Golden Circle Complete - Classic Minibus Tour - EI27

Tour Description

Strokkur geyser spouting water

We will visit many exciting places but they are all close by so don’t worry, we will have enough time to enjoy everything!

The Golden Circle Complete

At Extreme Iceland we prefer to operate tours by minibus in smaller groups. This gives us the opportunity to deliver the personal service we feel you deserve.

Hellisheidavirkjun (Geothermal Power Plant)

First stop will be the Geothermal Exhibition at Hellisheidi Power Station. It recently opened and houses an interactive exhibition centring on the development of geothermal energy in Iceland. Geology, technology and history are represented in an accessible and entertaining way through informative and entertaining multimedia exhibits.

Gullfoss Falls - The Golden Waterfall

Crater Kerid

Next we visit Kerið, a volcanic crater lake. First it was thought that Kerið was formed by a huge volcanic explosion (as is usual for volcanic craters), however research now tells us this was probably a cone volcano which erupted and emptied its magma reserve. The cone collapsed into the magma chamber and created the crater lake bordered by strongly coloured red volcanic rock.

From Kerið we travel onwards to Skálholt, a site steeped in Icelandic history and heritage. For over 700 years, Skálholt was the cultural, academic and political center of Iceland. Today it is a popular stop to take in Icelandic history and enjoy the many beautiful buildings and artifacts. There you can see a replica of an Icelandic-style turf house, like people used to build and live in up until the 20th century (although they were quite rare then).

Faxi Waterfall

Next we go see the waterfall Faxi, 12 km from Gullfoss and Geysir. This waterfall is in the river Tungufljot and is part of the golden circle trail.

Almannagja canyon, at Thingvellir National Park

Gullfoss Waterfall (The Golden Falls)

Next up is Gullfoss the most famous waterfall in Iceland in the river Hvíta. It’s power is inspirational and we can stand so close to it that we feel the mist of glacial water on our faces. Around this time it should be lunch time so we will stop at a local place for food.

Geysir Geothermal Area

After hitting the road again we'll make a short stop to look at some Icelandic horses, which are a common sight in the countryside of Iceland. After our meet & greet we head over to the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur where we will see the famous Geysir and many hot springs. We will also see Strokkur geyser, which spouts every five minutes or so and projects steaming water to a height of about 60-100 feet.

Strokkur, the geyser erupts every 8-10 minutes

Efstidalur - Icelandic farm

After the golden two, Gullfoss and Geysir, we will visit Efstidalur, a family farm located close to Laugarvatn lake. There‘s an ice cream barn at the farm and the concept is really charming, you can enjoy different flavoured ice cream produced from the cow‘s milk. It doesn‘t get more original...and the ice cream tastes amazing.

Outside Hellisheidarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant

Lake Laugarvatn - Vígðalaug pool

Laugarvatn is a small town with population of about 200 people. It is also home to lake Laugarvatn which contains geothermal springs under its surface. One of the hot springs connected to the lake is Vígdalaug. When the Icelandic nation became Christian the pool was consecrated by Norwegian priests and used as a baptism pool.

We will stop for a meet & greet with some Icelandic Horses

Thingvellir National Park and Öxarárfoss waterfall

To complete the Golden Circle we end our tour with visit to the National Park Thingvellir. The area holds great historical importance and has many remarkable geological features. The Eurasian and American tectonic plates meet here and Althingi (the Icelandic parliament) was formed on these rocks in 930 AD, making it the oldest parliamentary site in the world. There’s a beautiful waterfall nearby as well, in fact Öxarárfoss and Thingvellir have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.