Bus Travel Iceland review: Golden Circle and Secret Lagoon tour
An honest review of my experience with Bus Travel Iceland
I was in Iceland for 3 days by myself on a stopover and I wanted to experience the natural attractions around the Golden Circle and also visit a hot spring without having to rent a car or drive in difficult weather conditions. I booked this tour in November 2017 through my hostel and paid for it myself, so this is a completely independent review.
I had some great experiences on this tour, like swimming in the Secret Lagoon hot spring with snow falling, seeing the beautiful Gullfoss waterfall covered in fresh snow and visiting the famous geysers and Thingvellir National Park. Iceland really is magical in the winter !
You can read a detailed summary of all the activities I did on this tour, or jump directly to my final recommendation at the end where I share what I liked, what could have been better and my final thoughts about this Bus Travel Iceland day trip.
Go to final recommendation
Keep reading to find what we did on this Golden Circle day tour from Reykjavik !
Quick Overview of the Bus Travel Iceland Golden Circle Day Tour
Destinations: The Secret Lagoon hot spring, the Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss Waterfall, and Thingvellir National Park.
Highlights: Swimming in the Secret Lagoon with the falling snow and seeing the waterfalls were the highlights of the day for me.
Who was on the trip: There were about 20 people, consisting of several couples, retired people on vacation, and a family with teenage children, I believe I was the only solo traveller that day. I spoke to people from Argentina and New Zealand.
Who was the guide: There was one guide who also drove the bus and provided commentary over the speaker on the bus, the guide was a young man and easy to understand.
How did we travel: On a smaller size mini bus (not a full size coach bus), it was clean, properly heated, and had all expected safety features.
Reykjavik
I actually lost almost all of my original pictures from this trip when my iPhone stopped working after I got home, so what I have here for the review is what I managed to save off of Facebook and has been supplemented with a few stock photos, but hopefully you still find it helpful !
The morning of the tour, we were picked up at a designated bus stop by a shuttle bus and brought to a central location in Reykjavik to join the correct group for the day trip, as Bus Travel Iceland runs several different itineraries.
The shuttle bus is not necessarily the bus you will be on all day so don’t leave anything behind like hats or water bottles. I left my gloves on the shuttle bus and never got them back.
I was travelling in November and the weather conditions were not good, there was a lot of snow on the road and quite poor visibility at times, so I was happy to be on the bus and not driving.
Secret Lagoon Hot Spring
I had already decided not to do a trip to the Blue Lagoon hot spring (the bright blue one you see in a lot of advertisements), mostly because I was a student at the time and it’s an expensive activity.
I still wanted to experience a hot spring in Iceland so I was really looking forward to our first stop at the Secret Lagoon hot spring pool. The Secret Lagoon is actually Iceland's oldest swimming pool, created in 1891 and you can learn more about it on their website here .
You need to bring a swimming costume/ bathing suit with you for this tour. They had typical changeroom facilities there, you are expected to fully shower before entering the pool. There were also some snacks and drinks available to purchase on site. There are restrictions on what you can bring into the hot spring area, but I purchased a hard cider and was able to bring that into the pool.
I was in the pool for about an hour total. It’s not too big, so once I swam around a few times, I decided to just sit and relax in one place. I think this is actually one of the nicest travel memories I have from trips I’ve done alone. Just relaxing by myself, drinking a cider in the hot spring while the snow was falling.
As part of the Bus Travel Iceland tour, they provided pre-booked, timed tickets, and the Secret Lagoon itself was not busy on the day we visited, probably due to it being low season for tourism and the weather. However, if you are planning to visit by yourself, it is recommended you pre-book, especially during high season.
How far is the Secret Lagoon from Reykjavik ?
The Secret Lagoon is 105 km, or a 1 hour and 25 minute drive from Reykjavik and there is parking available on site.
Geysir Geothermal Area
Next, there was a short stop at a waterfall lookout and then we stopped for a longer visit to the most famous geyser of all that all the other ones are named after, ‘Geysir’. The same volcanic and geothermal activities which create hot springs also create the geysers in Iceland.
The original ‘Geysir’ doesn’t really go off anymore, so we actually saw one called Strokkur because it goes off every 4-10 minutes, and there are some smaller bubbling springs and geysers in the same area along the designated walking paths.
The timing of the geyser is not exact, so you have to sort of stand there ready with your camera to get a picture. There were also several tourists using drones even though it’s not allowed, so that was annoying to have those buzzing around and in the way.
This was also the stop to have lunch, there is a cafeteria/gift shop area across the street. All the food was relatively expensive, I just got French fries because it was cheapest and I brought my own water bottle from the hostel I was staying at.
Gullfoss Waterfall
The next stop at Gullfoss water fall is considered to be one of the highlights of a Golden Circle experience. The name ‘Gullfoss’ means ‘Golden Falls’ in Icelandic, but it looked quite blue when we visited !
It was absolutely beautiful with the fresh snow. We were able to walk around here and get pictures for around 40 minutes.
The waterfall sort of has two different levels, so I suggest you walk round the site to experience the falls from quite a few different angles and viewpoints.
I definitely wished I still had my lost gloves at this point, make sure to dress warmly enough for this tour !
Thingvellir National Park
The last stop for the day was Thingvellir National Park which is both the location where the Eurasian and American tectonic plates separate and where the world's first parliament was formed.
I am Canadian but some of my family is of Icelandic heritage so it was very interesting for me to think that maybe an ancestor had been here at some point in the past .
We had about 40 minutes to walk around and there are some easy designated walking paths and a visitor centre. It was getting colder and darker near the end of the day, and being by myself I didn’t want to go wandering too far so I stayed on the main pathways.
Return to Reykjavik
The bus left Thingvellir in the late afternoon to start the 1 hour drive back to Reykjavik. It gets dark early in the winter months so I just slept through most of the drive since you couldn’t see much out the windows anyway.
The tour ended upon arrival in Reykjavik, and overall it was a busy day on the Bus Travel Iceland Golden Circle and Secret Lagoon Tour !
Tour Tip: Food is expensive ! If you are a student like I was, you may want to bring your own water bottle and grocery store snacks with you because all the available food was expensive, which is to be expected in Iceland.
Final Recommendation for the Bus Travel Iceland Golden Circle and Secret Lagoon Tour from Reykjavik
What I liked: Being by myself for just a few days, I had no interest in renting a car or driving in difficult winter conditions, so being on the bus was a great way to see so much in one day without the hassle of car rental or the expense of a private tour.
I was also a student at the time, and this was one of the more affordable tours, which I liked. I thought we got a reasonable amount of time at all stops. I particularly enjoyed the Secret Lagoon stop and that was one of the highlights for me.
What could have been better: Not much to improve on, the only thing I found a bit random was that the driver’s commentary had a few references to drug use that didn’t add anything in terms of information or humour. The commentary was still very helpful to learn about Icelandic culture and society and the history of all the stops, I just found that odd.
Overall Recommendation:
I think this is a great choice for someone who has limited time to see some highlights of Iceland, and does not want to deal with car rental or isn’t comfortable driving.
I found this tour to be a convenient way to visit the Secret Lagoon and have a hot spring experience, as a more affordable alternative to the more well know and expensive Blue Lagoon.
I was happy with the experience I had for the price I paid, this service provided everything as advertised, and I think overall its a fine budget option for someone who wants to experience the Golden Circle in Iceland on a one day tour from Reykjavik.
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