Touring the Golden Circle, Iceland (July 27) ~ Wisetrips Travel Blog

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Starting: Hotel Island, Reykjavik

Ending: Geirland Hotel, Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Highlights: Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss, Strokkur Geyser, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Reynisfjara, Vikurfjara Black Sand Beach, Vík

I woke at 06:30, showered, dressed, and packed my bags. Inna also woke up and dressed. After our bags were packed, we took the elevator downstairs to try our prepaid breakfast.

The Hotel Island's one large breakfast room was packed with guests, and most tables were already taken. We found a free table and selected a few items from the breakfast buffet:

Boris: Skyr Yogurt with nuts & granola, scrambled eggs, cold cuts, cappuccino
Inna: Skyr Yogurt with nuts & granola

The buffet was decent, but did not have the wide variety of meats and pastries (common in more luxury hotels). After finishing breakfast, we returned to our room, picked up our luggage, and then rode downstairs to check out.

Our Arctic Tours Mercedes-Benz mini-bus was already there, and our guide and driver, Bjorn, was waiting for us. He was impatient to get going, as he had a few more stops to make to pick up the other guests. We had learned later that he arrived at 07:45 and was expecting us to be ready earlier (but this was never communicated to us). We quickly loaded our suitcases and backpacks on the mini-bus and boarded. All 19 seats on the bus would be used.

The bus turned out to be a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, and it had an excellent audio system but limited space for luggage. Bjorn used a separate trailer to tow our luggage.

Our first stop was in Hakið, Þingvöllum (in Thingvellir National Park Visitor Center). The plan was to disembark in the parking lot, hike a small section of the gorge, and then reboard the bus at a later bus stop. During the hike, we would see the summer residence of Iceland's Prime Minister.

We did not realize how cold and windy it was, and I was a bit shocked when I left the bus. I had my Patagonia fleece on, but it was still too cold. Inna and I continued on, taking photos and marvelling at the beautiful gorge and the row of white cottages for Iceland's prime minister. Thankfully, in the gorge, the wind abated and we were able to continue the hike more comfortably.

I decided to retrieve all my thermal underwear and Lululemon jacket (and put them on in the nearby bathroom), so I wouldn't have to endure another hike unprepared. I warmed up quite quickly on the bus.

About 30 minutes later, we made another quick stop at Laugarvatn. This is a small place with Fontana Spa on a thermally heated lake. Instead of the spa (for which we had no time), we visited the beach to see a demonstration of how local Icelander villagers bake their bread in the sand. Due to thermal activity, the sand has a temperature of 65-70 degrees Celsius, which is ideal for baking bread.

The correct procedure is to wrap the bread, dig a hole in the sand, and place the covered bread in the hole, marking the top with a stone (to indicate who it belongs to). About 24 hours later, when the bread has baked, it can be retrieved.

Our next stop was the Efstidalur farm. It's a small farm with a coffee/ice cream shop. We could see how the cows were eating hay. We decided to try the homemade ice cream, selecting rhubarb and salted caramel. Both rhubarb and salted caramel were delicious.

Our drive continued toward the Gullfoss waterfall, initially passing by the Geyser Center area. Gullfoss is a multisection waterfall, with a short walking trail from the parking lot. I was worried about the heavy spray coming off and decided not to bring my new Canon R8 camera, instead shooting the waterfall with my iPhone 14 Pro. It turned out to be an unnecessary precaution, as the spray was minimal and many other photographers had brought their 35mm DSLRs to shoot the waterfall. Next time, I will bring my Canon R8 mirrorless camera to shoot the waterfall, as this time I shot with my iPhone 14 Pro only.

Gullfoss ("Golden Falls"; Icelandic pronunciation:ⓘ [ˈkʏtl̥ˌfɔsː]) is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, and is included in "Golden Circle" tours of the countryside near Reykjavík.

When we finished wth Gullfoss, we were driven to the nearby Geyser Center area, to eat lunch and to explore the Geysers. The Geyser Center had an eatery serving fish & chips and a few other items. Inna and I ordered Fish & Chips. The Fish & Chips were tolerable, but we had difficulty finding seats. In addition, the whole place was overrun by tourists (there were multiple tourist buses parked). It was not an enjoyable lunch.

After lunch, we walked towards the Strokkur Geyser and waited a few minutes before it shot a small flume of water and steam. If you blink, you might miss it. Inna and I were able to record it (on photo and video), but it's not as impressive as the "Old Faithful" geyser in Yellowstone.

