Iceland – Land of Waterfalls and Rainbows

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When visiting Iceland there are two major tours most first time tourists take, The Golden Circle and The South Coast.  Since we had time for just one, I asked on several forums for advice and finally decided on The Golden Circle Tour.  Both take you to waterfalls but this one would bring us to the big one called Gullfoss as well as Geysirs and the Þingvellir National Park.

We signed up for the tour at Guide to Iceland .   I really like this site because it lists many excursions from different tour companies.  I chose a Mini-Bus for the tour because it was worth the extra cost to have a smaller number of people to wait for at stops then a huge number.   We were at our bus stop 30 minutes prior to pick up as recommended.

As we were driving out of town, we discovered that we were on the wrong tour!  There were two other girls with the SAME NAMES as the two of us that had gotten picked up earlier for our tour, which was to the Golden Circle.   We were offered to be driven to a location to get on the right bus but the tour guides talked us into staying.  They said we would be very happy seeing the South Coast and it even included a Glacier Hike.  We decided to stay but had to just laugh at our luck, having issues with 2/2 tours in less then 12 hours!  Both tour companies handled it so well though and we were offered a free Golden Circle Tour next time we visit.

As we drove out of town, we were able to see fumaroles, spouts of steam coming up from the ground and wild horses.  We saw streams from melting glaciers making their way towards the ocean.  We saw Icelandic sheep eating on the hillsides.  Our first stop was at a grocery store to buy a sandwich which we would eat later for lunch.  We were grateful for this because instead of spending time in a restaurant, we could be exploring.

Our next stop was Seljalandsfoss.  This was an amazingly beautiful waterfall that had a path leading up to it and all the way behind it to the other side. Approaching from the right the path is more accessible.  If you keep going and exit on the left you will have to climb some rocks. (and they can be slippery!)  This was truly an amazing site. Be sure to have waterproof jackets because you will get wet if you get close!

The next waterfall we stopped at was Skógafoss.  This was another amazing natural wonder.  When the suns peaked out there was a beautiful rainbow.  There is also a set of stairs that lead to the top of the waterfall for a different view.

The next stop was  Sólheimajökull  Glacier.  Here we were fitted with hiking boots (normally could be brought but since we were not prepared we could use for free) boot spikes, a climbing harness and ax.  An ax! What would we need this for? We were beginning to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into!  It turned out the harness was a precaution just in case we were to fall into a crevasse. (We were never in any danger.)  We learned to dig our feet into the ice and started to climb. Our goal was to make it to clear ice.  The glacier is covered in black ash from the Katla volcano eruption  in 1918!   We also learned that the glacier is receding or melting every year.

 

Finally we stopped at Reynisfjara black sand beach, with the Reynisdrangar rock formations and columnar basalt.  It was cold and windy off the North Atlantic Ocean! It can also be very dangerous! The waves were big to begin with but suddenly an even bigger wave would come and people who thought they were safe would come bolting up the beach.

We then had a 2 1/2 hour drive back to the city in the rain.  Our original tour cost about $90 and this one was about $100 more.  In all it would have been worth it even paying the extra $100.  If we had rented a car it would have been a nice drive as well, but the roads are very narrow and I would not have enjoyed driving in the rain.  It was very direct though and if we had more time it would have been great to explore on our own.  Also we understand that in October the weather can be very unpredictable and we could encounter a snowstorm.  Because of our limited time in Iceland, we were so very happy with the tour.  It was nice to also be able to chat with a local and learn all about life in Iceland.

The saying in Iceland is if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change.  That was definitely the case!!  In a day we had sunshine, sleet, rain wind and rainbows. We were so thankful for the day.

The Next Morning

Our apartment was close to BSI which is the Main Bus Terminal.  The walk from the Laugavegur area was just a short 15 minutes. I had pre-booked a FLYBUS ticket for us the next morning to be transported back to the airport for our flight to Norway.  The cost is $24 each for one way and can be booked on This flybus website.

We had an amazing time in Iceland, although short.  By planning ahead we were able to see and do a lot in a short amount of time!  My hopes are to help and inspire you in your travel plans!  Planning to visit Norway?  Subscribe to learn how to plan a trip and see a lot in a short amount of time.

Happy Travels!

Jennifer