Thingvellir National Park

If you're in Iceland and planning to drive the Golden Circle, which let's be honest, who isn't?! Then Thingvellir National Park will probably be your first stop. Thingvellir is Iceland's oldest National Park and known as one of the only places in the world where you can walk between two tectonic plates.

To get to the park from Reykjavik, we typed in "Oxarafoss Waterfall Parking" into our GPS and in about 45 min we arrived. There are multiple parking lots, but we parked in P2, which is the bottom lot closest to Oxarafoss Waterfall. There is no entry fee to the park itself, but it costs 500isk (April 2023 cost) to park. Noone is physically there to take your money, but there is an atm-like machine where you put your license plate number and pay with a credit card. They have cameras at the exit, so if you do not pay, you will get a bill in the mail from your rental car company with an extra fee tacked on. So do yourself a favor, be honest, and pay it. Right by the lot, there is a free, clean restroom, which I don't know about you, but I am always wanting to know where my next loo is just in case (IBS Strugz)

From the lot, we followed the signs to Oxarafoss. There is a slight gravel incline for a few minutes, then you'll be walking on a flat wooden boardwalk the rest of the way. It's about a 10min walk and easy for all levels of fitness. Don't get me wrong, the waterfall is beautiful, but compared to all the other waterfalls in Iceland, it is a bit underwhelming and small. It was still worth a peak though and if you're a Game of Thrones fan, then you may recognize it as a filming location.

As we were walking back along the boardwalk, instead of turning to go down to the parking lot, we went straight. The boardwalk ends and turns into a dirt trail. We followed this and made it up to an amazing viewpoint of the canyon. The moss covered rocks made me think of the rock trolls in Frozen 2. Are they gonna come alive and burst into song?

We made our way back down in the direction of the parking lot and veered right to follow the signs for the visitor center. As you're walking up the wide gravel path, there are clearly marked signs pointing off the path where you can choose to do everything from walking between two tectonic plates, take a stroll around the lake, or end up at a scenic panoramic viewpoint. Explore which ever way the path calls you.

The visitor center is at the top of the hill, which is also where the tour buses park, so do prepare for more crowds, but it is worth a look. They had great souvenirs, food, coffee, and other drinks.

In total, we spent about an hour and a half here, which we felt was a good amount of time to see the highlights. Next on the agenda: Hiking Bruarfoss