If you have some time in Iceland, we would recommend you to spend more than one day at ‘The Golden Circle’. Þingvellir including (free) diving in Silfra should be a separate trip. The first day it is great to visit Gullfoss and Geysir Area. The waterfall Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, it is unbelievably beautiful in its power. Gullfoss has a large water flow and 32 meters height, divided into two falls. The waterfall was protected after a public action started by Sigríður Tómasdóttir, and a statue of her has been erected at the waterfall.
At Gullfoss you will find a big shop with a large selection of souvenirs and Icelandic clothes. And, strangely enough (since it looks like a typical tourist trap), also a very good lamb soup (kjötsúpa).
After some blowouts from Strokkur in Geysir Area, it’s a good time for a bath – but not in Strokkur, and not in Gullfoss!
We recommend going to Laugarvatn (Lake Laugar). There you have to visit Fontana spa. It is gorgeous, but be aware that this is a natural spa, including a distinct smell of sulfur. Especially the saunas require some overcoming, but what can you expect when you are ‘sitting on top of a Geysir’?
The pools are made of ordinary pool tiles, which is a fine contrast to the rough stones and drift timber that frames them.
What lifts the Fontana experience the most, is the possibility to switch between hot and cold baths. From a luxury ‘heitur pottir’ (hot pot) you can take a fresh swim in Laugarvatn. NB! Don’t even consider diving in! Laugarvatn is extremely shallow. The maximum depth is only 2 meters – even though the area is 2 km2, and you actually risk to get abrasions on your knees when swimming!
But that feeling… To cool down in Laugarvatn before reentering a beautiful 42 degree pool from where you can contemplate the volcano Hekla far far away! If you swim along the shore to the right, though, the water in the lake itself is warm, there is warm water coming up from the lake bottom everywhere!
Then we say like the Icelanders: Allt fint (everything’s fine)!
