Iceland’s Golden Circle

Iceland Series Part 3

Jul 01, 2024

The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route in southwestern Iceland. The loop takes visitors through stunning landscapes that include the dramatic Gullfoss waterfall, the geothermally active Geysir area, and Þingvellir National Park (the letter Þ is pronounced with a “th” sound).

Region of the Golden Circle that we visited

With the Snæfellsnes Peninsula behind us, we set our sights on the Golden Circle for a couple of days.

Our focus? The waterfalls!

Back to the Land of Tourists

The quiet of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula was a perfect place to start our Iceland trip. Arriving at the Golden Circle, however, we were greeted by a noticeable uptick in both visitors and paid parking lots - a sign of the area’s popularity.

Our waterfall tour began at Þórufoss, a 62 ft high waterfall just west of Þingvellir National Park. When we arrived, there were a few cars in the parking area. We must have arrived at the right time though, because they were all leaving and we had the waterfall to ourselves. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you might recognize this waterfall.

Next up was Öxarárfoss in Þingvellir National Park. I had seen some beautiful photos of this waterfall, so I was really looking forward to taking my own.

Despite my expectations of a short, rocky hike, we found a well-maintained path and boardwalk leading to the falls. I sat on the boardwalk with 20 of my closest friends and took my photos. Needless to say, this area was pretty busy!

We still had a bit of a drive to get to our accommodation for the night, so we didn’t linger in Þingvellir National Park. I think it’s an area worth visiting for a day or two, though.

Brúarfoss was our next stop. To get there, we took a gravel road north from the main highway and parked at what I think was the main parking area. Because it was well off the main road, I was a little surprised to see that it was another paid parking lot.

Every paid parking area we visited came complete with camera surveillance and a QR code payment system, so that visitors can easily make payments online before leaving. All of the national parks in Iceland are free, so it’s hard to complain too much about paying for parking at a few places.

Brúarfoss was beautiful and would be a great spot for a sunrise or sunset photo. Someday.

By the time we reached the geothermal Geysir Hot Springs area, the midday tourist rush was in full swing. It was packed!

We decided to skip the crowds and head to Skjol Cafe for some pizza instead.

We checked into our Airbnb and, by this point in the day, the wind had really picked up. We settled in and took a long nap (“first sleep”) before waking up for a sunset photo attempt at Gullfoss.

We arrived at Gullfoss around 10:15 p.m. and although the sun wouldn’t set until close to midnight, we had some nice color in the sky.

The wind was brutal as we tried to photograph Gullfoss. Unfortunately, it was also cold. We got a few photos and hurried back to the car.

Chasing waterfalls and a cat

The next day, our plans to explore the highlands were thwarted by “F” road closures due to inclement weather. Exploring Iceland’s interior highlands would have to wait for a future trip.

It was expected to be another very windy day, so we started early to avoid the worst of it.

Our day began with two waterfalls: Árbaejárfoss and Ægissíðufoss. Both were nice stops which we had to ourselves.

It was too windy to do a longer hike, so we drove to the nearby town of Selfoss.

We picked up pastries at GK Bakari. Then we stopped for coffee at Konungs Kaffi. It was a cute place and there was a cat! Naturally, I had to drop down and pet the cat for a minute while waiting for my coffee.

Our final waterfall of the day was Faxifoss. We followed a boardwalk path from the main parking area directly down to the falls.

We liked the spot so much that we braved the wind and returned for sunset photos.

Should have brought goggles

We saw some incredible waterfalls along the Golden Circle, but it ended up being our least favorite section of the trip. I think it was just a combination of the weather and the fact that we weren’t able to explore the highlands due to the road closures.

With more high winds expected, more warning emails from the rental company, and stories of campervans getting blown off the road, our goal for the day was to make it to the town of Vik, safely.

Our first stop, Seljalandsfoss, greeted us with such intense winds that the waterfall seemed to defy gravity, floating upwards much of the time.

Dirt and dust accompanied 60+ mph wind gusts as we drove along the south coast.

Check out the wind data below. Some of the gusts on this morning approached 100 mph.

Wind data from a local weather station. Those peaks on the right are some of what we were trying to navigate carefully. Gusts up to about 44 m/s, which is 98 mph.

Next, we stopped at the famous Skógafoss.

Skógafoss is nearly 200 ft tall and 80 ft wide. It’s a huge waterfall with an easy approach. I stood far back and set up the tripod in an attempt to take long-exposure images.

The wind had other plans.

I got one long-exposure taken before a strong gust came over the falls, we caught my tripod before it fell over, and we braced ourselves as the wind blew mist and dust at us. The wind was quite literally ripping the tears out of my eyes lol.

I ditched the idea of a long exposure image, took a few snapshots, and we headed back to the car.

I was fighting the wind on the way back while trying to follow Jess to our car.

Car after car looked the same as our rental. I headed to the passenger door of our car and briefly looked up.

To my surprise, there was a man sitting in the car and he knocked on the inside of the window as I approached.

Momentarily confused, it was then that I realized — it wasn’t our car.

I went to the wrong car.

I immediately diverted to see Jess laughing. I got in our car and waved happily at the people in the neighboring car (the one I almost got into) because I felt like an idiot.

Then I burst out laughing. I couldn’t stop. Five minutes in and I was crying and my abs hurt. I can’t remember the last time I have laughed so hard for that long.

Arrival in Vik

Feeling a bit winded (ha), we finished the drive to Vik, and immediately it felt like the type of town we had been waiting for.

It’s a small town, but the food options were plentiful! We ate lunch at a place called Lava Cafe. I was so happy to have a decent sandwich and, over the next few days, we became Lava Cafe regulars.

We still had a few hours to pass before checking into our next accommodation, so we visited the two local black sand beaches.

Víkurfjara Black Sand Beach is just beside the town of Vik. It’s a huge, beautiful beach.

At the west end, there is a smaller pocket beach that you can access when the tide is low enough. We spent some time over there taking photos and saw our first puffins! They weren’t close enough to get photos of, but it was exciting to know that they were in the area.

Then we stopped at the most famous black sand beach in Iceland, Reynisfjara. We hit it at peak tourist time in the early afternoon, so it was busy!

Reynisfjara is known not only for its black sand, but also for its columnar basalt rock formations and sneaker waves that sometimes take out unsuspecting tourists.

Photographing rock patterns amidst the tourists at Reynisfjara.

After a quick stop at Dyrhólaey Peninsula Nature Reserve, we arrived at our home for the next 3 nights — a cute guesthouse on a farm.

Looking toward Reynisfjara from Dyrhólaey Peninsula Nature Reserve

Our original plan was to capture sunset from Dyrhólaey Peninsula Nature Reserve. Sadly, they had it closed from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. because of bird nesting this time of year.

There was almost no one out when we left the guesthouse to find a new spot for sunset photos. We ended up at a waterfall just outside of Vik.