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.
The first 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.
In the area, there are restrooms and coffee shops for visitors.
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.
Myrkholt is a farm located in between Geysir and Gullfoss. The owners are welcoming and friendly, but the wool market allocates beautiful homemade woolen sweaters, hats, gloves, etc. from the neighboring farms. All are made with local wool by the local farmers.
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 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 lunch stop. There are restaurants in 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 on the bus, especially if the weather is bad.
We will have time to check out the hot springs (no bathing allowed!) and also time to have lunch.
The last stop of the day is the Secret Lagoon known in Iceland as the "Old pool" since it is the oldest geothermal pool on the island, founded in 1891.
It is nothing more relaxing after a day out in Icelandic nature than end the day in a geothermal pool. In Iceland, we do have more than 100 geothermal pools all over the country and it is a big part of the Icelandic culture to go there to relax. The Secret Lagoon is different from the pools in Reykjavik for example, the area is all covered in mossy lava fields and many hot springs all around. There is a little hot spring there which erupts every 4-6 minutes.
If you feel too hot it is nice to stand up and walk around the area on the walking paths around the pool.
The water is about 38°-40°celcius.
Before you enter the pool the staff will tell you the rules and what should be kept in mind when visiting the pool.
Remember to bring towels and swimsuits with you, but they can be rented at extra cost at the lagoon.
We stop in the pool for about 90 minutes.
- 1 day notice: 100% charge
Your Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon tour is approx. 9 hours, so we will be back in Reykjavík between 17:00 and 17:30.
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