Iceland: Golden Circle Circuit

The Golden Circle contains some of Iceland’s most-famous tourist attractions, and as such, it is packed with tourists. At this phase of our journey, we have not yet touched the Ring Road. Many guidebooks and online travel sites recommend visiting the Golden Circle first so that the rest of your Ring Road journey becomes less crowded and more relaxing. As someone who does not like crowds, I was eager to get this portion of the trip under our belts.

We woke up at the Grindavík campground a little later than we planned. I think my eyes opened at 9:30 a.m., but I laid there feeling cozy for another half hour. Our camper van’s heater rocked, and I loved being snuggled in my sleeping bag and comforter. I finally got the sleep I needed, and I reveled in it. When I did get up, I moved so slowly that we both decided that we’d get breakfast on the road.

I stepped out of the camper van to brush my teeth, and I noticed a sweet older couple in a camper van near us eating breakfast on their little folding table with camp chairs outside of their van. We envisioned having breakfast like that, but who are we kidding? We’re night owls, and mornings are a slog at best, especially with jet lag in another country.

We determined our order of operations for the day: breakfast, shopping at Álafoss wool store in Mosfellsbær, and visiting the Golden Circle. After we rearranged our items in the camper van (something we did A LOT), we entered Álafoss in the GPS on the tablet. We figured we would find something for breakfast along the way.

Breakfast!

Outside of Reykjavík, we found a cafe next to a Bónus right off the highway. In the parking lot, we saw another couple with a Happy Campers 4×4 van, and we waved at each other. We later figured out they were from France. We encountered them several times during our trip, always waving at each other. We waved at all the other Happy Campers in their brightly-colored vans, including another passenger from the Happy Campers airport shuttle. She traveled alone in a Happy 1 van, and we saw her at several points and wondered how her trip was going.

Lindabakarí offered an excellent selection of pastries and coffee. We both got pastries we could not pronounce and shared them. Graham always does a better job at trying to pronounce Icelandic words. I just point and say, “that one.” Almost everybody in Iceland speaks English, and I was grateful for that oh so many times.

Álafoss Wool Store & Mosfellsbær

Álafoss wool store in the town of Mosfellsbær has been in business since 1896. They make woolen products for other companies, and they also have an online store. Graham researched wool shops and picked Álafoss as our best option for our official Icelandic sweaters. He wanted to order them online prior to our trip, but I wanted to try them on since sizing, especially for women, can vary widely. I am glad I waited. In the United States, I would typically wear a medium or large, but I ended up purchasing a small sweater. Graham bought a small as well. The only complaint I have is that even with removing the VAT (Value-added Tax – United States citizens can get it refunded by filing paperwork at the airport) we would have spent less buying online.

We wandered around the small town area of Mosfellsbær near the shop, and we took pictures of the Pride flag displayed prominently above a public outdoor amphitheater. Iceland embraces LGBTQIA and even has protections baked into its constitution. The country as a whole accepts people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. Iceland encourages people to be who they are fully and without judgment.

Walking along the street, we noticed a little girl around the age of three watering plants for her family. She wore little wellies and took her work seriously. Down by the front door, we could see wellies all in a row and ready when needed.

Next door to this family, we found a knife shop simply called Knifemaker where the owner makes custom knives using local materials such as reindeer horn, horse hooves, and wood. The knives were gorgeous! Each knife display listed the materials the knifemaker used. We lusted after a kitchen knife, but with a price tag over $1,000 USD, we just could not take the plunge. I wished I could have bought one for my Dad, but as frugal as he is, he would have been appalled if I spent that much. He’d much rather find a deal on his own.

Þingvellir (Thingvellir)

In Iceland the Western Eurpoean and North American tectonic plates meet. They create a fissure that slowly pulls apart over time. Þingvellir (or Thingvellir) National Park features this fissure, Öxarárfoss (a waterfall), and an area where parliament meetings took place.

The path from the parking lot to the main excitement of Þingvellir allows for easy walking.

The national park has built an outdoor amphitheater area above where the parliamentary meetings of old were held. At these meetings, the clans would gather in these fields to make laws, punish criminals, and discuss their differences and shared goals. It was a multi-day event, and groups would camp on the grounds.

Öxarárfoss is a man-made waterfall caused by intentionally diverting waters above it. Tourists packed the path to the waterfall.

We looked over the fissure between the tectonic plates. I believe we were on the North American side in these photos.

You might have heard about people dry diving in Iceland and touching the two tectonic plates. Dive.is offers that service in this park at the Silfra fissure where a glacial spring fills the fissure. We are critters of comfort and did not relish the thought of snorkling or diving during this trip; however, it is on the must-do list for many people. We saw the area where Dive.is customers meet and gear up before their adventure.

To save time and money, we ate lunch in our camper van before heading to the next stop. We snacked on charcuterie from Silica Hotel and ate sandwiches and chips.

Geysir

Sometimes you just need the original. We went to Geysir, the first recognized geyser in Europe. The park contains numerous smaller geysers and hot pools near Geysir including Litli Geysir (Little Geysir) and Strokkur. Geysir erupts a few times per day while Strokkur erupts several times per hour.

After wandering through Geysir, we stopped in the visitor’s center to make a pit stop and refill our water bottles. It had a nice cafe and gift store, but we did not linger very long. We wanted to finish our Golden Circle tour and find our campground for the night.

Gullfoss

After wrapping up at Geysir, we headed to our last stop on the Golden Circle, Gullfoss. We didn’t know it at the time, but seeing big and amazing waterfalls would become much more commonplace as our journey continued. This was our first BIG waterfall, and it did not disappoint! We are grateful we suited up with our rain pants and waterproof outer shells.

After hiking back up from the waterfall, we saw our first of many 4×4 tour buses. We wondered what it was like to ride in one.

Skjól Campsite

We stopped at Skjól Campsite for the night. This campsite ranks as one of our favorites for the whole trip. It has clean, private gender-neutral bathrooms and decently-sized showers. Plus, the restaurant featured wood-fired pizzas and a full bar. We were in heaven! Also, we quickly realized that we didn’t have a huge desire to cook in our camper van. Inside the restaurant, we saw the French couple again, and we noticed that 4×4 Happy Camper van in the camping area. Great minds think alike!