Golden Circle or Ring Road?

The question usually comes from someone with seven days trying to decide whether to commit them all to driving. My answer is that the Golden Circle is not a competitor to the Ring Road; it is a day inside it. Almost everyone driving Route 1 anticlockwise does the loop on day one or two anyway, because it sits between Reykjavík and the south coast.

What the loop gives you in six to eight hours is a rift valley on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a geyser that performs every 6 to 10 minutes, and a waterfall dropping 32 metres into a canyon. What the Ring Road gives you is everything else, at the cost of a week of driving, nightly accommodation and, in winter, a genuine weather risk on stretches with nowhere to stop. On a short trip that trade is not close.

So: three days in Iceland means the loop, from a base in the city, and a guided day is the simplest version of it. Ten days or more means a car and Route 1, with the loop slotted in at the start. If you are still weighing whether the loop earns its day, I answer that on is the Golden Circle worth it, and the driving question is on tour versus self-drive.

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