Skip to content

Iceland’s Golden Circle Photo Tour

Iceland was a breathtakingly scenic country – raw, awe-inspiring, strange, otherworldly.  Our visit two weeks ago included  a trip on the Golden Circle which gave us a glimpse of why this is called the Land of Fire and Ice.  The Iceland Golden Circle is the 190 mile (300 km) roundtrip route that covers three of Iceland’s spectacular attractions – a national park, geysers and waterfalls.

iceland Golden Circle

We had a rental car and a trusted GPS so we were able to cover the route in one day.  This was a lot more sightseeing and more tiring than our relaxing afternoon at the Blue Lagoon the previous day.  While each attraction deserves its own post, this is a summary for now of what we saw during our drive.

iceland Golden Circle

Much of Iceland was shaped by volcanic eruptions and glaciers melting.  It has more than two dozen volcanoes so lava rocks and fields were much of what we expected to see.  Surprisingly, we saw many farmlands and pastures below volcanic hills and mountains too.

Icelandic landscape

Our first stop was a spontaneous one after seeing many cars stopped on a lookout.  We found this homemade rock garden overlooking a lake.  Some tourists were making their own contribution but a whole lot more were taking photos of this interesting roadside attraction.

Iceland Golden Circle rock garden

Þingvellir/Thingvellir National Park

Thingvellir (pronounced Thing-vet-leer), meaning “Parliament Plains”,  is an important site where many major events in Iceland’s history took place.  The Althing general assembly (world’s oldest parliament) was founded here in the year 930 AD.

The assembly met here for the next 300 years.  What a wonderful place to congregate – out in the open surrounded by stunning vistas and majestic scenery.  The church, old cemetery and manor house now mark this special place.

Thingvellir National Park
This has been declared as a “protected national shrine for all Icelanders” and against the setting of Lake Thinvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.  There were many hiking trails here enough to spend days exploring it.

Lake Thinvallavatn iceland image

This park is more than a natural wonder, historical site and and a UNESCO World Heritage Center.  It is also of geologic importance. It is part of a zone fracture that runs through the island and sits on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that separates the North American and Eurasian plates. Cracks and crevices of all sizes could be seen throughout the area.

Thingvellir tectonic drift

Geysir Area
Our next stop was an active geothermal region that felt like America’s Yellowstone National Park was suddenly transported to Iceland.  Smoking grounds, steaming vents, bubbling mud pools, and geysers were all concentrated in this one area.

Iceland Golden Circle geothermal
The Great Geysir (with an i) which originated the English word for geyser resides here.  The Geysir was relatively quiet during our visit but when active can spray up to 200 feet in the air.

iceland Golden circle great geysir

The smaller geyser, Strokkur, meaning “the churn”(pronounced Strau-ker) was the star of the area.  The Strokkur geyser erupts every 5-8 minutes with the hot water rising 60-100 feet high in the air.

iceland golden circle Strokkur

There’s no warning since it’s constantly boiling and depending where you stand, you will get soaked.  It really was an amazing sight to see up close and witness its eruption several times.

iceland golden circle Strokkur eruption
It wasn’t only about geology here though.  These purple nootka or Alaska lupine were surprisingly common throughout Iceland’s landscape.  The vibrant colors were such contrast to the dark volcanic rocks everywhere.

Iceland golden Circle purple nootka or Alaska lupine
Gulfoss Waterfalls
We’ve seen some spectacular falls but then there’s Gulfoss or “Golden Falls“.  This wasn’t your typical looking waterfall.  It was a double cascading one – first at 36 and 70 feet (11 and 21 meters) and then falling into a crevice at 105 feet.

iceland Golden Circle Gulfoss

Gulfoss is located in the Hvita river canyon.  The cloud mist and the falls create some stunning rainbows that magically appeared throughout our visit.  The hike down the trail to get closer to the waterfalls was a slippery slope and the powerful mist will get you wet but what a sight.

