authentic – see here). Instead we just visited the outside, which can give you already an overview of the clear blue water as you can see in the picture.
The Golden Circle
The Golden Circle can give you a glance of what Iceland has to offer and we highly recommend it, especially for those who are spending only a couple of days in this beautiful country.
It is located in South Iceland and only a few hours away from Reykjavik, making it a perfect day trip.
Below the list of the unmissable sights:
Thingvellir National Park is usually the first stop coming from Reykjavik. As the name says, it is one of Iceland’s National Parks. It is certainly spectacular and a must see! It was our first stop and we spent there a couple of hours walking around and taking many pictures.
Geysir hot spring area is a highly active area of geysers. Each one of them has a different name and they sprout hot water as high as 30 meters in the air. Be ready with your camera and try to capture the moment the geyser explodes.
Gulfoss is one of the iconic waterfalls in Iceland. It has a height of 32 meters and has an average flow rate of 140 m3/s (as per Wikipedia). “Foss” means waterfall in Icelandic and we surely encountered this word multiple times during our trip 🙂
If you rent a car as we did, we strongly suggest some additional stops as the Golden Circle has much more to offer than just the top 3 above. There are plenty of additional things to do and see and we decided to add the below stops on our journey:
- Lunch at Friðheimar Greenhouse
If you have more time
For your information, below a list of extra things that may be interesting but we didn’t have time to check out:
- Snorkelling in Silfra (Thingvellir National Park)
- Pay a visit to Skalholt Cathedral
- Thermal baths in Laugarvatn Fontana
- Visit the ecovillage of Solheimar