I agree with what everyone before me has said – this is a beautiful, informative and delicious way to visit Iceland. Our family of five – my husband, me and our three adult children – took the Gourmet Golden Circle tour. If there is something helpful I can add it is this: Ymir was going to be out of the country while we were there so his friend and Icelandic actor, Bjorn, was our guide. If Bjorn is your guide, you will be fortunate indeed! He is warm, informative and you feel as though you have a friend in Iceland after the tour. He even tipped off the actors in the Icelandic Sagas at the Harpa (to which we went the following evening) that it was my husband’s birthday – they entered the stage with a surprise birthday greeting for him! Wow! Back to the tour: Bjorn met us at our hotel and proceeded to spoil us all day – delicious local pastries and snacks in the van; gourmet hors d’oeuvres and Prosecco in the geothermal pool in Fludir; lunch in a greenhouse restaurant with a tomato theme (bloody Mary’s, tomato soup – you clip fresh basil into it right at the table – and flatbread complete with an informative talk about greenhouse farming in Iceland); a visit with Icelandic horses; a taste of the infamous fermented shark washed down with Schnapps; stops at Geysir, Gullfoss Waterfall and Thingviller National Park; and dinner at a dairy farm including beef carpaccio, to-die-for hamburgers and ice cream. Bjorn’s knowledge of and love for his country was shared every step of the way making us more informed – and happily satiated – travelers. By the way, we had variable weather but the rainy periods didn’t detract from our experience at all – enjoy!
