Golden Circle Made Easy: A Beginner-Friendly Route From Reykjavík

Updated September 2026 · By Jón Heiðar Ragnheiðarson, Reykjavík

The Golden Circle is a loop of about 250 km from Reykjavík that takes in three famous sights: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir hot spring area and the Gullfoss waterfall. Add a greenhouse lunch, a soak in a natural hot spring and a volcanic crater, and you have the day trip almost every visitor to Iceland makes.

Most people rush it in a single day and spend half of it in a queue of tour buses. You don’t have to. Below is an interactive map, a relaxed one-day plan with real driving times, and my own favourite way to do it: over two days, with a night in Flúðir and an evening soak in the Secret Lagoon.

Golden Circle map

Tap any pin to see what’s there and read my article about it. The numbers follow the order you drive. Green pins are detours worth making if you have time. Use the buttons to zoom in on each day of the two-day plan.

The Golden Circle in one relaxed day

This is the classic loop at a pace I’d happily do myself. Leave after breakfast; there’s no prize for being first at Þingvellir.

That’s about 270 km and 4.5 hours of driving. In winter, when it gets dark around 4 to 5 pm, skip Kerið and head home from Flúðir. Open the one-day route in Google Maps.

My way: the Golden Circle in two days

This is how I’d do it with friends. You sleep in, you see Gullfoss after the tour buses have gone home, and you end the first day in hot water instead of in traffic.

Day 1: Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss in the afternoon light

Reykjavík → Flúðir · about 160 km · 2.5 hours of driving

Leave late morning. Spend a good hour at Þingvellir, then have lunch in Laugarvatn, where you can soak at Fontana by the lake and try rye bread baked in the hot ground. Stop for ice cream at the Efstidalur farm, where you can watch the cows while you eat. Reach Geysir and Gullfoss in the late afternoon; the buses do them in the morning, so you’ll share them with far fewer people. In summer it stays light until late.

Drive to Flúðir, check in, and finish the day at the Secret Lagoon.

Sleep: Flúðir, or Laugarvatn.

Show day 1 on the mapOpen day 1 in Google Maps

Day 2: Waterfalls, tomatoes, a crater and a warm river

Flúðir → Reykjavík · about 150 km · 2.5 hours of driving

Sleep in. Stop at Faxi, a wide waterfall with a salmon ladder, then have lunch at Friðheimar. After lunch, choose between a soak at the new Laugarás Lagoon and a quiet hour at Skálholt, for centuries the seat of Iceland’s bishops. Walk the rim of Kerið crater, then stop in Hveragerði. If you have the legs, hike up Reykjadalur to bathe in a warm river, about an hour’s walk each way. Otherwise, have a coffee and head home over the Hellisheiði heath.

Sleep: Reykjavík.

Show day 2 on the mapOpen day 2 in Google Maps

The Golden Circle stops, one by one

1. Þingvellir National Park

48 km from Reykjavík · 45 minutes · spend 1 to 2 hours

Þingvellir is where the Icelandic parliament, the Alþingi, met in the open air from the year 930, and it’s where the North American and Eurasian plates are slowly pulling apart. Park at the Hakið visitor centre, walk down through the Almannagjá rift to the Law Rock and on to the Öxarárfoss waterfall. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a parking fee, and the walk itself is free.

If you want to go further, you can snorkel or dive in the Silfra fissure in glacier water so clear it looks like air. Book ahead. More about the history in the dark side of Þingvellir.

2. Geysir and Strokkur

61 km from Þingvellir · 1 hour · spend 45 minutes to an hour

The Great Geysir, which gave all geysers their name, rarely erupts these days. Its neighbour Strokkur goes off every few minutes, throwing boiling water 15 to 30 metres into the air. Stand upwind, keep your camera ready, and stay behind the ropes; the water in the pools around it is boiling. Seeing it is free. See my article on the geysers and Strokkur in slow motion.

3. Gullfoss

10 km from Geysir · 10 minutes · spend 45 minutes

The Hvítá river drops 32 metres in two steps into a narrow canyon. There’s a viewpoint above with the car park and café, and a lower path that takes you right beside the falls, where you will get wet. In winter the paths ice over, so wear shoe spikes and respect any closures. It’s free. More in my Gullfoss article.

4. Friðheimar tomato farm

28 km from Gullfoss · 25 minutes · spend an hour for lunch

A family greenhouse in Reykholt where you eat among the tomato plants. The tomato soup with fresh bread is the thing to order. It’s popular, so book a table ahead in summer.

