Bring your swimwear and depart your Reykjavik hotel by private, air-conditioned vehicle, complete with onboard WiFi. Then, admire the scenery as you journey into southwest Iceland, a region of geothermal fields, mountains, and waterfalls.
Learn about Iceland’s geology and nature from your guide, and travel to your first Golden Circle stop: UNESCO-listed Thingvellir National Park.
View the desolate landscapes and visit the site of the world’s first parliament — where 10th-century Vikings assembled to make laws. See the continental rift, where the ridges of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates face each other, and then continue through mountains to Lake Laugarvatn.
Take in this wild geothermal region, and visit Laugarvatn Fontana Spa, a lakeside complex of natural steam pools. The countryside here is sprinkled with hot springs, and the locals have a long tradition of using them for rejuvenating bathing, and cooking and domestic heating. On arrival, change into your bathing suit and enjoy 1.5 hours to wallow in the geothermal pools and steam rooms, the latter built above bubbling hot springs. The warm pools, hot pools, and steam rooms vary in depth, size, and temperature. If you’re particularly adventurous, perhaps take a dip in the lake.
Then, continue your tour to Geysir, the world’s best-known hot spring area, and its neighbor, Strokkur. Watch this water spout erupt high in the air before traveling to Gullfoss, the ‘Queen of Iceland’s Waterfalls. Marvel at this 105-foot (32-meter) fall as it roars over stepped tiers of lava, and then continue to the Secret Lagoon, a hot spring pool complete with a geyser.
Finally, stop at the Kerið Crater, a picturesque, red-and-green crater filled with a blue lake, and then return to Reykjavik, passing the greenhouse-studded garden village of Hveragerði on route. Your tour concludes with a drop-off at your Reykjavik hotel.
