A Beginner's Guide to Iceland's Golden Circle

Pictured here: Gullfoss, Kerid Crater, Bruarfoss, Strokkur geyser

Iceland’s Golden Circle is arguably one of the most popular routes in the country, consisting of three main stops: Pingvellir National Park, Gulfoss Waterfall, and the Haukadalur Geothermal Valley (Geysir and Strokkur are the most notable attractions here). Check out my post here to learn about the Top 10 Stops along the Golden Circle.

How to “Do” the Golden Circle

There are a couple ways you can experience the Golden Circle. One way is to book a trip with an organized tour company, allowing them to do all the driving for you. If you are a nervous driver, don’t want to have to rent a car, or if you are traveling during a time when road conditions are not optimal, this may be a good option for you. Why not let someone else stress about the blizzard happening outside while you gaze out of your window? You can easily find tour companies online that offer a Golden Circle tour. Your hotel can also recommend companies with whom they frequently work. Keep in mind that if you choose to use a tour company, you’ll need to come and go according to their schedule; that may mean limited photo and exploration opportunities. Additionally, companies may only offer stops at the three main attractions. If you want to see some of the other incredible sights an organized tour may not be able to accommodate this.

If you’re not keen on the idea of seeing the sights by way of a tour bus, the other way to experience the Golden Circle is to drive it yourself. This is the method we chose. I like to take my time and really explore so we didn’t want to be time-bound at each site, based on a tour company’s itinerary. We also really wanted to see as many sites as possible, with as few people around as possible. Driving was the easy decision for us. We picked up our rental car at the airport and conquered the Golden Circle on our own. It was definitely the right decision us!

Driving the Golden Circle

If, like us, you decide to drive the Golden Circle, you may find my post about renting a car and driving in Iceland very useful.

When tackling the Golden Circle and all of it’s amazing stops, it is important to consider your starting location and the order in which you want to see the sights. Most people will begin their tour heading northeast out of Reykjavík, stopping first at Pingvellir National Park. This is the most popular means of driving the Golden Circle and also the route most tour operators follow. As tour busses arrive, so do floods of people, effectively taking over each location until it is time for them to move on to the next spot. Should you choose to follow this traditional route, be sure to leave early enough to avoid the crowds and busses.

Because we wanted to see as much of the country as possible (and hoped to avoid as many crowds as possible) we took a different route than the one described above. We drove south from Keflavik airport, traveled along the coast, and then headed east until we met up with the Ring Road. Pingvellir was, consequently, the last stop on our tour rather than the first. Essentially, we just drove the Golden Circle counterclockwise. For us, this worked perfectly; we did not experience an onslaught of tour busses because we were not on the same itinerary as the “normal” tour. We also were able to easily add additional stops beyond the “big three” of Pingvellir, Gulfoss, and Geysir/Strokkur and had the chance to see Iceland’s beautiful coastline.

Driving the Golden Circle from Keflavik Airport in a counter-clockwise direction: avoid the masses of tour busses and glimpse the coast!

Driving the Golden Circle was the first thing we did upon arriving in Iceland. Our flight arrived very early in the morning (6:00 AM), giving us the entire day to complete the Golden Circle. This allowed us to spend as much time as we wanted at each location. While this worked well for us, keep in mind that you may be tired from restless/no sleep on the plane so you may want to weigh the pros and cons of driving a 10-12 hour tour right away. Luckily, our adrenaline excitement kicked in and Had no trouble staying energized.

You can find more detailed information and tips on Iceland driving here but here are few tips specifically related to the driving Golden Circle:

(1) Get a car that can handle any weather condition you may face. The forecast may say sunny and dry but there is always a chance that inclement weather will pop up. In fact, inclement weather can and likely will make an appearance at some point during your stay! Ensure that your rental car has snow tires (if you’re traveling in snowy months) and that you get the appropriate insurance to cover you in case of severe weather and/or an accident. I cover insurance in greater detail here.

(2) Get yourself a good map. Although I had downloaded a Google map to my phone and even had my own detailed driving itinerary with turn by turn directions, it’s never a bad idea to get a map from the rental company, your hotel, or a local store.

(3) Use some type of navigation system or GPS. Even though my printed maps with detailed, turn by turn directions were useful, it was easy to get turned around. Many car companies will include a navigation system with your rental (usually for an extra cost) if you do not want to use your cell phone. Although we didn’t have any problem with cell service along the Golden Circle, there are many parts of Iceland where cell service is spotty or non-existent. Also keep in mind the cost of using data on your cell phone; it may be cheaper to rent the navigation system from the car rental company than paying the data fees from your cell carrier.

(4) Check the road conditions before setting out. Due to the fast and ever-changing Icelandic weather conditions, you need to know whether or not road conditions are safe for travel. We found this website to be consistently updated and reliable. Bookmark it and use it before you head out on your trip to stay safe!

(5) Enjoy the drive and don’t rush! I cannot emphasize this enough. You’re going to be seeing out-of-this-world landscapes and if you’re so worried about making each location by a set time, you’ll miss out on experiencing truly remarkable countryside and phenomenal landmarks. I can’t count the times I told my husband to pull over to the side of the road so that I could snap a picture or just marvel at the scenery!

It’s not just the geographical landscapes that deserve appreciation!

Now that you’ve read these general Golden Circle tips, why not check out my detailed post on the Top Ten Stops On the Golden Circle to learn a bit more about each location, including the amount of time you should plan to spend at each stop?

How did you navigate the Golden Circle? Do you have any additional tips? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!