On the south coast of Iceland you'll get to see some beautiful landscapes along the way as well as visiting places like the infamous black sand beach, Skógafoss waterfall and Seljalandsfoss (the waterfall you can walk behind).
The south coast has a whole lot to offer and you should get a taste of most aspects of Icelandic nature in this one trip but we will have to drive for quite some time to cover all that land. We‘re lucky that sitting in our SUV (usually Hummer H2) is a very comfortable way to travel. And we‘re also lucky that our driver guides (and all of our customers) are so incredibly fun people!
Just like for all other trips with us, we do not have a fixed plan because we want to try to do it exactly how you want to do it if you have any special requirements.
Usually we make our first stop at Seljanlandsfoss which is a beautiful waterfall that you can walk behind.
Very close by there is another very special waterfall Gljúfrabúi but we might have to be ready to get a little wet to see it from a good angle since it‘s situated inside of a narrow canyon and the trail is basically in the little brook from the waterfall. We can also see it from a different angle if you would prefer that but that would require a little bit of easy climbing.
After that, most people choose to see the black sand beach Reynisfjara which can be a very spectacular sight but we want to emphasize that people should be very careful and not go too close to the tide because the ocean there is very powerful and unpredictable. That being said, there is definitely no reason to worry about this if you‘ll just be careful. Just outside of this beach you can see very tall, graceful, but yet somehow intimidating towers of rocks stand out of the ocean. These rocks are called Reynisdrangar and we recommend you make this a part of your trip. Not far from there is another very cool location with stunning views to all sides.
Skógafoss
Seljalandsfoss in the winter
On our way back to the city, most people choose to see the 15 meter wide and 60 meter (almost 200 ft,) tall waterfall Skógafoss.
After seeing Skógafoss and maybe even getting a little damp after the spray from the waterfall, we can if you want make Seljavallalaug our next stop if the condition are right. Seljavallalaug is a swimming pool built in 1923 which makes it one of the oldest swimming pools in Iceland. It is a very different experience from other swimming pools since it‘s located in the middle of a valley, far from any town or village.
These are a few of the highlights when you‘re traveling on the south coast of Iceland in one day. You can of course pick any of these places or any other places from the area if you like. If you don't have anything specific in mind, your guide will use his or her experience to give you the most out of your trip. We really don‘t want to name an exact duration of the trip since it depends on what you would like to see and how long you want to stay at each place but normally this takes between 9 and 11 hours. It might take longer than that if you choose to go swimming in Seljavallalaug, visit the Lava museum or hike a glacier and it will definitely take longer if you choose to visit the glacier lagoon. If you want to visit the glacier lagoon that would be a different trip and we advice you to send us an email about it so we can figure it out together.
Just like with any other trip with us, we highly suggest you send us a message ("ask us a question" button) when you're booking the trip, just so we can make sure everybody is on the same page and we can make the most of our time together.
