6 Things You Must Do :: Golden Circle Iceland

Everything you need to know for a trip to the Golden Circle in Iceland. Of course you’ll visit Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall, but I’m also sharing a few lesser-known spots that you must check out!

Very few trips to Iceland are complete without a visit to the Golden Circle. It’s easily accessible from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, and the entire trip can be completed in a day. Unlike many things that are easy to get to and also very popular, the Golden Circle is absolutely worth the visit. No matter how crowd-phobic you are, you must see it, at least once. Geysir and Gullfoss Waterfall are true wonders of nature. Thankfully, there are also a couple of places that will make your belly happy too.

Read on for the travel guide and video….

The Great Geysir & Strokkur

Golden Circle, Iceland

A geyser is a hot spring that intermittently boils, sending up a gush of water. Great Geysir on the Golden Circle in Iceland is the fantastic wonder of nature that leant its name to all other similar phenomenon all over the world. The problem is, Great Geysir is asleep. With earthquakes and shifting of the tectonic plates in Iceland, the activity affects these natural eruptions. It’s been years since it erupted.

So instead you get to marvel at the steaming pool that you see above. Still pretty incredible though, right? Those colors aren’t a fancy camera trick. That’s all nature.

Lucky for you though, all is not lost. Great Geysir’s little brother, Strokkur geyser, still erupts frequently. Really frequently. In fact, Strokkur erupts every few minutes. Such a temper that one. Although it’s not quite as large as Great Geysir, with heights of  around 30 meters, I think we can agree Strokkur is still pretty impressive:

If you’re visiting the Golden Circle, you must stop to marvel at the angry brothers Great Geysir and Strokkur, as well as their innumerable unnamed siblings that dot the geothermal area that they are located in. Visiting is free and it’s always open.

More photos of Great Geysir & Strokkur geothermal area:

 

Gullfoss Waterfall

Golden Circle, Iceland

Gullfoss is awe-inspiring

At first glance, you think, “Oh, what a nice waterfall. Look how wide it is.”

But then you walk a bit further and realize that Gullfoss waterfall actually has two tiers. The majority of its height is actually hidden by the canyon that it falls into. The noise Gullfoss makes can only be described as thunderous. Flow rate in the summer is 1400 m³/s.

I’ve heard that it’s even more impressive in winter. Gullfoss waterfall sometimes freezes, but parts of the water still flow around the ice. We can’t wait to go back and see for ourselves.

We visited in May, and thanks to about 18 hours of daylight, were able to see the waterfall around 8pm. This meant that all the tour buses were long gone and we basically had the view to ourselves! If you visit in spring or summer, I would highly recommend going very early or in the evening so you miss the crowds.

I promise these photos don’t even begin to do it justice. You’ll have to check it out for yourself.

More photos of Gullfoss Waterfall:

 

Fridheimar Farm

Reykholt, Golden Circle, Iceland

Fridheimar Farm turned out to be one of our favorite stops of the day. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise since so much of what I do is driven by what my belly wants. As the name suggests, Fridheimar is a working farm, with their main crop being tomatoes. This may come as a surprise to you given the harsh weather in Iceland, but the Icelanders have gotten skilled at growing much of their produce in greenhouses.

Everything on the menu at Fridheimar Farm is tomato themed. You’ll find tomato pizza, tomato pasta, tomato soup and even tomato cheesecake! You can also quench your thirst with an assortment of virgin and boozy Bloody Mary’s. I went for the all-you-can-eat tomato soup + bread bar, which was an excellent choice. There’s nothing like a bottomless bowl of tomato soup to make you feel cozy while you’re exploring the incredible sites of the Golden Circle. Pat got the pizza which was also wonderful. The restaurant is literally steps away from the tomato plants, within one of the huge greenhouses.

The hours for Fridheimar Farm are very limited. They only serve lunch from noon to four, so plan accordingly!

Also, I was googling “Fridheimar Farm” to make sure I spelled it correctly for this article. Google helpfully suggested that I was looking for “Fridheimar Farm Kardashian”. Curious, I let Google lead the way. Apparently Kim, Kourtney & Kanye plus their entourage made a stop at the farm last year. Personally, this isn’t a selling point when I’m picking vacation spots, but there you go. Kardashian approved.

