Driving the Golden Circle in Iceland: Everything You Need to Know
Are you planning on driving the Golden Circle in Iceland? This is one of the most popular road trips in the country, and here’s everything you need to know.
The Golden Circle is almost a rite of passage for anyone visiting Iceland. It’s usually done as a circular loop starting and ending in Reykjavik with several stops along the way. However, there are lots of other places you can visit on the route to turn it into a longer trip.
Over our years of travelling to Iceland, we’ve done this route as both a guided tour and hired a car and driven ourselves. While both are great ways to see the sights, we much preferred having a car as it gave us much more freedom.
If you’re planning on doing this too, here are our top tips and everything you need to know!
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❤️ If you’re hiring a car, this is the company we recommend!
Where is the Golden Circle?
First things first, where is the Golden Circle? It’s located in southern Iceland. It’s not along the south coast and is more inland, but it’s in the south of the country.
The circle typically consists of three main stops: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall. These are the stops that all of the tour groups will visit.
However, there are lots of other places you could also stop along this route, such as thermal lagoons, lots of other waterfalls, and even a unique tomato farm.
👉 If you want our suggested Golden Circle itinerary, check it out here.
How long does it take to drive the Golden Circle?
If you were to drive from Reykjavik to Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, and then back to Reykjavik without stopping, it would take you 3.5 hours of just driving.
As such, we always recommend you spend at least a day exploring the Golden Circle because, with the stops, it can be time-consuming.
Not to mention the fact that this is one of the busiest places to visit in Iceland – and the only place during our recent road trip where we struggled to park!
What are the road conditions like?
Everyone who has driven in Iceland will tell you that the road conditions can be a little hit-and-miss. The exception is the Ring Road, which is usually kept in pretty good condition
If you’re considering driving the ring road, check out our full itinerary!
However, because of the popularity of the Golden Circle, this is also (usually) a pretty easy drive.
We drove this route in early April, which is technically still winter in Iceland, and found the conditions to be very manageable.
There wasn’t much snow on the roads – but there was quite a lot of snow on everything else. So, it was clear that they were being maintained.
If you’re driving in the summer months, you’ll find this to be a breeze. If you are tackling the Golden Circle in winter, be aware that there could be ice, check safe.is before you set off to keep track of the road conditions, and be careful.
❤️ If you haven’t hired a car yet, this is the company we recommend!
What are the best stops on the Golden Circle?
The most popular stops on the Golden Circle are Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss Waterfall, and Geysir Geothermal Area. Here’s a little more about each of them.
Thingvellir National Park
Thingvellir National Park is a large National Park about 45 minutes from Reykjavik. There is a LOT to see here, and this place is one of the reasons that you can easily dedicate more than a day to the Golden Circle.
You’ll find several hiking trails, waterfalls, a cute little church, and some amazing viewpoints.
But you can also do activities here like dog sledging and snorkelling between the tectonic plates, plus it’s one of the best places in Iceland to spot the northern lights.
Many Northern Lights tours from Reykjavik will take you to Thingvellir because the conditions are ideal and the skies are really dark.
TOP TIP: There are several parking areas at Thingvellir, so make sure to head to this one for easy access to the most popular sights.
Geysir Geothermal Area
The second stop is Geysir. This geothermal area is home to the most popular active geyser in Iceland, Strokkur. The geyser erupts every 10-15 minutes, shooting water up to 70 metres into the air. You’ll usually get crowds here waiting for it to erupt.
As well as the main attraction, you’ll find several other geysers in the area, mainly dormant ones, and a visitor centre with a restaurant and shop.
There’s less to do here than in Thingvellir, but you can still easily spend a few hours exploring. This was also the busiest place we visited on the Golden Circle.
Gullfoss Waterfall
The final stop is Gullfoss. This is the furthest stop from Reykjavik and will take you an hour and 50 minutes to reach if you drive straight there. It’s also one of the most impressive waterfalls in southern Iceland.
It’s very powerful and, in the summer months, 140 cubic metres of water cascades over the rocks every second. There’s also a path in summer which allows you to get right up close to the waterfall.
In winter, this is shut off because it’s too slippery and dangerous, but there are still several other viewing platforms where you can admire the falls from above.
Kerid Crater
Besides the three places above, this is the next most popular stop on the Golden Circle. It’s technically not on the route itself, but further south towards Selfoss.
