The Land of Fire and Ice, or Iceland as it’s more commonly known, is a special place that deserves special attention. So instead of writing a novel on my time here like I did with Ireland, I’m going to break it up into a 3 part series.

PART 1: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

The Golden Circle was the first tour my sister and I took when we arrived in Iceland. We went with Reykjavik Excursions, one of the main companies that offer tours around Iceland.

We were picked up early in the morning right outside the door of our hotel (we stayed at Guesthouse Sunna and HIGHLY recommend it) and brought to the main bus depot. We then jumped on a larger coach bus and got on the road.

Friðheimar Greenhouse Cultivation Centre

The first stop on our tour was the Friðheimar Greenhouse Cultivation Centre. Here we got to see where literally ALL of Iceland’s tomatoes are grown. They use the excess of geothermal heat and water that surrounds the area to heat the greenhouses year round, and well as to power the artificial lighting needed to grow the crops year round.

The staff gives you a talk about the Centre, offers a wide range of goodies and hot beverages from their cafe/restaurant, and sell even more delicacies in their store. My sister and I even bought some freshly made tomato soup for dinner that night! Yummmm.

Geysir Geothermal Area

Next stop was the Geysir Geothermal Area. Geysir is the main geyser in this geothermal park, but unfortunately eruptions are very infrequent these days.

Fun fact: The geyser named “Geysir” was the first geyser known to modern Europeans and the first one ever described in print. The English word geyser (a periodically spouting hot spring) derives from Geysir (derived from the Icelandic verb geysa, “to gush”).

Man there were a lot of geyers/Geysirs in that paragraph.

While Geysir hasn’t erupted in a while, Strokkur, another geyser in the park, does just the opposite - it shoots a column of water 30 meters (or about 98 feet) in the air about every 4-8 minutes!

We also stopped here for lunch, as the visitor’s centre had a bunch of different food options to choose from. Since my sister and I were on a bit of a budget (i.e. saving our money to do cool things vs on food), we had gone to a grocery store the day before and packed lunch and snacks for the tour.

If you’re in any location and on a budget, buying your own groceries is one of the best bits of money saving advice I can give you. You save so much money by not eating out all the time!

Gullfoss

Gullfoss (“Golden Falls”) is a stunning 32 meter (105 ft) waterfall created by the river Hvítá in southwest Iceland.

The scenery was spectacular, but the wind was brutal. It was the kind of wind that cut straight through you and instantly froze your fingers. Working a camera with fingers that have lost almost all dexterity is a rough business.

The bus drops you off at a lower level where you can walk down to the falls if you so choose, and there’s also the option to climb a bunch of relatively steep stairs to view the falls from the top.

After we took in as much as our frozen faces could handle, we made our way to the visitor centre for a cup of hot cocoa to warm up.

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir National Park, or Thingvellir as it’s anglicized, is a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance in Iceland. It marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are separating from each other at a rate of a few centimeters each year.

It is also next to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.

Alþingi (Althing in English), also known as the Icelandic Parliament, was established here at Þingvellir in 930 AD, and remained there until 1798.

This was essentially the creation of Iceland as a country, forming their laws, cultures, and national identity.

It’s also used as the path to the Eyrie in Season 4 of Game of Thrones and inspiration for The Wall. So there’s that.

My sister and I would return here a few days later to do some SCUBA diving (me) and some snorkeling (her), at the nearby Silfra.

Then it was back to Reykjavik!

Lots of people rent their own cars to explore the Golden Circle, but the tour with Reykjavik Excursions was about the same (if not potentially less) than doing it on your own, and the narrative that came along with the tour from our extremely knowledgable guide made it a perfect way to see the Golden Circle.

Have you ever toured the Golden Circle in Iceland? Did you do it on your own or take a tour?