Port Stop: Time to Say Goodbye in Reykjavík, Iceland (Golden Circle Tour)

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Our last full day on the NCL Prima 11 Night Northern Europe cruise as the cruise was coming to an end. So many possibilities for what to do in Reykjavík so it was difficult to narrow down!

LOGISTICS

MONEY MATTERS

Credit cards were widely accepted (we were able to use Visa and Mastercard throughout Iceland but I couldn’t always use my AMEX). We found that other than for tipping in local currency, we didn’t need to carry cash (ie tipping guides on already paid tours). Speaking of which, Iceland is similar to Norway in that tipping is not obligatory with high/living wages and strong workers laws so there isn’t a need for a tipping culture (vs in the US where workers are reliant upon tips as part of their salary). As such, it is a nice gesture of appreciation to tip if you receive great service.

COMMUNICATION

English was widely spoken throughout Iceland.

CRUISE TERMINAL LOGISTICS

_{BEAUTIFUL TIP: Reminder that arrival times for port days are estimates for when the ship will be docked and may not be when the port has given approval to allow passengers to get off. I will typically reach out the activity/tour provider and find out exactly what their policy is if I am not able to be there on time and/or ship doesn’t dock (this happens more often than I could have imagined!). I have found that many operators are flexible especially if the majority/all of the participants are from the cruise ship but some may not be able to accommodate late arrivals/ships not coming to port with no refund/partial refund given. Whilst all scenarios are valid business practices, don’t make the mistake of finding out which policy your company follows until you aren’t able to join!}

Gullfoss Waterfall: “Golden Falls” Rather than being a single cascade, Gullfoss is made up of two distinct tiers: the first drop is 36 feet (11 meters), followed by a second, larger plunge of 69 feet (21 meters).

Geysir Geothermal Area: Visit to the Haukadalur Geothermal Valley where one can walk among steam vents, bubbling mud pots, and vibrant hot springs. Beautiful tip: The Stokkur geysir erupts reliably every 5 – 8 minutes

Þingvellir(Thingvellir) National Park: In 2004, Þingvellir was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for both its historical and geological importance.

Historical: Þingvellir (Thingvellir) or “Assembly Plains.” Althingi, the oldest parliament in the world, was established here in 930 AD

Geological: Þingvellir lies in a rift valley or where the Earth’s crust is being pulled apart – see the separation of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates!

Kerid Crater (can be added on to the standard GC tour): Kerid which is a crater that was formed approx. 6500 years ago when an ancient volcano’s magma chamber collapsed.

Beautiful tip: If you are taking a tour, one way to maximize your time is to add on a lagoon to this tour – consider one of these tours that include pick-up: Golden Circle with Kerid Crater and Blue Lagoon (11 hours) / Golden Circle with Kerid and Secret Lagoon (10 hours) / Golden Circle with Kerid and Sky Lagoon (10 hours

Unplanned Stop: See and Pet Icelandic Horses!

One of the most interesting things that we learned about during the tour was about Icelandic horses. They came to the island with Norwegian settlers 1100 years ago and it has been revealed that they descended from an ancient breed of horse that is now extinct outside of Iceland. It is one of the purest horse breeds in the world as they have been and continue to be preserved in isolation. No horses are allowed to be imported in, with the law so rigid that once a horse leaves Iceland, it will never be allowed to return.

WHAT I SPENT

Reminder that these NCL port posts are unlike my other posts in that I only have a sampling of costs (but this is one day where I did keep track of expenses and how much everything cost although I didn’t manage to take any photos of what we ate)

• Activities $85 Golden Circle with Kerid Crater Bus Tour $85- adults/$67- youth/ $37- children
• Food $64.50 $37.35(4,925 ISK): Almar Bakery~ 5 cafe + pastries & $27.15(3.580 ISK): Geysir Glima lunch~Tomato soup (2.480 ISK) / Fanta (450 ISK)/ Sparking H2O (650 ISK)

ALTERNATIVE ITINERARY IDEAS & OTHER TOP SPOTS TO EXPLORE

Blue Lagoon

One of the most enjoyable things to do in Iceland is to go to a lagoon and take a dip in the geothermal heated water. I consider this a must to truly experience the land of fire and ice in the same way you should sauna when visiting Finland or eat pasta and gelato in Italy. The most iconic of the lagoons is the Blue Lagoon. We did this Blue Lagoon Admission with Transfers excursion – read about our experience and how convenient it was to get to the Blue Lagoon here.

Perlan Museum

Why is the Perlan one of my FAVORITE places to go in Reykjavík? Fun and immersive museum experience? – check! Incredible 360 views of Reykjavík? – check! Delicious and reasonably priced food, drinks AND ice cream? – check! Read about my experience here. Get your tickets here

If you want to have the transportation figured out for you: consider the Reykjavík: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus and Perlan Museum Entry Ticket – where the Perlan and the cruise terminal are two of the 16 stops for the bus