Strokkur is a fountain-type geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík. It typically erupts every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 metres (49–66 ft), although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 metres (130 ft) high.

We boarded the bus at the required time and continued the drive to Seljalandsfoss, a spectacular waterfall, and one of our favorites in Iceland. Unlike other waterfalls, in Seljalandsfoss, one can walk underneath and behind it. Inna had visited this waterfall in her previous trip with her Photofly Iceland tour. I decided to bring my GoPro Hero10 camera (which is waterproof) along with my iPhone 14 Pro Max to record the waterfall. Both Inna and I wore waterproof pants & jackets to avoid getting soaked. I really enjoyed photographing Seljalandsfoss and hope to come back to see it in the future.

Seljalandsfoss is located in the South Region in Iceland right by Route 1 and the road that leads to Þórsmörk Road 249.[2] The waterfall drops 60 m (197 ft) and is part of the Seljalands River that has its origin in the volcano glacier Eyjafjallajökull.[3] Visitors can walk behind the falls into a small cave.

Our next stop was to see Skogafoss, a wide and very powerful waterfall. There was a steep hike to the top of the waterfall (400+ steps), but our guide warned us that the upper view was not necessarily superior. We decided to skip the steep ascent and enjoy the view from the bottom (taking many excellent photos).

Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country, with a width of 25 metres (82 feet) and a drop of 60 m (200 ft). Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days. Visitors can be drenched if they go too near the waterfall, again due to the spray.[2] According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in the Skógar museum.

We continued our drive to Vikurfjara Black Sand Beach, where we stopped by for 30 minutes, to enjoy the black sandy beach and the amazing basalt columns. Our guide warned us to stay away from the ocean, as there is a dangerous sneaker wave that can come at any time. People have been known to get soaked and even swept into the ocean. We mostly stayed on the Black Sand Beach and enjoyed watching other people climbing the basalt structures.

For a snack and a restroom break, we stopped by the town of Vik to get a few energy bars (for the upcoming glacier hike planned for the next day). The Vik's supermarket was crazy busy, and we ended up waiting a long time in the checkout line. We purchased a few snacks for the upcoming Gacier hike.

We continued our drive through Lava Fields, arriving at the Geirland Hotel, Kirkjubæjarklaustur. In this part of Iceland, there are few artificial lights, so it's an ideal place to watch the Northern Lights, especially from October to February. For Northern Lights, moonless nights are best.

After getting our keys, we moved our suitcases to our room and dressed for dinner. Our room was Spartan but functional, and it had everything we required.

We walked across the street to the Geirland Hotel's reception and dining area and sat down at a very long table prepared for our 18 (guests) + 1 (guide) group. We were the last couple to join the large group and ended up sitting next to Bjorn (our guide).

We ordered the following items from the limited menu:

Boris: Beef Burger (ISK4500), Somersby Apple Cider (1300 ISK)
Inna: Smoked Char Salad (ISK 5500)

My beef burger was excellent, as was Inna's Smoked Char Salad. My Somersby Apple Cider was good, but a tad too sweet.

To pay for dinner, we had to show our key to the hotel's receptionist and pay him with a credit card. This way of payment seems to be common in Iceland (but unusual to me).

After dinner, we decided to hike over to the beautiful Stjórnarfoss Waterfall we drove by earlier. It was about a 20-minute walk from our hotel. A few people were camping near the waterfall, but we were mostly alone.

Inna wrote a nice summary of our first day:

Сегодня первый день путешествия вокруг Исландии. Золотой круг - очень насыщенный день - столько природной красоты! Хайк в очень красивом каньоне, заехали на "горячее" озеро, они там очень интересно пекут ржаной хлеб - закапывают кастрюлю полностью обернутую пленкой в песок и пекут целый день при стабильной температуре 60-70 градусов цельсия. Видели 3 очень красивых водопада - в один можно было зайти как будто изнутри под скалой и это очень клёво - промокли бы до нитки если бы не были правильно одеты. Места конечно очень туристические, это основной сезон для туризма в Исландии, но такая красота того стоит. Группа 18 человек - я бы конечно предпочла поменьше, но нам это никак не мешает. Пока все очень пунктуалные и никто не опаздывает, так что все хорошо. Ещё видели гейзеры, пляж с чёрным песком и очень интересными базальтовыми структурами, заезжали на молчную ферму где попробовали вкусное местное мороженое. Вечером после ужина завершили день уже нашим собственным хайком к ещё одному красивейшему водопаду, где кроме нас никого не было.

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