Iceland Golden Circle Gulfoss
This particular pathway gave us a closer look at the ravine, albeit a bit scary.  Standing here was where we felt, saw and heard the immense power of Gulfoss.  It’s no wonder this was considered Europe’s most powerful waterfall.

Iceland Golden Circle Gulfoss
There’s even a pseudo cliff for some fun shots of hanging on for dear life.  We couldn’t resist.

Iceland Golden Circle Gulfoss

Iceland Golden Circle

Ten percent of Iceland is still covered by glaciers but we only saw a couple of them on the mountains from afar.

iceland Golden circle glacier mountain

We saw numerous Icelandic horses grazing against some dramatic backdrops.  Icelandic horses are a special breed.  They’re typically more muscular, more hairy, multi-colored with short limbs and neck.  These horses also have two extra gaits (leg movements sequence by which the horse moves).

Icelandic horses

Its purity is kept intact by an Icelandic law preventing a horse from returning once it leaves the country.  These were some of the most beautiful horses we’ve ever seen and they were everywhere on the countryside.

icelandic horses

Our last natural attraction stop was Kerið or Kerid – a volcanic crater lake formed 6,500 years ago.  Red volcanic rock and a moss-covered area was much more prevalent here.

iceland Golden Circle kerid

Iceland’s varied landscape of raging rivers, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls and farmlands were all ruggedly beautifulWe barely touched what the rest of this island had to offer but the Golden Circle drive was a great preview.  From what we saw, it was certainly an island like no other and was a memorable visit for us.

iceland Golden circle river

*Have you done the Iceland Golden Circle tour?  Does Iceland’s landscape surprise and appeal to you?

Related Posts:

Where to Stay

  • Hotel Berg in Keflavik – This was the first hotel we stayed during our first visit and loved it. It’s close to the airport (2 miles), by the marina and offers free Wi-fi and airport transfer. It’s a small family-owned hotel. We had a split-level suite which fit our family comfortably.
  • Hilton Reykjavik Nordica – This hotel is located in the city and within walking distance of the center but shuttle buses are also provided. If you want the comforts of a modern hotel, this has it with buffet breakfast and Executive Lounge for Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members. A couple of friends have stayed here and recommend it.
  • Hlemmur Apartments  – We loved this spacious, two bedroom apartment located within walking distance to Reykjavik’s city center. It looked like an IKEA showroom, It was clean, well-equipped and furnished well with all the amenities we needed for our stay. It had free WI-fi and the owners were friendly. 

Pin it for later!Golden Circle

83 thoughts on “Iceland’s Golden Circle Photo Tour”

  1. What beautiful photos – Iceland is a dream trip for me! Every single picture is beautiful – I can’t wait to see the rest of your posts about this trip! The kids falling of the cliff is hilarious – they must have had a lot of fun posing for that one!

    1. Thanks Lisa! Glad you enjoyed these pictures. We got the idea from another blog and other people were doing it there too. The kids loved doing it. There’s so much to write I wish I can just keep posting.

  2. Great photos! We did this tour (we didn’t actually do the tour, we rented our own car and hit all the spots) and loved it so much. Iceland is truly magical.

  3. What a gorgeous set of photos and it looked like a much nicer day outside than your Blue Lagoon day. How long do you think it’s necessary to stay in Iceland to feel like you’ve covered off teh best of the sights. Was four days really just a taster? We were planning a week of biking in the north next summer followed by a week of exploring – but don’t know if that’s too much or too little.

    1. Thanks Leigh! We got lucky and it was a warm, sunny day for this tour. 4 days was far too short for us and we’d love to go back. We met quite a few people doing drives and staying at B&Bs for a week on the southern portion towards the Skaftafell Natl Park. I think your itinerary sounds great. You’ll really get a feel of the countryside and the rugged outdoors in that timeframe. Maybe allocate a few more days of exploring than biking? Hope that helps.

  4. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista

    Very beautiful! I have wanted to visit Iceland for a bit and your pictures have reinforced this desire. I can’t imagine how wonderful it was to see all the beauty. Love those horses! That would be a real treat.

