Day 2 (180 miles): Reykjavik to Vik, the Golden Circle and Beyond: Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss
Since we weren't really on Iceland time yet, we decided to leave our hotel at 6am. Our original plan going into the road trip was to stock up on food at the Bonus grocery stores in Iceland. It turns out that stores and restaurants in Iceland are not really open when you need them to be, so we had to make due. Luckily there was a convenience store near our hotel called a 10-11 that was open where we could assemble a makeshift breakfast.
Thingvellir
Despite the lack of food availability, I'd highly recommend starting any day in the Summer timeframe early in Iceland to beat the crowds. We were able to enjoy Thingvellir National Park by ourselves. Thingvellir is called the heart of Iceland. It's where one of the oldest parliaments in the world, the Althing was founded in 930, which is also described in the Icelandic sagas. At Thingvellir you can walk between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It's also home to the largest lake in Iceland, called Thingvallavatn (vatn means lake).
Geysir
From Thingvellier we drove to Geysir, which is exactly was it sounds like. It's a geothermal activity area with a geyser. Geysir doesn't really erupt with much regularity, but another one, Stokkur erupts every five minutes or so. If you've been to Yellowstone, this isn't very impressive.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is one of Iceland's most popular waterfalls. It's truly massive, and you can walk right up to it with little barrier. There's a cafe by the waterfall where we paid $20 for a bowl of soup (the prices in Iceland are no joke). The soup was really good though. When we finished eating, the cafe was inundated with a massive busload of tourists, to the point where we had to push our way out. We really timed our visit well and enjoyed the falls without many people around.
After the Golden Circle we made our way to Vik. We chose to stop at two major waterfalls on the way.
Seljalandsfoss
This was one of my favorite waterfalls one the trip because you can walk behind it. It's not as large as some of the other waterfalls in Iceland, but it feels truly powerful from behind. We wore rain pants and it really helped us stay dry.
Be prepared to get your camera wet. I was not prepared for the amount of towels I would need between the rain that day and the spray from the waterfall.
Skogafoss
You can walk right up to the bottom of Skogafoss or climb over 500 steps to get to the top. There were a lot of people here, so it was difficult to get a clear shot of the falls without getting close. Like several places, you need coins to pay for the bathroom here!
We tried to end the day at Reynisfjara beach and Dyrhólaey, but the weather was way too bad to go to the beach. We ended up checking into the Icelandair Hotel Vik, which was pretty nice, but really expensive for such a tiny town. We found dinner at a cafe within sort of a gas station, clothing store, tourist stop cafe (almost nothing was open at 5pm in Vik, so we took what we could get).
Thingvellir
Despite the lack of food availability, I'd highly recommend starting any day in the Summer timeframe early in Iceland to beat the crowds. We were able to enjoy Thingvellir National Park by ourselves. Thingvellir is called the heart of Iceland. It's where one of the oldest parliaments in the world, the Althing was founded in 930, which is also described in the Icelandic sagas. At Thingvellir you can walk between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It's also home to the largest lake in Iceland, called Thingvallavatn (vatn means lake).
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| View from the Thingvellir Platform |
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| Standing between the Tectonic Plates |
Geysir
From Thingvellier we drove to Geysir, which is exactly was it sounds like. It's a geothermal activity area with a geyser. Geysir doesn't really erupt with much regularity, but another one, Stokkur erupts every five minutes or so. If you've been to Yellowstone, this isn't very impressive.
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| Stokkur |
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is one of Iceland's most popular waterfalls. It's truly massive, and you can walk right up to it with little barrier. There's a cafe by the waterfall where we paid $20 for a bowl of soup (the prices in Iceland are no joke). The soup was really good though. When we finished eating, the cafe was inundated with a massive busload of tourists, to the point where we had to push our way out. We really timed our visit well and enjoyed the falls without many people around.
After the Golden Circle we made our way to Vik. We chose to stop at two major waterfalls on the way.
Seljalandsfoss
This was one of my favorite waterfalls one the trip because you can walk behind it. It's not as large as some of the other waterfalls in Iceland, but it feels truly powerful from behind. We wore rain pants and it really helped us stay dry.
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| Behind the falls |
Be prepared to get your camera wet. I was not prepared for the amount of towels I would need between the rain that day and the spray from the waterfall.
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| There are several other waterfalls to see along the path next to the falls. |
Eyjafjallajökull
This is the famous volcano that disrupted European travel for 6 days back in 2010.
Skogafoss
You can walk right up to the bottom of Skogafoss or climb over 500 steps to get to the top. There were a lot of people here, so it was difficult to get a clear shot of the falls without getting close. Like several places, you need coins to pay for the bathroom here!
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| Birds nesting near Skogafoss |
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| The town of Vik, the next day after the sun had come out. |
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