The Golden Circle: the east part of Iceland

Our trip to Iceland begins with the Golden Circle, which is east of the island. Starting from Reykjavík, then to Thingvellir until Geysir and Gullfoss. If you are still in doubt about organizing your trip you can read it here!

GOLDEN CIRCLE STOPS

The Golden Circle stops are Reykjavík, Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir. If you have decided to visit only the Golden Circle, Reykjavík is a good point, from here you can book a lot of tours (daily) organized to visit the various stops. My advice is to rent a car and decide how much and where to stop.

REYKJAVÍK

My advice is to leave Reykjavík for the end of your trip, it is a beautiful city, 2 days to visit it can enough, or start with it. If you want to know more about the street art of this city, read here.

THINGVELLIR

Iceland is a very large island, always try to distribute your daily miles well, and decide from the beginning of the milestones. The national park of Thingvellir is the first stop of the Golden Circle is located 40km from Reykjavík. If you decided to go to Blue Lagoon from the capital, it is complicated that you can go to this famous park on the same day.

If you have decided to stop in Thingvellir to visit it takes half-day, the park is very big, but it’s worth it. You can start from the observatory that leads to the park, and then reach the waterfall. There is also the possibility to snorkel in these areas, prices start at € 80.

GEYSIR & GULLFOSS WATERFALL

Since the beginning of the 21st century, «The Great Geysir» stopped flowing into stones and objects thrown by tourists. Now you can only see the Strokkur, which is among the most visited stops in Iceland, it is not every day that you can see an active geyser, it can reach 20meter high.

Gullfoss waterfall is located 10km from Geyser, is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland for its size and its power. The waterfall is easily accessible and very close to visit is a mandatory stop. If you are lucky you can also see a rainbow.

WHERE TO SLEEP

In this part of the trip, I chose to sleep near the airport, since my flight arrived at 2am. The B&B was very comfortable and with a spectacular breakfast if you want to know where I stayed read here! While the second night I booked an Airbnb area Stokkseyri, where there is nothing, if not four houses. I advise you to sleep in Selfoss, it is a small city but you can find restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations.