If you visit Iceland, you will inevitably hear as one of the must do activities to spend half a day or a day driving or being driven on a tour to the Golden Circle. Besides the famous Blue Lagoon and the rainbow Skólavörðustígur road leading to Hallgrímskirkja, photos from the Golden Circle are among the most iconic and frequently seen of Iceland. This is my version of Golden Circle highlights in terms of photos and what info about the site was interesting to me. 
The Golden Circle is a route to the three most popular natural attractions in Iceland: Þingvellir /Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall. Strictly defined really that’s not a circle yet, but looping around instead of going back on the same road, you can see other sights ranging from Icelandic horses and geothermal greenhouse to Secret Lagoon hot springs to colorful Kerid Crater, as well as just other photogenic scenes that may lure you to stop and take in the view, all along the way.
Some have called it an introductory day trip sampler of what you could see along the larger Ring Road that goes all around Iceland taking multiple days or even trips to traverse. Some people even recommend you do the Golden Circle first because once you see the larger Ring Road the Golden Circle may not seem as grand anymore. I interpret this less as a statement about the Golden Circle, but just how breathtaking Iceland is, especially as you branch out farther from Reykjavik,that raises the bar even higher.
The Golden Circle sights are all within a 1-2 hour or so drive from Reykjavik. Taking a tour allows you to take in the landscapes without having to worry about driving in 40mph or stronger winds or ice if you come during colder months. Guides also provide you information about what you are seeing and sometimes tips of where to go for a good view, and you can sit back without driving or navigating. Fellow tour participants may help take photos for you.
On the other hand you are then limited time-wise to what the tour offers at each stop on their schedule, and you can’t stop at any interesting points along the way. You will always be in a group – not only with your other tour participants, but many tour buses take similar routes at similar times. There are many Golden Circle tours ranging from big tour bus to smaller tour vans. The tour itinerary may offer different stops beyond the big three, or different order of stops, so you will need to pick what interests you the most and what stops you are willing to skip.
A car is freedom, but also more work and responsibility to research. That said you can find self-drive travel guides to help with that. Also consider that you may find that you want to stay overnight around this area rather then return to Reykjavik, and if so you will want a car. For instance here’s my list of Golden Circle highlights that starts with the main three and then other stops you might want to consider on the Golden Circle route.
Thingvellir National Park
At Þingvellir, which is anglicized usually to Thingvellir, you can walk through a very easy flat path in the canyon called Almannagjá. The rift valley here sits between the North American and Eurasion tectonic plates, so you are walking between two continents. The plates are still moving apart every year by 2 centimeters. Usually you don’t see tectonic plates exposed like this as they tend to meet underwater, so it is a unique sight. You can see them underwater here as well by diving and snorkeling at the Silfra fissure site nearby – the pure glacier water here is very clear so you have good visibility.
To avoid the crowds when walking on the path between the continents, and for some excellent lighting, consider visiting the park around early at sunrise or late at sunset. It possibly means some driving in the dark before or after light so it can be the very first or last stop on the Golden Circle accordingly depending on whether you are traveling clockwise or counter-clockwise and time of year visiting.
Thingvellir translates to “Assembly Fields” because every year between 930 to 1798 the parliament Alþing (Althing) held its sessions here, making this area an important part of Iceland’s national and cultural history. The location was chosen because of its accessibility to the various regions of Iceland and because the fields could accommodate a large group of people. The time of the assembly meetings was where laws were passed and anyone could present their case, but the two weeks of the assembly also were a time of merchants and others trading goods and services, and entertainment with games and feasts, and exchanging of news and socializing across the tribes of the various regions. This gathering aspect helped found the national identity of Iceland today. Thingvellir was designated a National Park on the 1000th anniversary of the Althing in 1930 which also made it Iceland’s first national park, and later it became a World Heritage Site in 2004. 
If you mainly want to walk between the tectonic plates through the rift valley, it will probably take you maybe 30 minutes to walk from the upper parking lot where the visitor center is to lower parking lot in the valley (one way, but stopping for photos along the way). A parking fee is charged here if you drive yourself- meanwhile many tours drop you at one lot and pick up at the other to save you doubling back.
There are additional paths, including one designated for horseback riding via tour companies, one that goes to the manmade small but photogenic Oxarafoss waterfall, one that takes you to the Althing meeting spot with Law Rock, or you can follow the path to visit Thingvellir church. The waterfall you see above is not Oxarafoss, but part of Drekkingarhylur, a drowning pool execution site up to 1750. For a good visual of where everything is in relation to each other this map from this blog is great for that.
