self drive 5 days golden circle - iceland travel · of 40–80 years, melting the glacial cap and...

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Golden Circle

Haukadalur

Self Drive 5 days

Self Drive Golden Circle2

Welcome to Iceland!

To make your stay in Iceland more enjoyable, we would like to draw your attention to the following:

△ This booklet contains a standard itinerary. If you have added nights, please note that the itinerary has not been customized to show such amendments.

△ This itinerary is a guideline for your travel in Iceland. The route may vary according to your overnight stay and road conditions, especially during April/May and September/October.

△ Even with the long daylight, you will not be able to visit every nook and cranny nor enjoy all the fun things sug-gested. Please choose between the sites mentioned depending on your interest as time limits your possibilities.

△ The kilometer/mile distance per day is not precise. The distance may vary depending on the location of your accommodation and the detours you take each day.

△ On your accommodation itinerary you will find a detailed address list, describing how to reach your accommoda-tions. The accommodation itinerary also has a reference number, which is valid as your voucher. Official hotel check-in time is 14:00-18:00. If you arrive any later, it’s courteous to notify the hotel.

△ Breakfast is always included during your stay, but no other meals. Many of the rural hotels and guesthouses offer a nice dinner at a reasonable price.

Sat Nav

Speed Limit

Seat Belts

Road Map

Bin the Litter

One Lane Bridge

Watch out for Animals

Gravel Roads

3Golden Circle Self Drive

A few favourites from the trip

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Day 1:

Arrival

Pick-up your rental car and explore Reykjanes

Peninsula

Please see your Iceland Travel Itinerary for

details about your overnight stay

Upon your arrival in Iceland you’ll find your rental car help desk in the arrival hall at

Keflavik Airport. The desk is open every day from 5:00 am – 5:00 pm and again from 9:00 pm-1:00 am. The staff will advise you where to find your vehicle.

If you are arriving early enough in the day, we recommend driving along the southern coast of the Reykjanes peninsula and you might want to start your journey with a soak in the Blue Lagoon. Follow road no. 41 towards Reykjavik until you find road no. 43, leading south towards Grindavik. Before you reach Mt Þorbjorn you make a right turn to the Blue Lagoon area. To make it easier you can just follow the steam clouds rising into the air. At the Blue Lagoon you can soothe away the jet lag and relax in the milky waters of the Lagoon and perhaps enjoy a glass of the famous Blue Lagoon cocktail while you let the algae mask bring out the skin’s inner glow!

Kindly note that the Blue lagoon is very popular all year round and therefore you should book ahead.

If you don t plan on visiting the lagoon at

the beginning of your trip you continue on road number no. 43 until you find your way to Grindavik. Take a left onto road no. 427 and explore the southern coastline on your way to Hveragerdi.

Follow this winding road along the shoreline, past stand-alone houses, lava rock formations, and endless sea views. Take a quick detour on road no. 42 to Krysuvik Geothermal Area and Kleifarvatn Lake, which are a part of the Reykjanes fissure zone.

Continue your journey on road no. 427 until you reach road no. 38 which will take you to the charming village of Hveragerdi. The village is one of the few sites in the world located directly on top of a geothermal area and because of its many greenhouses heated by hot water from nearby springs it is often called the flower village.

Reykjavík1

2

3

Keflavík

Vík

4Hveragerði

5Golden Circle S e l f D r i v e

Day 2:

South Coast

Thundering Waterfalls, Cliffs & Sea Stacks, Black

Sand Beaches of the South Shore, Puffin Colony

➠➠Approximate driving distance:

190 km / 118 miles



From Hveragerði you will continue your trip on road no. 1 to Selfoss.

You can take a detour to Stokkseyri, where you can find an interesting museum, called the Ghost Centre or Draugasetrið, tel. 483 1202, displaying all of the most well-known ghosts in Iceland. The entrance is located on the south side of the building by the harbour. The museum is not recommended for children younger then 12 years old. The museum is open June-August from 13:00-18:00.

Keep on your journey on road no. 1 through the fertile farmlands of the south, towards the east through the small villages of Hella and Hvolsvöllur, where trade and services are the main occupations. You will have frequent views of mountains, including the majestic Mt. Hekla.

Mt. Hekla is without a doubt Iceland’s most famous volcano. It is still very active, erupting most recently in 1970, 1980, 1981 and in 1991. The last eruption started on 26th February 2000 and lasted for 12 days; the lava from this eruption covers approximately 18 km² (47 mi²).

Instead of a classic volcano cone, Hekla is part of a rather squat series of ridges, although this is usually hidden behind a thick bank of clouds that earned Hekla its menacing name, which means the hooded one. Soon after the settlement period, in 1104, Hekla showed that it was a pres-ence to be feared as it erupted without warning and devastated 20 farms in the Þjórsárdalur Valley. Indeed so notorious was the volcano s reputation that in the Middle Ages people in Europe believed it to be the gateway to hell. The volcanic eruptions from Hekla are spectacular as the mountain is 1,493 m (4897 ft) high and towers over the lowlands of the south.

This beautiful region is the setting for the greatest and most dramatic of the Icelandic family sagas, Njal s Saga is set. You have the opportunity to visit the Saga Centre in Hvolsvöllur where you can learn more about the sagas, tel. 487 8781.

Rising ahead of you now is the cone shaped Eyjafjallajökull glacier and volcano, 1666 m (5465 ft), that erupted so memorably in 2010. On a clear day you can see the Westman Islands to your right.

There is a ferry to the Westman Islands, sail-ing from the nearby Landeyjarsandur harbour. Therefore it is easy to take a detour to this archi-pelago of around 15 small islands; the largest one Heimaey has a population of around 4.000 inhab-itants. This detour can also be done on day 3.


Detour to the Westman Islands:

A few kilometres east of Hvolsvöllur, turn

right when you see the ferry sign and drive

towards the ocean. The ferry “Herjólfur” offers

several departures daily, please call 481 2800 for

information about the schedule and prices. You

can either leave your car behind at the harbour or

take it along on the ferry. The duration of the trip

is about 30 minutes in good weather.

Once in the Westman Islands, you should visit

Eldheimar – a volcano museum of remembrance, tel 488 2700. The exhibition focuses on

the powerfully destructive 1973 volcanic eruption

on Heimaey Island, one of Iceland s biggest

natural disasters in recent times. The highlight of

the exhibition is a house that has been delicately

excavated. Eldheimar also houses the Surtsey exhibition with all available information about

this unique island, which is on the UNESCO World

Heritage List.

A boat tour around the islands is a must for

all bird and nature lovers, please call Viking Tours

for further information, tel. 488 4884. They offer

various tours, such as the popular circle tour,

whale watching and deep sea fishing.

A visit to the Museum of Natural History

is recommended. It offers insights into bird and

marine life, houses a rock and minerals collection

and an aquarium. From mid-May until mid-

September the museum is open daily from 10:00-

17:00 but less in other months, tel. 481 1997.

Beautiful walks on Heimaey Island include a

hike to the southern tip of the island “Stórhöfði”

for puffin- and bird spotting and a hike up to

Helgafell and/or Eldfell volcano.

Back on the ferry and you find yourself again

on the main-land.

Continue on road no. 1 and a stop at the spectacular waterfall Seljalandsfoss, 40 m (131 ft) high, is recommended. There you can actually climb behind the waterfall, but be care-ful as it might be slippery.

Shortly after you pass Seljalandsfoss water-fall, you can pay a visit to the famous visitor centre at Þorvaldseyri farm, tel. 487 5757, which gained world-wide attention during the volcanic eruption beneath Eyjafjallajökull Glacier. During the eruption, thick layers of ash fell to the ground and rivers flooded their banks, damaging farmland, hot water pipes and flood barriers on nearby farms. The farmer, Olafur Eggertsson and his family, have extraor-dinary images on display, showing the farm and its surroundings before, during and after the eruption.

Then drive onwards to Skógar, where you can visit the Folk museum and Skógafoss waterfall, 60 m (197 ft) high, one of the most impressive waterfalls in the country. The popular Skógar Folk museum is open daily


from 09:00-18:00 during June, July and August 10:00-17:00 from September through May. Tel. 487 8845.

Mýrdalsjökull is Iceland’s fourth largest glacier. Glacier tongues creep down its sides to the lowlands, the most prominent being Sólheimajökull. Under the south-eastern side of the glacier is Katla, a sub glacial central volcano, buried deep under 400 m (1312 ft) of ice. The caldera is 10 km (6.3 miles) in diam-eter. Since the settlement of Iceland, Katla has erupted 16–20 times at an average interval of 40–80 years, melting the glacial cap and causing catastrophic floods on the surrounding lowland plains. All of this has in the course of time created the vast Mýrdalssandur desert on the south-eastern side of the glacier. Katla last erupted in 1918.

Continue the journey and pass Dyrhólaey, a magnificent rocky headland with sheer cliffs. It is the southernmost point of Iceland and at its tip is a huge stone archway carved by the waves that boats can sail trough. The headland is known for its bird life and is certainly worth a visit. It is about 5 km (3 miles) from road no. 1 on road no. 218, about 8 km (5 miles) before you arrive to Vík village. Dyrhólaey is a bird sanctuary and closed to all traffic during the nesting season from ca. 1st of May to 25th of June. Please note that the road to the top is not an easy drive as it is very steep. If it has


been raining severely, the road turns muddy and is not recommended for smaller cars and inexperienced drivers. One has to be very care-ful walking on top of Dyrhólaey, as no fences protect you from falling, so do not walk close to the edge.

Before reaching Vík, there is another recom-mended detour to the so-called Reynishverfi by turning right on road no. 215. Reynishverfi offers a beautiful black beach and impressive basalt columns. At one point you can enter a cave called Hálsanefshellir, chiselled out by the Atlantic over thousands of years. Depend-ing on the tides the cave may not always be accessible.

Please note:

As much as this stretch of black sand looks innocent, it’s open to the Atlantic Ocean and is known for extremely treacherous waves and strong currents. You should therefore be extra careful, comply with warning signs at all times and keep a careful distance from the shore line.

You will drive onwards to the scenic village of Vík, which is situated in the mild and fertile Mýrdalur valley which is the southernmost borough in Iceland. The western border is marked by the glacial river, Jökulsá, to the east by the river Blautakvísl, and to the south by black, volcanic beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. Mýrdalur is a farming area with about 600 inhabitants, 330 of them in the village of Vík. It is an area of great contrasts. Lush green pastures lie between vast black volcanic sands. Rugged mountains, scarred by deep gullies, rise from the sands and are topped by the Mýrdals-jökull glacier. The area has rich birdlife with the country’s largest nesting colony of arctic terns just east of the village. In the cliffs west of the village you will see countless puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars mainly during the months of May, June and July.

Please be careful when walking in the nest-ing area of the arctic terns as they are very protective of their eggs and their chicks. Intrud-ing on these areas means you run the risk of dive-bombing attacks where the adult birds do

not hesitate to peck your head with their sharp beaks. To avoid getting hurt, please put a stick, umbrella or something long above your head since they aim for the the highest point.

Reynisdrangar: These are towering sea stacks at the base of Reynisfjall Mountain, supposedly formed when two trolls were trying to drag a three-masted ship to land. When day-light broke they turned into stone. The stacks rise 66 m (216 ft) above sea level and can be seen from Vík.

Heiðarvatn: A lake that lies not far from Vík. It offers good trout fishing and is a nice area for walking. Please note that you will need a permit for fishing.


Fun things to do

Snowmobile Tour of Mýrdalsjökull glacierDuration from 1 hour

Arcanum, tel. 487 1500 / 893 3445.Glacial Walk with Crampons from Sólheimajökull, with the possibility of some ice-climbing for those willing enough to tryDuration from 1,5 hours

Icelandic Mountain Guides, tel. 587 9999.Fákasel Horse Park, Barn Visit, shows and evening show & dinnerFákasel, tel. 483 5050.Kayak Tour from StokkseyriDuration from 1 hour

Kayakferðir, tel. 695 2058.

Day 3:

Þjórsárdalur Valley, Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir Hot Springs

Colourful Valley, Hekla Volcano, the Famous

Golden Falls, Spouting Geysers


300 km / 186 miles



Today you head to the Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir geothermal area but first you

might want to drive back on road no. 1 and turn to road no. 26 to Þjórsárdalur Valley. You will follow that road until you get to road no. 32. While driving on road no. 26 you will be passing through dramatic scenery as you are in the proximity of the volcano Hekla (to your right). The lunar-like landscape is in most parts cov-ered with thick layers of ash and lava. There is an interesting Hekla exhibition at Leirubakki at road no. 26 where you can learn about volcan-ism in general and the history of mount Hekla. Open daily from 10:00-22:00, tel. 487 8700.

When you reach road no. 32 you will follow the course of the mighty Þjórsá, Iceland’s long-est river and the most important source of elec-tric energy in the country. You take road no. 327 to Stöng, the excavated ruins of a Viking-age farmhouse in a fair state of preservation. If you follow on the path along the brook you will enter a beautiful ravine called Gjáin. It offers a landscape having brooks and waterfalls where harlequin ducks can often be spotted. It makes the perfect place to unwind, so breathe deeply and enjoy the solitude. Turn back to road no. 32 and continue into the mountain-encircled valley with mounds of volcanic ash, pumice covered hills, red and pink-toned pseudo craters and lava crags rising above the valley floor. You will soon come upon the beautiful waterfall Hjálparfoss, framed in twisted basalt columns. Nearby you will also find Þjóðveldisbærinn, a replica of an old Viking farm, open during the summer season. At the entrance to the Þjórsárdalur valley, you can stop for a short climb to the top of Gaukshöfði, a rocky crag

Self Drive Golden Circle1 0

with the mighty river at its foot and a splendid view of Hekla, Iceland’s most famous volcano.

Take road no. 30 and then no. 31 and head for the bishopric at Skálholt. Skálholt played a major role in Icelandic history from 1056 – 1796, when the bishopric moved to Reykjavík after earthquakes damaged the buildings. You can then go to road no. 35 and head for the Geysir area.

The Geysir area is a colourful geothermal field where you find geothermal pools and a spectacular erupting hot spring or geyser. In fact the Icelandic word “geysir” is the com-monly used generic term for this natural phenomenon. Every 5-10 minutes the geyser Strokkur (the Churn) erupts sending water and vapour shooting skywards in a spectacular dis-

play. Please be very careful near the hot pools and geyser and keep to the hiking paths.

You continue your journey further north to Gullfoss waterfall, the “Golden Waterfall”. It is a beautiful two-tiered waterfall that many believe to be the most scenic in Iceland. It thunders 32 m (105 ft) over a fault into a gorge, which measures 2.5 km (1.5 miles) in length and up to 70 m (230 ft) deep in places.

Fun things to do

Snowmobile Tour on Langjökull GlacierDuration from 1 hour

Mountaineers of Iceland, tel. 580 9900.River Rafting on the river HvítáDuration from 3 hours

Arctic Rafting, tel. 562 7000.


Day 4:

Þingvellir, Borgarfjörður Area

National Park with Geological Wonders

(UNESCO), Picturesque Fjords, Waterfalls


300 km / 186 miles



The next village to explore is at Lake Laugarvatn, a geothermal area. It is said that when

Christianity was adopted in the year 1000, the chieftains from the north, who refused to be bap-tized in the cold water of Þingvellir, were brought to Laugarvatn to be baptized in the warm spring.

Here you can visit the Fontana Spa for a relaxing soak, steam rooms and a sauna, tel. 486 1400. From Laugarvatn you will drive via Lyngdalsheiði on road no. 365 to Þingvellir National Park.

Þingvellir National Park is of great ecologi-cal, geological and historical interest. The park itself is situated in a stunning volcanic landscape of mountains and lava flows, on the border of Iceland’s largest lake. Surrounding the lake are impressive faults and gorges that are consid-ered among the finest examples of the results of tectonic movements in the world. It is the area where the tectonic plates for Europe and America meet, and one can literally see the rift valley between the continents. This is also the former site of the oldest parliament in the world, Alþingi. It was founded in Þingvellir in 930 and


this is where all the greatest events in Icelandic history have taken place in the past thousand years. In the 18th century a major earthquake hit the area, after which the parliament was transferred to Reykjavík. In 2004 Þingvellir was placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites. concerning the Protection of the World Cultural.While in Þingvellir you should visit (you can get directions at the information centre):

Lögberg (The Law Rock), the law speaker, the president of Lögrétta (the Law Council) stood there facing the gathering below to recite the laws during the period when the old Alþingi was held at Þingvellir.

Neðrivellir where Lögrétta was, the most important institution of the ancient parliament, the Alþingi, where the “goðar”, the local chief-tains, and bishops gathered to debate, pass new laws and amend old ones. These two sites are on the eastern side of the Almannagjá gorge.

Drekkingarhylur (Drowning Pool) in Öxará River, where women found guilty of adultery were drowned.

Öxarárfoss waterfall, a beautiful waterfall in the Öxará River, which falls thunderously over a steep slope at the edge of the Almannagjá rift.

Þingvallakirkja Church, from 1859, situated on the spot where one of the first churches in Iceland was built around 1016, shortly after Icelanders converted to Christianity in the year 1000.

From Þingvellir you continue towards the Borgarfjörður area. There are two possible routes to Borgarfjörður, the usual one suitable for all cars, and the highland track Kaldidalur valley, only accessible with 4wd.


Detour via Kaldidalur valley:

Turn onto road no. 550 south to Kaldidalur valley. This is a rough road and only suit

able for 4wd. Please ask about road conditions

beforehand.

On Kaldidalur road, you will be crossing barren

deserts of uninhabited interior highlands and

heading over black sand plains with glacial rivers in

the background. In clear weather, you have a good

view over the country. This route ascends to an

elevation of 700 m (2296 ft) above sea level and

from this high point there are close views of the

crevassed glacial tongues from Langjökull glacier

crawling down steep ice-covered mountain sides.

On the right hand side of the road you will

come to a junction (look out for a signpost) where

you could make a detour and drive up to the

glacier, either just to have a close look or to go on

snow mobile. You will drive onwards to Húsafell, a popular summer resort in a pleasantly wooded

area, where you can see the stark contrasts

between the highland and the fertile lowland.

Please note!

△ The Kaldidalur mountain pass is usually just open from mid-June to September, so please ask for information regarding road and weather conditions before setting off on this route. It is only suitable for 4wd cars.

△ There are no services on this road, so make sure that you have a lunch box and plenty of petrol before driving it.

△ The road condition in Kaldidalur is quite rough, but on the other hand, the scenery and the view of the glaciers can be spec-tacular. Therefore Kaldidalur can be a very scenic route in fine weather with good visibility, but it can be a horrible one in rain or fog with limited visibility. So if the weather is bad it is more sensible to take the other road which is asphalted for the most part.


The other route and the only one if you don’t have a 4wd, is to take road no. 36 and then road no. 48 up the scenic coastal road along Hvalfjörður on road no. 47. Hvalfjörður is one of Iceland’s longest fjords (30 km / 19 miles). During World War II, Hvalfjörður became one of the most important Allied naval bases in the North Atlantic as a refuelling station for the Allied fleet. The many large oil tanks around the village of Miðsandur, often the cause of much tourist curiosity, are indeed remnants of this refuelling station. Here you also find Iceland’s only whaling station, which is still operational.

Drive road no. 1 through Borgarnes and to the Borgafjörður area. Borgarnes is the largest coastal community in Iceland that is not dependent on fishing. The town is built on a scenic headland jutting into the picturesque fjord Borgarfjörður, close to the spot, Borg, where the Viking poet and warrior, Egill Skallag-rímsson, the main character of one of Iceland’s most famous Sagas, Egil’s Saga, lived in the 10th century. You can have a break there or continue your journey.

It’s a good idea to visit the Icelandic Settlement Centre in Borgarnes, tel. 437 1600, which is housed in three buildings. The main floor of the centre houses an exhibition entitled “The Settlement of Iceland”.

In Borgarfjörður, we suggest that you make

a stop at Deildartunguhver, which is probably the largest hot spring in the world with 180 litres of 98°C (208 Fahrenheit) hot water every second. It is located a bit north of the junction of road no. 50 and road no. 518, which lead to Reykholt. At the car park you can purchase fresh tomatoes, grown in the local greenhouses and packed for travellers who stop at Deildar-tunguhver.

Your next stop will be Reykholt which is among the most noteworthy historical sites in Iceland. Today, Reykholt is a school centre. Snorri Sturluson (1178 –1241), the best known Saga writer and scholar, lived in Reykholt, where he wrote such famous works as Heimskringla, Snorra Edda and perhaps Egil’s

Saga. In Reykholt you will find the exhibition Snorrastofa, which is a culture- and medieval centre founded in memory of Snorri Sturluson. Snorrastofa manages various research projects and provides reception, souvenirs and informa-tion for tourists.

A little bit further than Reykholt there are the picturesque waterfalls Hraunfossar, as they pour from under a lava field, in a suc-cession of cascades, into to the river Hvítá. Barnafoss waterfall is nearby.

To head back to Reykjavík, take road no. 50 and then road no. 1, which takes you to Reykjavík. You can drive to Reykjavík either via the Hvalfjörður tunnel (ISK 1000 per


car), or the road along the Hvalfjörður fjord, continuing south along the beautiful coast-line of Hvalfjörður (please see description of Hvalfjörður above).

For those that have some time to spare in Reykjavik we suggest that you visit Laugardalslaug swimming pool or one of the many swimming pools in Reykjavík. There is also a botanical garden and family park in the Laugardalur area you might enjoy visiting. You can also browse around the old city center, with its many shops, galleries, museums, cafés and restaurants. Recommended sites to visit if walking are: Hallgrímskirkja Church, the City Hall, Tjörnin Lake, the harbour area, Harpa conference and music hall, and the sculpture Sun Voyager. Just outside the city centre you can visit the Höfði House.

For extra time in Reykjavík, optional tours from Reykjavík such as the Blue Lagoon, horse-back riding, whale watching, Kulusuk day tour, etc can be booked through the lobby at your hotel or by calling Iceland Travel tel. 585 4300.

Day 5:

Departure

Departure from your accommodation is recommended 3 hours before the

departure of your flight, as it takes approx. 1 hour to drive to the airport and check in will start 2 hours before your departure.

If you did not visit the Blue Lagoon on your way to the city on your first day, but have time to spare today, you might want to use the opportunity en route to the airport. For this detour, please be sure to allow for at least 2-2,5 hours extra to make sure you’ll have ample time at the lagoon.

The rental car should be returned to the airport service area which is located only 2 minutes from the airport building. A shuttle will then transport you to the departures hall.

We at Iceland Travel hope you have enjoyed your stay in Iceland and

wish you a safe journey back home.It would be great to hear how your holiday went when you get back home! You can either log onto our website’s comment section at www.icelandtravel.is/comment/ or visit our TripAdvisor profile.

Skógarhlíð 12

IS-105 Reykjavík

Iceland

Tel +354 585 4300

Fax +354 585 4390

Iceland Travelicelandtravel.is

self drive 5 days golden circle - iceland travel · of 40–80 years, melting the glacial cap and...

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