    1. Thank you debbie! I think you’d love Iceland. It’s very different from the rest of Europe. It really was incredible to drive and see nature at its best. Those horses were some of the highlights for my daughter.

    1. Thank you for such kind words Jessica! My hubby gets credit for the pictures too =) I couldn’t get enough of those rainbow pictures too. They were so vivid.

  5. Oh wow, all this photos are amazing. How don’t know how you handled so much beauty in one day. Your kids are so big now!! Hey, how are you able to make a grid with 4 photos? Is that a plugin? Hope you describe more details about your trip. Since you leave in California, your experiences are very relevant to me.

    1. Thanks Ruth! We took a lot of pictures to try and capture most of Iceland’s beauty during this visit. I used Picasa by Google (free to download) and they have a collage option to do the grid. I love that tool! It makes my pictures look better =) Stay tuned for more posts on Iceland and Denmark.

    1. It was gorgeous scenery and surprised us about Iceland too. It was a wonderful trip. Thanks for hosting as always and giving us social media love.

  6. I really think I’m including Iceland in my bucket list. I know it’s not all ice there (compared to Greenland) but I’m quite surprised at how beautiful it is! Or maybe it’s just the pictures you took? Love the geysers, the rainbows, and everything. You must have taken hundreds of pictures in one day!

    1. You definitely need to put Iceland on your list especially if you love nature. No, it really is beautiful and these pictures don’t do them any justice. We took so many pictures on two cameras and each attraction deserves its own post later on. Thanks for stopping by Aleah!

  7. Wow! What a tour! And all of that in in a short three hours? That’s incredible. I didn’t expect the waterfalls to be this huge. And they geysirs look fascinating. What nature comes up with!!

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Sabrina. Our tour actually took 10 hours for the 3 major attractions. We did a lot of stopping too to look at things and then a lunch. These were definitely one of Mother Nature’s wonders.

  8. What stunning natural beauty captured in your excellent photos. I’ve got to take that 190 mile drive sometime. That’s one weird rock garden! The kids look like happy travelers.

    1. Thank you Cathy! The kids loved the drive and running around in those wide open spaces. Iceland was stunning and I hope you can visit it someday soon.

  9. How fun! Iceland is a place I’d really like to go. It seems so wild and remote. I love flowers and the lupine shot with your children is beautiful. Love the waterfall photos too.

    1. Thank you for the kind comments, Allison. It really was raw and wild. Those lupine flowers were surprisingly everywhere and was a breath of fresh color in some areas.

  10. I had such an unpleasant experience with their airport security two years ago on a stop from Paris to Seattle that I have vowed never to set foot in Iceland again. However, I have to admit that your photos did tickle the travel itch just a bit to go there someday. Beautiful photos and very interesting information!

    1. Sorry to hear about your experience in Iceland, Jackie. I’m sure it was a few bad apples in airport security. You really need to go back beyond the airport and explore the country. It really is beautiful with some very friendly people.

  11. Beautiful horses, beautiful landscape, and your photo of the Gulfoss Waterfalls brings to mind a giant slice of cake covered in cream! Iceland is one of my dream destinations.

    1. Thanks Denise! I thought Gulfoss looked like a slice of frosted pie when I first saw it. I hope you get to visit Iceland soon. You won’t be disappointed.

  12. Wow those shots of the Gulfoss Waterfalls are so beautiful. Icelandair just started direct flights from Denver so I’m thinking I need to go see the country myself.

    1. Thanks Suzy! We flew Icelandair and it’s a great airline. Lucky for you to be able to go there nonstop from Denver. Yes, you really should see it.

  13. Mary these are gorgeous photos! A friend of mine visited the Blue Lagoon. I hope to make it there. I love the Rock Garden shot. What a wonderful trip

  14. I love this post! Iceland is one of my dreamed countries that i want to visit someday and how i wish that i could visit all this beautiful place, specially the Blue Lagoon. Thanks for sharing these stunning photos with us!

