Thingvellir National Park is a hot spot for tourists. It's located on the Golden Circle, a tourist route made up of 190 miles looping from Reykjavik into the southern uplands and back to the capital. Since we were on such a time crunch, we didn't plan to stay long in the park. Thankfully, Iceland is super tourist friendly and most of the attractions are within close walking distance from where you park your car. We didn't have to do any long hikes to see the waterfalls or other attractions while there, which I thought was awesome. And, the best part was, these beautiful attractions were all free to see!
The geyser was within a 5 to 10 minute walk from the parking lot over smooth walkways. We did spot a few bubbling hot springs on the trek over, most having signs posted telling you not to stick your hands in the water because the temperatures can reach boiling. Pretty to see, but very painful to touch.
By the time we made it to the geyser, there was already a large crowd gathered around the perimeter waiting for it to erupt. Thankfully, it does go off about every 8-15 minutes, so we waited until that crowd had their turn to get an up close view before we made our way down to get a spot for the next eruption.
Pack a rain poncho if you plan to get close because you will get wet! It was a rainy day while we were driving through Iceland and we were already cold and soaked from our previous stops, so the mist didn't bother us a bit. After a few minutes of waiting, we were rewarded with an up close and incredible view of the eruption.
Sadly, we were only able to make time to see the geyser at Thingvellir National Park, but if you have more than a day to roam Iceland, carve out 2 hours to explore the rest of the park. It also offers visitors a waterfall, church, and a beautiful landscape you'll never forget.
Have you ever seen an active geyser in person?
Oh, sad I have never seen a geyser in person ...... I only saw pictures and shows on television.
ReplyDeleteMy country has no snow :(
Beautiful views of geysers in Thingvellir National Park in southern Iceland !
Iceland has plenty of snow in the winter. I'd love to live in your country with no snow. I am not a fan of it LOL!
DeleteMuddy, hot and wet, I don't think I'd like it there! Especially if the water is smelly.
ReplyDeleteNo, you would not like the geyser area, but I think you'd love Iceland because it never gets hot there. It friggen snowed in summer while we were there. Yuck!
DeleteYes! I've been to Yellowstone, so I've seen all the geysers there, including Old Faithful. Yellowstone is truly a national treasure. Aren't the colors so pretty? I'm glad you got to see the geyser erupt while you were there. Did you notice the sulfur smell sticking to your hair and clothes?
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to tour Yellowstone some day. We tried to squeeze it in on our last west coast trip, but didn't have enough time. Someday....
DeleteIt didn't smell too bad there and we were only in the area for 30 minutes total, so thankfully we didn't cart the smell back with us. Unless we did and just didn't notice it LOL
Can't say I've ever seen a geyser in person. Good to know not to stick your hands in the water too. Wouldn't want to go all skin melting lol Great you got to see it erupt and since already wet, didn't matter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wanted to keep my skin in tact, so no touching was going on there.
DeleteThat must be so cool, to see a geyser in real life!
ReplyDeleteIt was a neat experience, for sure!
DeleteCool geyser
ReplyDeleteYes, it was :)
DeleteThey are really neat-O to watch! I like the captures you got! The purple flowers are pretty. I'm surprised anything can live around them.
ReplyDeleteDid it smell like rotten eggs?
We saw some in Thermopolis, Wyoming and Yellowstone the year after we got married. It was before we had kids. I'd love to go back!
All of Iceland is incredibly beautiful! They have little flowers darn near everywhere we went that just made the landscape that much more beautiful to look at.
DeleteIt didn't smell too bad, though there was a slight unpleasant odor to the air. I don't recall if it was a rotten egg smell or what.
I bet the boys would love to go to Yellowstone with you and Travis. You should think about a family vacay there before they are off to college.
That's so cool! I would like to see one just to say that I have, but I'm not sure that I'd go out of way to see more than one. Years ago my SIL was in upstate NY and her mom made her go look at the only natural geyser in NY. My SIL still teases her that it had the force of a public water fountain. Talk about geyser let down!! LOL
ReplyDeleteAwe, that's too bad that it was a baby geyser. I can imagine the disappointment in thinking you're going to get a massive force of water from the ground and pop. Just a spritz!
DeleteWow, this is so amazing! Thanks for sharing your journey!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a geyser in person. How very cool!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sight! I haven't seen geyser that close and I bet it's a wonderful experience
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