First full day in Iceland

We kicked off our first full day in Iceland in the best possible way: with a seriously good hotel breakfast. The buffet had everything from fresh continental choices to a hearty cooked spread, plus a waffle maker that quickly became my new best friend. You pour in the batter, flip it, and then go wild with the toppings. I loaded mine with fruit, syrup and whatever else I could justify.

What fascinated me was the amount of fresh fruit and veg on offer. On a volcanic island in the North Atlantic, it really makes you wonder how much has to be imported and how they manage to keep such variety available. It already felt like Iceland was full of surprises.

Fed and happy, we packed up and jumped in the car to start our Golden Circle adventure, heading northeast. The drive itself became part of the experience. We stopped a couple of times along the way because the landscape was just too good to ignore. Huge open views, dramatic skies, mountains with snow still clinging to their tops. Even before we reached our first “official” stop, it already felt like we were in the middle of a nature documentary.

Thingvellir National Park

After about an hour we reached Thingvellir National Park. We made a quick stop at the visitor centre, then decided it would be easier to drive closer to Öxarárfoss so we would not have such a long walk.

From the car park, a wooden boardwalk leads you gently up to the waterfall. Öxarárfoss itself is not the biggest waterfall in Iceland, but it is beautiful a curtain of water pouring over dark volcanic rock. The walk is easy underfoot thanks to the wooden path, though there are some steps up to the viewing platform that might be tricky for anyone with mobility issues.

From there we continued along the wooden path towards the historic site where Iceland’s first parliament was established. The views along this route are incredible. I have never seen anything quite like it before.

Because we were there at the start of spring, the colours were not the lush greens you might expect in summer. Instead, the landscape had a moody palette of dark browns, yellows, greys and silvery streams cutting through the valley. It felt like walking onto the set of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings wild, raw, almost otherworldly.

Despite the snow still on the mountain tops in the distance, it was not particularly cold and, amazingly for Iceland, it was not raining. We hardly saw any birds or wildlife, just the occasional horse or a few ewes scattered across the fields. That emptiness added to the feeling of being somewhere remote and untamed.

After soaking up the history and the scenery, we headed back to the car and continued our loop towards Geysir.

 Geysir Geothermal Area 

The drive to Geysir took around 40 minutes, although we happily stretched it a little longer with unplanned photo stops. Every turn in the road seemed to reveal another excuse to pull over and stare.

Geysir itself sits in a steaming geothermal field, with bubbling hot springs and vents hissing away around you. The original Great Geysir is mostly dormant these days and only erupts very rarely, but Strokkur more than makes up for it. Every 6 to 10 minutes it sends a column of boiling water shooting up to around 20 metres into the air.

Standing there, waiting for that perfect moment when the water swells and then explodes skywards, is absolutely mesmerising. It is an experience you feel as much as you see: the sound, the heat, and the collective gasp from everyone watching.

Entry to the geothermal area is free, and there is a big restaurant and shop right across the road. We treated ourselves to coffee and cake, then spent about an hour wandering around, watching Strokkur erupt a few times from different angles and exploring the steaming pools dotted across the site.

 Gullfoss Waterfall

From Geysir, we continued on to what turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of the day: Gullfoss.

When you arrive at the car park you cannot immediately see the waterfall, because it sits lower down in a deep gorge. You can walk just a couple of minutes to reach the upper viewpoint, or you can commit to the full experience and take the longer walk all the way down to the lower viewing area. It is roughly 15 to 30 minutes there and back, and it is 100% worth the effort.

We headed all the way down, and the closer we got, the more powerful it felt. The noise of the water is enormous, like constant rolling thunder, and the spray hangs in the air around you. Gullfoss is a two-tiered cascade, with the first drop at about 11 metres and the second at a dramatic 21 metres, plunging into a rugged canyon. It feels wild and untamed, like nature showing off.

After what was probably around a hundred photos (and a lot of “just one more from this angle”), we climbed back up and rewarded ourselves with fish and chips in the restaurant. Simple, hot, and very, very welcome after the chilly spray of the falls.

 Kerid Crater 

Our final stop of the day was Kerid Crater. This volcanic crater lake is a great way to finish the Golden Circle, a little quieter but no less impressive.

Entry costs around 600 ISK. I had bought the tickets online a few days before and was very pleased with myself when we saw the queue at the ticket booth. We were able to stroll straight in while others were still waiting to pay.

We walked down the steps to the lake first, following the path around the water at the bottom. The colours here are striking: the red and black volcanic rock, the contrasting slopes and the still water in the centre. After exploring at lake level, we climbed back up and walked the full circuit around the rim of the crater. The views from above are lovely, especially as the light changes and picks up different shades in the rock and water. There are steps involved going both down and back up, so it is worth keeping that in mind for anyone with mobility issues.

Kerid was a calm and scenic way to close our Golden Circle day. By the time we got back in the car, we had seen tectonic plates, waterfalls, geysers and a volcanic crater, all in one loop. It felt like we had been on an epic road trip, even though it was just one day.