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One of the most amazing things to do in Iceland is to see the magnificent Iceland waterfalls. You could base an entire Iceland vacation around visiting waterfalls. Gullfoss Waterfalls, known as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, is only a 1.5 hour drive from Reykjavik! No excuses, you have got to go see it.

Gullfoss Waterfall is one Iceland’s many waterfalls that are easy to get to from Reykjavik, Iceland. There are several tour companies that offer day trips that include a visit to Gullfoss and other visit-worthy Iceland landmarks like Geysir and Thingvellir National Park.

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We rented a vehicle so we could drive the Golden Circle, which is what people call the popular tourist route. Although we rented a Toyota HiLux 4×4 truck, a 4-wheel drive vehicle is not necessary if you stay on the paved roads. We went to Iceland in early May and enjoyed taking advantage of the longer daylight hours.

The Golden Circle takes you to three beautiful natural attractions in Iceland: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area and Gullfoss waterfall. This route is about 140 miles (230km) and because it is a circular route, there is no need to backtrack. The Golden Circle tour is an great way to get an idea of the natural wonders Iceland can offer.

We visited Thingvellir National Park and Geysir, but I will have to share those photos in another blog post. They are two spectacular places to go in Iceland with incredibly unique features.

Icelandic Horse with blue eyes

Since we drove ourselves, we could venture off The Golden Circle road to visit other places. And I could stop and pet all the Icelandic horses we saw along the way. You’ll see a lot of these beautiful ponies grazing in the fields next to the highway.

The waterfall pictures you see here are from my Iceland vacation photos. All of these waterfalls can been seen on a same day trip from Reykjavik! All but one of the waterfalls are a short and easy walk from well-marked parking areas. I note which one it is below.

The Icelandic word “foss” means “waterfalls” in English. Our travel strategy was if we saw a sign with the word “foss” on it, we followed it!

ICELAND WATERFALLS TO SEE ON A REYKJAVIK DAY TRIP

Gullfoss Waterfall (Iceland)

Faxi Waterfall (Iceland)

Öxarárfoss Waterfall in Thingvellir National Park (Iceland)

Skogafoss Waterfall (Iceland) 

Bruarfoss Waterfalls (Iceland) 

Note: Bruarfoss Waterfall is off the beaten path and requires a hike. I have heard rumors that they are building public access trail to Bruarfoss. The glacial blue waters against black lava rock is makes it worth the hunt to find the Bruarfoss area! This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Porufuss Waterfall (Iceland)

Seljalandfoss Waterfall (Iceland)

Look closely and you can see people walking behind Seljalandfoss! If you’re willing to get wet, you can go stand in the cave behind the falls. It makes for a great picture, but we did not do the hike behind the falls. We were quickly losing daylight and had a few more stops we really wanted to get to before dark.

Iceland waterfalls can be an amazing part of your Iceland vacation. These are only a handful of the waterfalls you can see on a day trip from Reykjavik. If you have more time to spend in Iceland, keep exploring and let me know what you find. I would go back to Iceland in a heartbeat.

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Want to see more of what we did on our Iceland vacation? Check out my blog post, Reykjavik Iceland Vacation Day One. Yes, I got to ride one of those pretty Icelandic horses!