Golden Circle Small Group: Kerid at 270 m Wide, and Iceland's Newest Geyser

Eight hours, in a small group, on the route more people take than any other in Iceland. Kerið gets the full treatment here rather than a photo stop. The crater is 270 metres across and more than 55 deep, it formed about 3,000 years ago, and there is a lake at the bottom of it 14 metres deep. Þingvellir was the seat of the Icelandic parliament from 930 until 1798, and UNESCO lists it for the history and the geology together. The American and Eurasian plates meet here, and you can stand with a foot on each. At Geysir, the original has become the word every language uses for the phenomenon. Strokkur, beside it, is the one still working, and it goes up to 30 metres every few minutes. Lunch can be bought in that area. Gullfoss drops 32 metres into a canyon. Laugarvatn sits by its lake in geothermal ground, where the steam coming out of the earth is used to bake rye bread in it. There is an optional stop worth considering: the Geothermal Park and Bakery, for the geothermal bread and for Eilífur, the newest geyser in Iceland. The way back goes through Hveragerði, with greenhouses running on green energy and horse farms around them, then over the pass past the Hellisheiði power plant.