The Ultimate Guide to Iceland's South Coast

Are you traveling to Iceland but don’t have enough days to do a complete tour of the island? Then I suggest you just focus on a road trip along the country’s South Coast. Here you will find many of the country’s most beautiful sites such as waterfalls, glaciers, black beaches, and canyons. Want to know more? keep reading to get The Ultimate Guide to Iceland’s South Coast.

How To Get Around Iceland?

The best way to move around Iceland is to rent a car and drive to the places you want to visit. This will allow you to:

Create your own custom-made itinerary, choosing which places you are interested in visiting and which not.
Discover the country at your own pace, without having to rush from place to place or wait for other people. You will decide when you arrive and leave each destination.

READ MY BLOG POST ABOUT DRIVING IN ICELAND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Best Places To Visit in the South of Iceland

Reykjavik

Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, will always be where your road trip in Iceland begins and ends. Because of this, you might consider spending some time discovering it. Make sure to spend some time walking along its colorful streets, eating in some of its famous restaurants and bakeries, and visiting its most famous sites. The impressive Hallgrimskirkja or the National Museum of Iceland are a must during your stay at Reykjavik.

READ MY BLOG POST ABOUT REYKJAVIK TO FIND THE TOP 20 THINGS TO DO IN THIS CITY

The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle is the perfect day trip from Reykjavik. It is a 300km circular route with three main stops: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall. It is actually this last stop, Gullfoss, that has given it its name since Gullfoss translates into English as Golden Waterfall.

Depending on how much time you want to spend at The Golden Circle you can add some extra stops on your route. Some examples are Faxi Waterfall and Hrunalaug Hot Springs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOLDEN CIRCLE MAKE SURE TO READ MY BLOG ABOUT IT

Seljalandsfoss

Seljalandsfoss is one of the most popular waterfalls in the south of Iceland. It is mostly famous for being a waterfall that you can walk behind it. Because of this, it will be almost impossible to visit it without anybody else there unless you visit really early in the morning or even at night during the summer months. However, please make sure to include this stop on your itinerary as it is will be worth it.

Not far from Seljalandsfoss (approximately 300m further) is a less-known waterfall, Gljufrafoss. This is an amazing waterfall inside a cave that has nothing to envy its popular neighbor.

Skogar Museum

The Skogar Museum, located 1 minute away from the famous Skogafoss, is a museum that will make you understand how people have lived in Iceland throughout the years. . This museum has a collection of 18.000 artifacts from Icelandic History as well as an open-air museum with some typical turf houses.

Skogafoss

Skogafoss waterfall is by far, one of the most impressive ones you will see in Iceland! If you’re lucky to visit it on a sunny day, it is very common to see a double rainbow in front of it because of all the water spray it generates.

After you have taken some time admiring this waterfall, go up the stairs next to it so that you can admire it from above. From there, if you are willing to do some exercise, I recommend doing the Skoga Trail, a 7km hike (3,5km each way) along the Skoga river. This trail has many smaller waterfalls but they are just as pretty. This was one of my favorite hikes in Iceland!

Kvernufoss

Kvernufoss is still quite an unknown waterfall and many people don’t visit it despite it being very close to Skogafoss. It gets its name because it is located inside the Kvernugil Gorge. Within this gorge, the Kverna river drops for almost 40 meters, creating this beautiful waterfall.

You can also walk behind this waterfall so make sure to bring your rain clothes if you’re planning on visiting it.

Reynisfjara Beach

Reynisfjara Beach is a beautiful beach known for its black sand and basalt columns. Everyone visiting the south coast of Iceland includes this beach in their itinerary. Unfortunately, it is also known for its sneaky killer waves that can pull in the most distracted tourists to sea to drown. Please be very careful when you visit this place.

If you have some time on your schedule, you should also make a stop at Dyrhólaey view point, from which you will be able to enjoy a breathtaking view of Reynisfjara from above.

Vik

Vik is Iceland’s southernmost town. Despite it being quite small (750 inhabitants approximately), it has a lot of charm. The famous Reynisfjara beach is located nearby and it is also known for its typical Icelandic church surrounded by lupines.

Fjadrágljufur Canyon

Fjadragljufur is a canyon located in the south of Iceland that is up to 100m deep and 2km long. It receives its name from the river Fjadrá that runs through it. This canyon was created through the erosion of the flowing water from the glaciers.

In the past, it used to be possible to walk along the ridges of the canyon but they have now built a metallic passerelle over them to preserve nature and for the visitor’s safety.

Vatnajokull Glacier

Another must in the South of Iceland is to visit and go on a hike on the magnificent Vatnajokull Glacier.

Vatnajokull is the largest glacier in Iceland and its the second largest glacier in Europe, behind Austfonna in Norway. However, due to global warming and the volcanic activity in the area, it is rapidly shrinking.

It is possible to go for a hike in one of the glacier’s tongues or outlets by joining a guided tour. Please do not attempt to do this on your own as it can be very dangerous.

Skaftafell National Park

Skaftafell is a protected area in the south of Iceland that belongs to the Vatnajokull National Park. This park offers a variety of short hiking routes that take you to Svartifoss Waterfall as well as longer hikes to Morsárdalur valley or Kristínartindar mountain peaks.

I chose to do the Skaftafellsheidi loop and it was the best way to complement our hike in the Vatnajokull Glacier. This hike took us all the way up to Kristinartindar mountain while offering a fantastic view of one of the Vatnajokull outlets.

MAKE SURE TO READ MY BLOG ABOUT HIKING IN SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE

Svartifoss Waterfall

Located inside of the Skaftafell National Park, this is another famous waterfall in Iceland. It is 20 meters tall waterfall, framed by multiple layers of tall black basalt columns. From far away, the contrast of the black columns with the green moss, makes it look like a heart.

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Jökulsárlón is also part of the Vatnajökull National Park and it is Iceland’s most famous glacier lagoon.

This beautiful lake only appeared in approximately 1935 when due to the rising temperatures, the glacier Breydamerkurjökull started to retreat leaving the place for a lagoon at its feet. This lagoon is filled with icebergs that break from the glacier tongue and drift peacefully towards the ocean. These icebergs are notorious for their blue color.

There are many possibilities when visiting Jokulsarlon. You can just admire it from the shore, you can take a boat ride or you can even go kayaking to admire the icebergs from up close!

READ MY BLOG POST ABOUT KAYAKING IN JOKULSARLON

Diamond Beach

The icebergs in Jökulsárlón eventually either drift out into the sea or wash up onto the nearby shore, called Diamond Beach. The name of this beach is given because of the way these icebergs glisten against the black sand on a sunny day.

The amount of ice you will find on this beach will vary depending on numerous factors: the season, the amount of ice that has fallen off the glacier, etc. Because of this, some people will find a beach full of ice or almost empty.

Vestrahorn Beach

Vestrahorn, also known as Stokksnes, is a paradise for photography lovers. It is a beautiful black sand beach (Stokksnes beach) with the majestic Vestrahorn mountain as a backdrop.

To access it, you need to pay an 800 ISK ticket but it is totally worth it! It is the perfect spot to relax and admire the beauty of this mountain.

MAP WITH ALL LOCATIONS

On the map below you can find all the locations referenced in this post.

Each color represents a different day.
The black points are the things, I didn’t have time to visit.

The Ultimate Guide to Iceland’s South Coast