Exploring Iceland with the Reykjavik Excursions Golden Circle Tour
Posted: April 20 2024 | Tagged: Iceland
The nature in Iceland is spectacular in the extreme and the best way to visit the amazing attractions on offer is to let Reykjavik Excursions take the strain.
The most popular tour to do when visiting Iceland is the "Golden Circle Direct Tour". It is the shortest, at just 6 hours and the cheapest of the many tours they offer.
The 3 sites that you'll visit as part of the Golden Circle Direct Tour are:
The 3 sites that you'll visit as part of the Golden Circle Direct Tour are:
- Thingvellir
- Geysir
- Gullfoss
I'm not a big one for going on tours. It's not really in the Spirit of Nomadic Backpacker.
Renting a car for your stay in Iceland would be the perfect thing to do. It gives you unprecedented freedom but it's a very expensive option (and I am still travelling on my own dime).
You could even drive around the island. But if you don't want to be driving all day and every day, you'll need about 4 weeks at your disposal.
At the Kex Hostel, where I was staying in a 38-bed dorm (not as bad as it sounds), it was suggested I book my Golden Circle tour directly with Reykjavik Excursions.
Renting a car for your stay in Iceland would be the perfect thing to do. It gives you unprecedented freedom but it's a very expensive option (and I am still travelling on my own dime).
You could even drive around the island. But if you don't want to be driving all day and every day, you'll need about 4 weeks at your disposal.
At the Kex Hostel, where I was staying in a 38-bed dorm (not as bad as it sounds), it was suggested I book my Golden Circle tour directly with Reykjavik Excursions.
Getting some work done at the Kex Hostel in Reykjavik:
The online price was discounted. 10 %. And as a budget traveller, in a country where a beer costs almost 10 quid, you just can't afford, not to hear those words.
And according to my roomies, the tour was "well good".
It's late April. Winter ain't over yet. The weather can make or break your trip.
The Golden Circle Direct Tour is less affected by adverse weather conditions than the many other tours. Tours do get cancelled.
The Famous Blue Lagoon Thermal Baths are exactly next to the Volcano which has been erupting as of late, and some days they are simply closed because of the danger from the poisonous gasses.
So your adventures in Iceland can be affected dramatically. We are so intent on destroying the planet yet nature undoubtedly has the upper hand here.
Thursday was going to be the best of the days for my stay though, of course, that can change at the drop of a hat.
In Winter, storms roll in and last for weeks. Flights get cancelled. So far in the first few days of my 8-night stay, it's been down to -6 deg C with a -10 deg C windchill, a bracing wind from the west and east, rain, snow flurries but also some much-needed sunlight complete with your daily dose of Vitamin D.
By Wednesday, Thursday was still looking good. I made my booking online for the Reykjavik Excursions Golden Circle Tour.
You can get picked up at a few selected points around the city but of course, there is a surcharge. I just walked to the BSI bus terminal Reykjavík:
And according to my roomies, the tour was "well good".
It's late April. Winter ain't over yet. The weather can make or break your trip.
The Golden Circle Direct Tour is less affected by adverse weather conditions than the many other tours. Tours do get cancelled.
The Famous Blue Lagoon Thermal Baths are exactly next to the Volcano which has been erupting as of late, and some days they are simply closed because of the danger from the poisonous gasses.
So your adventures in Iceland can be affected dramatically. We are so intent on destroying the planet yet nature undoubtedly has the upper hand here.
Thursday was going to be the best of the days for my stay though, of course, that can change at the drop of a hat.
In Winter, storms roll in and last for weeks. Flights get cancelled. So far in the first few days of my 8-night stay, it's been down to -6 deg C with a -10 deg C windchill, a bracing wind from the west and east, rain, snow flurries but also some much-needed sunlight complete with your daily dose of Vitamin D.
By Wednesday, Thursday was still looking good. I made my booking online for the Reykjavik Excursions Golden Circle Tour.
You can get picked up at a few selected points around the city but of course, there is a surcharge. I just walked to the BSI bus terminal Reykjavík:
The weather wasn't as they had predicted but hey, at least it wasn't raining and there was almost no wind. Just a bit grey.
Þingvellir
There are 2 reasons as to why Þingvellir (or Thingvellir) is such an important place in Iceland
The supreme national parliament of Iceland, known as Alþingi was founded at Þingvellir, way back in 930 and is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world.
Þingvellir has also been a national park since 1930. It is where the North American and Eurasian Tectonic Plates meet and are separating by more than 1cm per year causing a massive Rift Valley - a region that forms when the earth’s tectonic plates move apart - and Þingvellir is one of only two such geological formations above ground in the world. The other is in Kenya.
The supreme national parliament of Iceland, known as Alþingi was founded at Þingvellir, way back in 930 and is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world.
Þingvellir has also been a national park since 1930. It is where the North American and Eurasian Tectonic Plates meet and are separating by more than 1cm per year causing a massive Rift Valley - a region that forms when the earth’s tectonic plates move apart - and Þingvellir is one of only two such geological formations above ground in the world. The other is in Kenya.
Further Reading on:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org
and
https://education.nationalgeographic.org
There is a viewing platform from where you have the best view of Þingvallavatn, which is the largest natural lake in Iceland with its greatest depth measuring at 114 metres (374 feet).
With the Þingvallavatn lake behind me:
Þingvallavatn Lake in Iceland, about 84 sq km:
On the edge of the North American plate overlooking the 20-50km wide rift:
Walking down the Almannagjá fault from the North American Plate into the rift valley:
Geysir
Geysir is a famous geothermal area in the Haukadalur Valley about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Reykjavik. The highlight of Geysir on the Golden Circle Tour is the Strokkur Geyser, also known as The Churn. It erupts with water and steam up to about 20-30 metres every 5 or 10 minutes. You just have to be patient.
Strokkur Geyser:
Geysir Geothermal Area can be seen as part of the Golden Circle Tour:
Waiting for the geyser to erupt:
I uploaded a YouTube short but for some reason I can't embed shorts on here so visit my channel to watch the video
Gullfoss
Gullfoss or ‘Golden Falls’ is one of Iceland’s most iconic waterfalls. It is located in the Hvítá River Canyon in Southwest Iceland.
The water in the Hvítá river travels from the glacier Langjökull, before cascading 32 meters (105 feet) down Gullfoss, in two stages in a superb display of the power of nature.
We were dropped off at the visitors' centre from where it's a short walk to the upper viewing platform. It is fantastic. It is nowhere near the biggest waterfall in Iceland but the Gullfoss is the most popular one because of the accessibility.
I was momentarily taken back to last September in Zambia as I viewed the great Victoria Falls.
You can descend the 100 steps to the lower viewing platform. Equally as impressive!
The canyon walls on both sides of the waterfall reach heights of up to 70 meters (230 feet), before descending into the great Gullfossgjúfur canyon.
The water in the Hvítá river travels from the glacier Langjökull, before cascading 32 meters (105 feet) down Gullfoss, in two stages in a superb display of the power of nature.
We were dropped off at the visitors' centre from where it's a short walk to the upper viewing platform. It is fantastic. It is nowhere near the biggest waterfall in Iceland but the Gullfoss is the most popular one because of the accessibility.
I was momentarily taken back to last September in Zambia as I viewed the great Victoria Falls.
You can descend the 100 steps to the lower viewing platform. Equally as impressive!
The canyon walls on both sides of the waterfall reach heights of up to 70 meters (230 feet), before descending into the great Gullfossgjúfur canyon.
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