5. The Secret Lagoon and Laugarás Lagoon

Flúðir is 12 km from Friðheimar · spend 1 to 2 hours

The Secret Lagoon in Flúðir is Iceland’s oldest swimming pool, built in 1891 around a natural hot spring, with a little geyser bubbling next to it. It’s simple and warm. Laugarás Lagoon, opened in 2025, is the new one on the circle, with a view over the Hvítá river. Both have reader discounts in my newsletter. For every other pool, see my hot spring guide.

6. Kerið crater

39 km from Flúðir · 40 minutes · spend 30 minutes

A volcanic crater about 3,000 years old, with red walls and a green lake at the bottom. Walk around the rim, then down the steps to the water. It’s privately owned and there’s a small entrance fee.

7. Hveragerði and Reykjadalur

24 km from Kerið · 20 minutes · 45 minutes from Reykjavík

A small town built on a geothermal field. From the car park above town, a path climbs the Reykjadalur valley to a warm river you can bathe in, about an hour’s walk each way. Stay on the boardwalks, as the ground around is hot. For something faster, the Mega Zipline runs over the Varmá river.

More detours worth your time

• Fontana in Laugarvatn: lakeside geothermal baths and bread baked in the hot sand.
• Efstidalur: farm ice cream between Laugarvatn and Geysir.
• Brúarfoss: a small waterfall with bright blue water; paid car park and a short walk.
• Faxi: a wide waterfall with a salmon ladder, rarely busy.
• Skálholt: the old bishop’s seat, with a church and a small museum.
• Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel: walk inside a lava tube with a guide, near the road back to Reykjavík.
• Selfoss: the largest town in the south, with a food hall in the old dairy building.

Golden Circle driving times and distances

Times are for good conditions without stops. In winter or bad weather, add plenty. Most people drive the loop clockwise, Þingvellir first, but it works just as well the other way round, and going backwards puts you at the big sights when the buses aren’t.

Driving the Golden Circle safely

• The roads are paved all the way, but narrow. Speed limits are 90 km/h on the open road and lower in towns, and there are cameras.
• Never stop on the road for a photo. Use car parks and pull-outs.
• Check umferdin.is for road conditions, vedur.is for the weather and safetravel.is for alerts before you set off. In an emergency, call 112.
• Hold car doors with both hands in the wind. It’s one of the most common rental damages in Iceland.

The Golden Circle in winter

The Golden Circle is open all year, and in winter it has something summer doesn’t: snow on the lava, ice at Gullfoss and, on a clear night, northern lights. But in December you get only four to five hours of daylight, and Mosfellsheiði and Hellisheiði, the heaths between the sights and Reykjavík, can close in storms.

• Rent a 4×4 with winter tyres, or take a tour.
• Start with the light, and plan the big three rather than all eight stops.
• Bring shoe spikes for the paths at Gullfoss and Geysir.
• Check umferdin.is before you leave, and turn back if the weather turns.

Tour or self-drive?

Drive yourself if you like to stop when and where you want, and you’re comfortable with the weather. It’s the cheapest way for two or more people, and you can do it over two days. Take a tour if you’d rather not drive, if it’s winter and you’re unsure of the roads, or if you’re on your own.

Reykjavik Excursions, one of my partners, runs a Golden Circle Direct tour and an evening Golden Circle tour. My newsletter readers get a discount code for both. You can also browse my hand-picked list of Golden Circle tours.

Where to stay on the Golden Circle

• Reykjavík: the most choice, and fine for a one-day loop. See the highest-rated hotels in Reykjavík.
• Flúðir: my pick for the two-day plan, next to the Secret Lagoon. Places to stay in Flúðir.
• Laugarvatn: by the lake, close to Þingvellir and Geysir. Places to stay in Laugarvatn.
• Selfoss: the largest town, handy if you carry on along the South Coast. Places to stay in Selfoss.

Book early in summer; there aren’t many rooms along the circle.

Car rental and gear: discounts anyone can use

Codes for the Secret Lagoon, Laugarás Lagoon, Golden Circle tours, the zipline and more come free with my newsletter. Insurance terms differ between rental companies and change, so read them and ask the company if anything is unclear.

Going further

The Golden Circle is the start of the South. From Selfoss it’s an hour to Seljalandsfoss and the South Coast; see my South Coast road plan. If you’re going all the way around the country, the Golden Circle is day 2 of my Ring Road map and 10-day itinerary.

Golden Circle FAQ

Before you go

• How to stay safe in Iceland
• How to dress for Iceland
• Reykjavík city guide
• Iceland on a budget

Written by Jón Heiðar Ragnheiðarson, editor (and janitor) of Stuck in Iceland. I was born in Akureyri and have driven the Golden Circle more times than I can count. If something has changed on the road, let me know, and I’ll fix it.