Local sites within a days round trip from Reykjavik

Ok, I have knocked up a map with some bits and bobs on, here is a list of the main features.

• Airport :- Nothing to see, but remember to buy alcohol here, as it is MUCH cheaper...
  
  
• Blue Lagoon :- Touristy, but great fun, worth a visit regardless of how many pools have been visited. If you want to smear the 'magic' silica clay over your face, get it from the buckets around the lagoon edge. Many tourists scoop it up from the bottom of the pool, you really don't want to think too much about what this is mixed with!
  
  
• The Big City :- Hotels, clubs, bars, all with v expensive drinks. All the usual stuff. Also nice views from the big church in the center, and the pearl on the hill to the SW of the center. Cultural museum is a good way to avoid the rain.
  
  
• Þingvellir :- (Pronounced Thingvettlier) is the site of the old parliament at the head of Iceland's biggest lake. Nice on a nice day, good walking about. I like to park at the top of the area which is the first parking area you come to as you come from Reykjavik (cubist concrete visitors center is the obvious landmark) and then walk down the canyon. Pretty church and expensive restaurant as well. to the NW of the hotel etc are some v pretty water filled crevasses in in the lava..
  
  
• Steam bath :- I like this place, as it is fairly basic, and too small for the tourist buses. it is down by the lakeside in Laugurvatn (which means washing lake), and is really not much more than a changing room, a hot tub and two sheds built over a hot spring. If you are feeling brave you can cool down in the lake. 30m along the lake shore there is another hot spring which provides the hot water for the town. There is a rumour they may be about to tart this place up (summer 2006) so all of what I have just said may no longer apply...
  
  
• Geysir :- Where the term originated.. Although the one named Geysir is no longer active (unless you are lucky and there is an earthquake when you are here) A smaller geysir called Strokkur does its stuff every 3-5 mins, and there are lots of smaller hot springs etc. The petrol station/cafe/museum on the opposite side of the road is distinctly optional. Often staffed by amusingly useless part-time foreign students, who often speak v poor english/icelandic. Good for a laugh, or even for food if you are starving..
  
  
• Gullfoss :- Big waterfall, lots of water, and a cafe/shop located just in just the wrong place to actually see the falls. I suggest parking in the lower car park, as you can then walk directly to the falls with a good view. Then there is the option of walking up the steps to the cafe and other viewpoints later.
  
  
• Nice Pool :- This is in the town of Hveragerði (hot-spring-place) and it is up on the slopes of the hills behind the town. Like most pools in Iceland it is outside, but don't let this put you off, it is nice even in the torrential rain The pool is particularly nice in good weather as you can lie in the hot tub and look out at the town and the coastal plane. It can be a little hard to find, as there don't seem to be any signs to it, but there are only 2 roads which run N out of the back of the town, and it is on the westmost one. I almost always get this wrong first time. You need to be on the W side of the river that runs through the town. Remember that in all Icelandic pools showering is compulsory before a swim. Otherwise you will get frowned at..
  Also in Hveragerði is a garden center/tourist trap called Eden, which is the tackiest place in Iceland, if you have time to kill, or it is raining, might be worth a laugh.
  
  
• Waterfalls and Glaciers :- A longer drive, but quite doable (perhaps 2h drive there). This takes you to two v pretty waterfalls, and you can drive up to the glacial tongue at Solheimsjokul (house-of-the-sun-glacier) to pat the surprisingly grubby ice and say you have stood on a glacier. The track to the glacier turns off the main road just after you have crossed a river called jokulsá (glacier river) about 6km beyond the big waterfall at Skogarfoss.