{"id":13057,"date":"2022-08-19T13:29:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T13:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiqets-blog-staging.local\/an-insiders-guide-to-icelands-golden-circle\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T10:56:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T10:56:48","slug":"an-insiders-guide-to-icelands-golden-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/an-insiders-guide-to-icelands-golden-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"An Insider\u2019s Guide to Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2013\u00a0This post was written by\u00a0Becky Wicks \u2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From tomato beer to tectonic plates, is this the best day trip from Reykjavik?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our guide Regina talks a million miles an hour as our coach rumbles out of Reykjavik towards Iceland’s Golden Circle. It feels like the dead of night, but it\u2019s 9 am in mid-November and the moon is still high in the sky. We need coffee. Lots of coffee. Luckily we booked a hotel with a decent breakfast<\/a> (very important in expensive Iceland), so we\u2019ve filled our thermos flasks for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternating between English, German and Icelandic as the snow flutters down outside, Regina tells us what\u2019s in store for us today in Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle \u2013 the country\u2019s most famous attraction. We\u2019ve booked a day trip from Reykjavik<\/a>, which takes us through Thingvellir National Park, to the famous Gullfoss waterfall, and to Strokkur, Iceland’s most visited active geyser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regina tells us about a hot spring that developed under someone\u2019s house as we wind our way through the area where \u201cthey\u2019re waiting for the big one.\u201d Soaking in the snow-covered lava fields surrounding us, we hope it doesn\u2019t happen today. Not that there\u2019s a preferable day for being engulfed by bubbling lava. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TOP TIP: <\/strong>Take your phone cables for the coach. Most coaches in Iceland have USB ports on the seats, which is something even your airplane won\u2019t have on the way over!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sipping our coffee, we\u2019re wowed by how Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle reveals even more majesty around every corner. We learn how the Vikings from Norway actually got stuck on this 16-million-year-old island by accident, after realizing there was no new timber to fix their deteriorating ships! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pass sweeping fields of grazing or galloping horses, and salmon rivers where fishing is only permitted in summer. Regina tells us Eric Clapton came fishing here every summer for years, and bought three rods, which cost him over $20,000 per day. Either he really likes fishing, or this is some seriously good salmon.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Sniff
Sniff the flowers, thank the bees. Photo by Becky Wicks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Time for tomato beer at Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hand on heart, I\u2019ve never been so impressed by a greenhouse \u2013 our first stop in Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle. The snow\u2019s coming down thick and fast outside now, but inside Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse we find a warm, green oasis, made even better by a bar! But the bar is just a bonus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes have been growing in Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse all year round since 1946. A whole family runs the business now, producing 700 tons of tomatoes annually across 11,000 square meters of electrically lit greenhouses. That accounts for 39% of Iceland\u2019s tomato market, and it also means the fruit is harvested every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iceland\u2019s rich natural resources are everything. Water used for irrigation comes from the exact same source as the drinking water. Quality is key to that tangy taste! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also learn that there\u2019s a weather station on the Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse roof, which monitors wind speed and direction, temperature, and sunlight. It\u2019s all connected to a computer system that can be accessed from anywhere. So, even if the owners are away in Hawaii, they can still make sure their juicy little tomato babies are thriving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are thousands of workers in Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

But not the kind you might think. Bumblebees are imported from Holland in little hives with their queen. They buzz about here freely, pollinating the tomato plants. Roughly 1,200 bees work around the clock at Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse, and each stripy savior can visit up to 2,000 flowers a day. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Tomato beer is flowing at Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse. Photo by Becky Wicks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There are no pesticides at Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse either. Biological control \u2013 like the mirid bug, also imported from Holland \u2013 works wonders against pests. This little star chows down on just about all the other insects that might otherwise cause issues in Icelandic greenhouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brew will you choose?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re here before lunch, but we\u2019re not about to turn down a mid-morning tomato beer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two brews served at Fri\u00f0heimar Greenhouse\u2019s bar, brewed from red or green tomatoes, as well as some pretty good Bloody Marys. If you really want to make the most of those flavors, help yourself to some of the homegrown basil that\u2019s sprouting from pots around the place. It\u2019s next-level beer drinking. Luckily we only have about 45-minutes in here \u2013 there\u2019s more of Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle to see \u2013 so we can only manage two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TOP TIP: <\/strong>Don\u2019t forget to pick up a pot of freshly-picked tomatoes on the way out. They\u2019re perfect to eat on the coach on the way to the next stop. And they\u2019re probably the best tomatoes you\u2019ll ever taste in your life!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Back on the bus, German-born Regina tells us she\u2019s been in the land of fire and ice for 40 years. This adventure-seeking 50-something star has been leading groups through Iceland\u2019s Golden Circle and beyond since 2010. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d think she\u2019d be itching to do something different, but she insists she\u2019s not. It\u2019s a power position \u2013 showing people Iceland for the first time. \u201cThere\u2019s no other place like it. I get all excited when my guests are excited,\u201d she says, ushering our group back onto the bus and dutifully checking everyone off on her clipboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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