On our way, we stop at all the main places: Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall and Þingvellir National Park, the place where you can see the American and Eurasian tectonic plates pulling apart. We also have an extra stop at the beautiful waterfall Faxi.
As always, there is free WiFi on board the buses, we'll give you an Icelandic chocolaty treat and listen to some Icelandic music.
We pick you up at your hotel, guesthouse or at one of the bus stops downtown Reykjavík in the morning (Click here to see a list of bus stops). The pickup is always between 8:00 and 8:30, but you have to be ready at 8 o'clock. After the pick up we head out of town and the guide introduces him/herself.
Hveragerði is a small town located about 45 minutes south from Reykjavík. This is our first stop of the day. There is a great bakery for a coffee and you can take a look at an earthquake exhibition free of charge. There are also restrooms there, free of charge.
Before we head up to Gullfoss and Geysir, we stop at one of the hidden diamonds in the area, Faxi waterfall. Faxi is a small waterfall, sometimes called the little brother of Gullfoss. There are a few spots where you can enjoy the waterfall, from above or close to it. After checking out the waterfall we give you a little taste of Icelandic snacks: chocolate.
The wonderful Gullfoss is in our opinion one of the most beautiful waterfalls on earth. It is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland and there is a beautiful story about the waterfall which your guide will tell you.
When Canadians and Americans go there they call it "the mini-version of Niagara falls", we don't know if we agree on that though, if you ask us it's even prettier. The waterfall is located close to the second biggest glacier in Iceland, Langjökull, and you will see the fresh glacier water falling down 32 meters total into the canyon.
Gullfoss is beautiful from all angles, from above it looks perfect with the Icelandic nature around. In the summertime, it is possible to walk all the way down to Gullfoss and feel its power and spraying water in the air.
This stop is a minimum of 45 minutes, with enough time to walk around and explore.
There are a handful of horses, foals, and sheep and during late spring there are newborn lambs to see there as well. It’s simply a wonderful stop to make, especially for animal lovers and children!
The horses especially are very photogenic and are always willing to strike a pose for their guests :)
Geysir is the most famous hot spring in the world, no doubt. It's so famous that people from other countries talk about "Geyser" when talking about erupting hot springs. Geysir is located only an 8-minute drive from Gullfoss and is our third big attraction of the day.
Geysir is the father of all the hot springs in the area, and first erupted hundreds of years ago. The "golden age" for Geysir was at the beginning of the last century when it erupted up to 80 meters every half an hour. Geysir fell asleep late last century but woke up again after the earthquakes in the Haukadalur area in the year 2000. It was erupting for 4 months, with a little help from the locals who put soap in it to make it erupt. They stopped doing that due to environmental reasons, of course. Geysir has been sleeping since the fall of the year 2000.
The only active erupting hot spring in the area is "the son of Geysir", called Strokkur. Strokkur erupts every 3 to 8 minutes and goes as high as 35 meters. Strokkur is a spectacular hot spring, seeing this active hot spring erupt just a few kilometers from the glacier is a once in a lifetime experience.
This is our longest stop of the day, where we have lunch and also time to experience the hot spring area (no bathing allowed!).
There are restaurants at the Geysir area where you can have burgers, salads, traditional Icelandic meat soup (our favorite) and much more. If you want to bring your own lunch with you, we let our customers eat in the bus, especially if the weather is bad.
This stop is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, enough time to both walk around and grab a bite.
The last stop of the day is the national park Þingvellir, which is full of history and natural beauty. It has a special place in the hearts of all Icelanders, all the way back to the Viking time when they founded here the first parliament in the world.
We will have enough time to walk around and explore this wonderful place. We will have the opportunity to walk in the rift valley, where the tectonic plates are pulling apart. This is the closest you can get to being on two continents at the same time, since under the national park the Eurasian plate and the American plate are separate by 2 cm every year.
Þingvellir was designated as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 2004.
We usually stop here for 45-60 minutes. In the area, there are restrooms and coffee shops for visitors.
- 1 day notice: 100% charge
Your Golden Circle tour is approx. 8 hours, so we will be back in the city between 16:00 and 16:30.
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