    1. Thanks Miriam! The Blue Lagoon is just something special and Iceland is truly magical. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I hope you make it to Iceland soon.

    1. Iceland was so beautiful and the kids loved the trip especially when there was a puffin tour involved and soaking at the Blue Lagoon. They are also family-friendly and we drove around everywhere and it was so easy. I always see those specials from Seattle on Icelandair so you can get some great deals and it’s non-stop. We flew Icelandair on our way to Denmark and had a free stopover so it’s worth looking into.

  15. Beautiful photos! Iceland has been on my list for quite some time. I’m fortunate because my best friend and her family are from Iceland and they go back every summer for a month. Seeing your photos make me want to move that trip up my list. :D

    1. Niki, you have to go especially when you have locals to show you around. It is an absolutely beautiful country. Since you loved Alaska, I’m pretty sure you’d like Iceland’s raw beauty.

    1. Thanks Shamis! The waterfalls was one of the best we’ve seen. Luckily, we didn’t get soaked by the geyser :) No problem…you’ve got some great information.

    1. Thanks Lane! Some of the pictures were touched up using Google’s Picasa. The others I left unedited. We got lucky to be touring on a really beautiful sunny day in Iceland.

    1. Hi Cindy! Yes, it was all in one day – a long 12 hour day. We started out early (8AM) and since it was summer, the sun doesn’t set until past midnight so we had a lot of daylight hours to sightsee. Iceland is absolutely beautiful and amazing. Icelandair offers free layovers when flying to Europe. We stopped in Iceland for 4 days before heading to Denmark.

  16. Ok, seriously … who knew? You just put Iceland on my “dream travel” map, Mary! :)

    I’m sending this link to my co-worker, since she’s headed there next month to see the Northern Lights

    Thanks for another excellent post!

  17. love this photo tour! hoping to get to iceland in the next year or so, and its looks gorgeous! thanks for sharing! :) thanks for the follow on twitter! check out my new-ish travel blog! :) thanks!

  18. WoW those photos are gorgeous, I’m going to Iceland beginning November and am so looking forward to it. haha that pseudo cliff on the Gulfoss Waterfalls is hilarious

    1. Yay! I’m so happy for you..travel dream come true :) When are you going? Driving there was so easy and our GPS worked. You really should rent a car in order to see the best sights and it’s better with the kids. We loved the drive and you can stop wherever and whenever you can. My friend did a Golden Circle tour and she regretted it since they only stopped in 3 places and were timed. Pls. let me know if you have any questions.

  19. Mary, We’re headed to Iceland in a few weeks and I am going back over your posts, so I’ll be asking some questions. If you have more tips or advice, I’d be happy to hear them! Do you know if it’s okay to feed the horses…not junk food, but carrots and apples?

    1. Hi Corinne. How exciting and I’m jealous :) I wish I can tag along. I’m sure you’ll love Iceland. I’ll email you something else too. I’m really not sure if you can feed them outside of the tours. We saw a lot of them hanging out by the roads and you can approach them. I’d be hesitant to feed them but would ask the owners if they’re around.

  20. Brilliant write up! We just came back from Iceland too!!! I think a tour is really a very good way to know about the geography and culture of the region all in one!

  21. This looks the most scenic one-day road trip I’ve ever seen. Last year IcelandAir started offering direct flights from where I live, so it’s nice to know a road trip like this is only a 6 hour flight away.

  22. Looks like you had better weather than I did when I did the Golden Circle! Unfortunately I didn’t see the crater lake whilst there though. I was a little underwhelmed when I was on the bus from the airport to Reykjavik – the landscape seemed so bland. But I learned to love how uncultivated it was. It was a bit like being transported back to medieval times! And then I discovered more glaciers, volcanoes and waterfalls and was blown away:)

  23. This is so helpful. We are going to Iceland this summer. The detailed info about going there with kids was great.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.