If you’re after a great hotel nearby, we loved our stay at Hotel Selfoss, just 15 minutes away from the crater.
Kerid is a huge volcanic crater, but what makes it so unique is the colours. You’ll find a range of colours decorating the crater, including red, green, and purple.
Pair that with the blue colour of the water (or ice, depending on when you visit), and it really is an amazing spot.
You can walk around the outside of the crater and admire it from above. There are also several viewpoints up here. Alternatively, you can climb down the steps into the crater and view it from the bottom.
This does depend on what time of year you visit, though. When we visited in December, the steps were closed as they were too slippery and dangerous, and we could only view the crater from above.
Other stops
There are many other places that you can stop along the Golden Circle, including:
- Bruarfoss Waterfall – one of the bluest waterfalls in Iceland.
- Secret Lagoon – the oldest swimming pool in Iceland.
- Friðheimar Tomato Farm – a unique farm in Iceland that grows tomatoes in greenhouses.
- Faxi Waterfall – another beautiful wide waterfall in Iceland.
- Brúarhlöð Canyon – a unique canyon with milky blue waters.
If you have longer than a day exploring the area, it’s well worth adding a few of these to your itinerary. You’ll find them much less crowded as well.
Can you drive the Golden Circle in a day?
Yes, this is how most people visit the Golden Circle. It’s the perfect road trip and also a great day trip from Reykjavik if you’ve chosen to base yourself there.
However, if you do want to spend longer along the route, there are lots of different hotels and places to stay along the Golden Circle. This will allow you to spend a little more time exploring the area, visit some of the hidden gems, and beat the crowds at the popular spots.
Many of these places, particularly the ones towards the east of the area, are also fantastic bases if you want to head into the highlands.
👉 If you’re looking for amazing places to stay in the Golden Circle, here are all of our top picks!
Where to eat along the Golden Circle
Food is pretty scarce along the majority of the Golden Circle, and your best bet is to bring a packed lunch with you, especially if you’re driving the traditional route to Gullfoss and back to Reykjavik.
One great option along this route is Héraðsskólinn, a guesthouse with a restaurant between Thingvellir and Geysir, which offers a pretty large menu.
You will also find cafes at most of the visitor centres, including those at Gullfoss and Geysir. Both of these serve hot and cold food and drinks, so they are good places to grab yourself lunch.
If you’re heading a little further south to Kerid Crater, you can find several restaurants along this route, near Flúðir. This includes the fantastic tomato farm that we mentioned previously.
However, if you want to eat here, you’ll need to book in advance – this place gets BUSY!
You’ll also find a grocery store in Flúðir and a petrol station, perfect if you’re driving around Iceland. There are lots of places to eat in Selfoss, too, including a delicious and fairly affordable food hall.
Is the Blue Lagoon part of the Golden Circle?
No, the Blue Lagoon isn’t part of the Golden Circle.
The Blue Lagoon is located in the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the country, about 20 minutes from Keflavik Airport. However, since these are both very popular things to do in Iceland, many tour groups offer them together.
You can usually find Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon tour packages, which are a convenient way of seeing both of these places if you don’t have access to a car.
❤️ This tour includes both the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon.
Is driving the Golden Circle better than a tour?
We’ve travelled around the Golden Circle as part of a guided tour and also as a self-drive. What’s best for you really depends on your situation.
When we did this tour, we were staying in Reykjavik. A tour made it super easy to get to the Golden Circle and back to the city as the guide picked us up from our hotel.
In contrast, when we drove ourselves, we were on a 7-day road trip around Iceland. Since most tours start and end in the capital, a tour would’ve made no sense.
Of course, the pros of driving the Golden Circle are that you can spend as long as you like at each stop, take your time and add some of the less-visited spots to your itinerary.
Personally, if we were to visit the Golden Circle again, we’d hire a car and drive ourselves. We wouldn’t be basing ourselves in Reykjavik and would likely stay on the Golden Circle to see it more in-depth, so this would make much more sense.
Plus, it’s genuinely a much nicer place to explore if you get off the typical tourist track, and the roads are mostly well-maintained, so it’s easy to drive.
We hope this guide has helped you plan your drive around the Golden Circle in Iceland. It’s a wonderful place to visit and we hope you have the best time.
👉 Planning on staying on the Golden Circle? Check out our favourite hotels in the area.
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