Geysir Hot Spring Area
If you are heading clockwise, Geysir Hot Spring Area is most likely your next stop. Along the way, optional stops you might consider are
- Laugarvatn Fontana, a geothermal bath that also has an opportunity to get bread baked in the ground
- Efstidalur II, a family owned horse and also a dairy farm for 7 generations since 1750. Here you can see a working farm, take riding tours, have homemade organic ice cream, have farm to table restaurant food, and even stay the night.
- Bruarfoss Waterfall – this does require a hike probably an hour each way to travel the easy path of 7km RT. The crystal blue waters make it supposedly the bluest waterfall of Iceland with colors very similar to what you might see in an ice cave
Although Geysir is the namesake for all geysers worldwide, it is not very active. It still holds the record for the highest known burst of all time of 400 feet in June 2000. The world’s active tallest geyser is Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone. Perhaps Geysir deserves a little break since this area has been active since the 13th century or earlier.
Thankfully another geysir here, Strokkur, erupts with its boiling water every 10-15 minutes or so for a brief burst of a few seconds. You can also walk along the area to other smaller hot springs with colorful minerals and steam vents and bubbling mud here or there as you survey the geothermal landscape. We didn’t take a walk, opting only to see the Strokkur eruption twice. It was super windy when we got here so the spout never got very high as the wind blew much of the water horizontally almost immediately – the wind was even pushing me where I had to take a step or two to re-balance as we were waiting for it to erupt. So we only needed about 30 min here. If you want to walk around the area more to see all 17 points of interest on the map you’ll need maybe an hour. Get a good description of the different points here.
It’s definitely very busy here with tourists, but Strokkur is conveniently pretty regular. So even if it’s not as big or long of an eruption as Old Faithful, you won’t have to wait as long so also not as crowded as Old Faithful, to put it into perspective. Why not stop since it’s free and already on the way to what I think is a must-see, Gulfoss.
Gullfoss
Foss means waterfall in Icelandic, and Gull means golden, so Gullfoss is the Golden Falls. The name comes from the water seemingly glowing gold from the sunlight and high sediment content of the glacial water that originates from glacial river Hvítá (White River) flowing from Langjökull glacier. Or, another story goes that a local farmer Gýgur threw his gold into the waterfall so no one could have it but him, even after his death.
What’s unique about Gullfoss is that it plunges into a gorge so you watch the powerful fall of water disappear in two stages (36 feet drop and then 69 feet for a total of 105 feet) into the canyon below whose rocky walls can reach up to 230 feet. There are multiple viewpoints including one that brings you right next to Gullfoss, though the path is seasonal and closed if it is too icy as it can get too slippery and edges by the waterfall are unstable. You likely will get wet with the wind blowing a lot of water spray towards you so be prepared to be careful with your camera and wear something waterproof. The plus is you may see rainbows.
We only spent 30 minutes here but I could have spent much longer – we didn’t even get to the upper viewpoint with most of our time in the pathway going alongside to the falls to the lower viewpoint. I would recommend an hour. You can see the lower pathway to the left in the first photo below – the different angles all along the way give you different views of the falls as it plunges into the gorge, I loved it. 
The amount of water surging down varies depending on the summer or winter – there is more (4900 some cubic feet) in summer then winter (2800 some cubic feet) per second. Even with the decreased volume (which is still a lot…) the snow makes Gullfoss beautiful in a different way during the winter.
In the early 1900s there was an idea to use the water energy to fuel a hydroelectric plant which would have ruined the waterfall view with a dam. But the landowners, sheep farmer Tómas Tómasson and daughter Sigríður Tómasdóttir, resisted through legal battles over more then 20 years to preserve Gullfoss. You can read more about her persevering and a “Lady of Gullfoss” formation you might want to look for here. Gullfoss became a national park in 1979.