 

Secret Lagoon (Gamla Laugin)

Golden Circle, Iceland

Guess what? The secret is out on the Secret Lagoon. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, and the explosion of tourism, most of the ‘secret’ spots we visited in Iceland were also being visited by other tourists. About 30 seconds after I snapped this wonderfully serene photo, a tour bus rolled up with at least 30 senior citizens.

Who am I to judge though? It’s only through other people spilling their own secret spots that I would know about them anyway.

The water is very pleasant and you really can’t beat the surrounding with all of these small, steaming geothermal pools.

Even if you happen upon a tour bus, I would still highly recommend a stop to this natural geothermal pool during your visit to the Golden Circle in Iceland. Maybe you’ll get lucky and have the place to yourself, and it will look like this:

Or you could just crop everyone else out like I did and pretend that you had it to yourself. 🙂

 

Farmhouse Efstidalur Restaurant & Ice Cream

Golden Circle, Iceland

There is a lot to see in the Golden Circle of Iceland, and most people do the entire thing in one day. Chances are you’ve worked up quite an appetite by now. How does ice cream sound? To clarify, how does ice cream eaten on a farm made from cow’s milk that was milked on said farm sound?

If you’re like me, you won’t want to pass this up. We actually ended up staying at Fridheimar Farm overnight when we visited the Golden Circle, as they also have a small hotel. I thought the hotel was just an average value for the money. There wasn’t anything particularly outstanding about it, so I can’t give it the official A Side of Sweet “Seal of Approval”.

But the ice cream is totally me approved.

They also have a cafe which reportedly serves amazing lunch food too. We had checked out by the time the cafe opened, but we did get to enjoy the continental breakfast that was included in our stay. YUM.

More Farmhouse Efstidalur photos:

 

Pingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park

Golden Circle, Iceland

The language of Iceland, Icelandic, is really something. They have the same 26 letters that you and I have, but then they added six more, just for funsies. ‘Þ’ is one of those letters, and is actually pronounced ‘Th’. So Þingvellir is actually pronounced Thingvellir.

While you’re there, I encourage you to ponder the significance of the place that you’re visiting. Pingvellir is where AlÞing (or Althing if you’re being phonetic, there is that Þ again), the National Parliament of Iceland was founded.

In 930 AD.

We’re talking the OG (original gangster) of parliaments here. Those Vikings knew what was up. Ten points for democracy.

Pingvellir National Park also has a few buildings and waterfalls. The current church, Þingvallakirkja, in the park was built in 1859. The paths are wide and easily accessible for all levels of fitness.

I haven’t seen a single episode of Game of Thrones, but apparently Pingvellir plays a big part in the TV series. So there’s something for everyone, whether you prefer history or fantasy.

More Thingvellir photos:

What to Wear for Iceland Travel

Outfit Notes: Packing for Iceland requires a bit of planning! The weather can change by the minute, so I suggest a lot of layers and investing in some high quality outerwear. It’s really hard to enjoy all of the stunning nature that Iceland has to offer if you’re wet and cold!

Pat and I both lived in the combo of an Arc’teryx Beta SL Hybrid Jacket and an Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoodie, which the company generously provided for our trip.

The Arc’teryx Atom LT is a cozy lightweight and breathable jacket that is great on its own, or also layered under a shell. The color of mine is Chandra (berry/purple) and Pat’s is Odysseus (pine green).

The Arc’teryx Beta SL Hybrid Jacket is a top-of-the-line waterproof shell. Pat’s is Rigel (bright blue) and mine is Mystic (dark blue). It’s easily packable, lightweight and easily protected us against the 60 mph gusts that Iceland blew our way. I love the slim fit that didn’t make me feel bulky. They were definitely the MVPs of our trip, giving us the perfect combination of comfort and style.

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Thanks so much for reading! For more Sweet in your life, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube, or subscribe to receive a weekly email with new posts and musings from me.

P.S. – Need more Iceland travel information? You’re in the right place! Check out these posts:

Visiting the Blue Lagoon in Iceland

What to Do in Reykjavik, Iceland

Guide to the South Coast and Southeast Coast of Iceland:

Before You Go: Iceland Travel Tips:

Finding Hidden Hot Springs in Iceland: