On our way back into the city we decided to do all the main tourist attractions of the “Golden Circle” before spending one last day in Reykjavik. We visited Geysir, this impressive geyser erupted regularly much to the delight of a large crowd of tourists. We also went to visit Þingvellir National Park to see how the Rift Valley showcases the divide between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. We walked around a bit and took a short hike to see this regions, be aware though, you have to pay for parking here at the park.
Rift Valley. Photo credit: Lisette
The last waterfall we got to see was Gullfoss, which wraps up our tour of “all the fosses” throughout the country. My standard for waterfalls is now unlikely to be met by any of the waterfalls in my upcoming travel plans, the falls in Iceland are truly the most spectacular that I’ve ever experienced.
Gullfoss. Photo credit: Lisette
On our last day in Iceland, we splurged and decided to do a tasting meal at Dill, Iceland’s first (and only) Michelin rated restaurant. We snagged reservations months in advance of our trip, and had looked forward to this dinner during our entire trek around the Ring Road. This dinner was absolutely phenomenal and really presented all the local foods in a beautiful, unique and delicious way.
A few of our plates at Dill. Photo credit: Lisette
My tips for visiting Iceland:
- Don’t wait to book accomodations – it’s an increasingly popular place and the best deals and AirBnBs go fast.Check out HeyIceland for cool farm-stays, we loved every one of our HeyIceland bookings.
- Bring waterproof layers (maybe two sets). If you think waterproof pants are debatable, you are wrong.
- If you want to go to Landmannalaguar, you need a SUPER jeep, not just 4-wheel drive. There are buses, but you’ll need to plan this in advance. My one regret on this trip was not getting out there.
- Blue Lagoon – skip the spa, but eat at the restaurant and check out the Myvatn Nature Baths instead.
- Budget at LEAST two weeks to do the Ring Road. We had two weeks and could have easily spend another 4+ days to explore the east and hit Landmannalaguar.
- Gas cards, you need them. It’s really hard to fill up without a chip + pin card, so make sure to buy these along the road and fill up often in remote places. Coming back from the Latrabjarg bird cliffs we had a pretty close call on a near empty tank.
- Bring food. It’s REALLY expensive to eat out in Iceland. We brought plenty of cheese and snacks so that we never had to eat out more than one meal a day; this saved us a ton of money.
- Check out all the hot pots you can and mingle with others on the Ring Road to hear about the best sights on the road.