Friðheimar Tomato Farm
When I was planning the Golden Circle, I knew this needed to be one of the stops along our trip. I think the family run Friðheimar Tomato Farm is the best stop for lunch in the Golden Circle. It is also a perfect example of the character of Icelanders. At Friðheimar, besides leveraging geothermally heated water to power their greenhouses to Mediterranean conditions, modern technology monitor the environment and control online factors such as heat, humidity, carbon dioxide (they can enhance photosynthesis by releasing carbon dioxide produced from natural geothermal steam), lighting, water, fertilizer and adjust to real time weather. 1,200 organic natural bumblebees partner with people to care for the tomatoes grown in volcanic tuff like pumice from Mt Hekla. No pesticides are used – the mirid bug is their natural (imported) answer for pest control. The 11,000 square feet of greenhouse produces 700 tons, about 39% of Iceland’s tomato market. 
Friðheimar supplies grape and heirloom tomatoes for Iceland, and even the imperfect looking tomatoes are put to good use in tomato soup, tomato beer, even tomato dessert like tomato ice cream or tomato cheesecake. The tomato soup and bread buffet is the most popular and famous option at Fridheimar Greenhouse restaurant. For under US$20, you have access to the delicious soup, a variety of freshly baked breads, and are also provided sour cream, butter, and a cucumber salsa as complimentary additions for your soup. You can also purchase skewers to add more richness to your soup, varying from vegetables, cheese, chicken, or seafood. Coffee, tea, and water are also included. There is also fresh basil at each table with scissors for you to cut some up for adding to your food. Other tomato themed items to order include a variety of bloody marys, tortilla/pizzas, pasta, mussels, or heirloom tomatoes with burrata, and more. 
In addition Friðheimar has a horse program and offers a horse show to help demonstrate the unique Icelandic Horse gaits. All horse breeds have three natural gaits — the walk, the trot, and the canter. Uniquely and completely naturally (no training foals exhibit this on their own) Icelandic horse has five natural gaits – add the tölt, and the flying pace. The flying pace is similar to a gallop in that it is fast, but rather then having two hooves on the ground all four hooves are off the ground so there are times the Icelandic horse is “flying”. Meanwhile, the fluid tölt is the same pattern as a walk but at the pace of a gallop up to 20mph, but extra smooth. The demonstration shows a rider holding a full pint of beer riding without spilling while an Icelandic horse is showing the tölt.
How pretty are these “real life my little ponies” (don’t call them ponies though!) with their thick manes and hair to keep them warm from Icelandic winds? Icelandic horses are very dear to Icelanders – every Icelandic horse has an owner though they live without human care for months for part of the year before returning to their farms. Population wise there is about one Icelandic horse for every four Icelandic people.
The Icelandic Horse tour portion was about 30 minutes for us, then 15 minutes learning about the tomato farm in the greenhouse and an hour enjoying lunch.
Additional optional stops to or instead of for your consideration as you continue to loop the Golden Circle from here going clockwise include
- Faxi Waterfall is like a mini version of Gullfoss that has 1 tier. A small fee for parking.
- Visit the oldest swimming pool in Iceland and soak in the natural environment of geothermal Secret Lagoon
Kerið Crater
For my last highlight, this is another optional stop beyond the famous big three of tectonic plates, geyser, and waterfall. Kerið Crater is a volcanic crater lake with blue-green water amid stark red and black volcanic rock and yellow grasses and green mosses. Geologists believe it to be a collapsed magma chamber at the end of a volcanic eruption from more than 6000 years ago.
There is a small fee to visit per person, no hiking needed as the you are already at the top of the crater after you pass the pay booth. You can walk a path across the top crater’s edge in a full circle (beware it can be howling pushy winds), or take the stairs down to the crater lake (the crater walls block the winds thankfully).
The colors here are very cool – we were lucky with the sun out to illuminate them, it may not be as colorful depending on weather or worth a visit if it is covered in snow since that covers the colors. We spent 30 minutes here. 
Have you been on the Golden Circle? What places did you stop, and what was your favorite sight along the Golden Circle? For us, we were divided with my favorite being Gullfoss, whlie F would vote for Fríðheimar.
This is the third of a series of travel posts about our week long trip to Iceland in October 2021 – stay tuned for more information next week on what we saw as we made our way to South Iceland.
Other Iceland Posts
- Early Morning Things To Do for when you arrive early in the morning or are jet-lagged and up early
- Rainy Day Reykjavik Recommendations for when you want indoor options for things to do
- Golden Circle Highlights, including one stop that may not be quite as famous but is well worth it
- South Iceland Highlights Part 1: Waterfalls and Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
- South Iceland Highlights Part 2: Glaciers and Diamond Beach
- South Iceland Highlights Part 3: Glacier Hike and Ice Cave
- Reykjavik Vibes
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