Dec 05, 2016

Driving Ring Road, The Golden Circle

Ion Adventure Hotel in Iceland

Mineral Pool at the Ion Adventure Hotel in Iceland

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland

Silica Mud Mask at The Blue Lagoon in Iceland

Heading east from Reykjavik, the scenery changes drastically from urban to very volcanic and mountainous. We made our way over and checked in to the ION Adventure Hotel, near Þingvellir National Park. We enjoyed a delicious dinner there (no puffins on the menu!), and soaked in the mineral pool below as a nice way to relax before bed.

The next morning we headed to see some of the more popular sights in Iceland, including Geysir, and Gullfoss. On our way south out of the Golden Circle, we stopped at Kerið crater before continuing south to our next destination.

The town of Stokkseyri only has around 450 people who live there, but I think that only adds to the magic of the area. We checked into one of the most beautiful AirBnb’s we’ve ever stayed and found a wonderful restaurant in Selfoss to eat dinner. With an earlier appointment at the Blue Lagoon the next day, we wasted no time in settling in for the evening.

Waking up early to drive to the Blue Lagoon was easy for us with the kids. Once we were there check in went smoothly and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. On the way back to our place, we stopped at Raufarholshellir lava cave. The trail was rough, but included some stairs cut into the rock to help out. It was a lot colder underground than I expected, and there was even a big pile of snow leftover from winter. We didn’t go far because signs advised of helmets, and it was pretty dark.

After returning to the house, we relaxed a bit and just enjoyed the soothing sounds of Iceland. From our house we could see the Westman Islands, so cool! I packed up for our trip to come home, making as much room in our suitcases as possible. The flight home left Iceland at 8 in the morning, and we arrived to San Francisco mid-day. It was easy enough, and we’re always glad to be home after a long and busy trip.

Do you have any questions about our trip to Iceland? I’m happy to answer in the comments below!

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Such a perfect place to visit! I love this breathtaking photo and I’d love to go there

OMG!!! This is stunning! Travel safe.

Wow…….. What a nice place/. I am just loving the picture. Everything is just awesome and seems to me like this kind of place are such a very beautiful if you want to pass some good moment of your life in cool and calm. The waterfall and the lake is giving me an immense pleasure.

The blue pool-where is that? We did the whole golden circle back in may-june and never saw that. we’ll be back in iceland next month though!

It’s the Kerið crater! You pay a fee for parking/entrance and can walk all the way around and to the bottom too. It was really beautiful.

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