Iceland's South Coast
Six days east from Reykjavik to the glacier lagoon, and back.
Road Trip · 6 days · June to September
The Golden Circle on day one because it is unavoidable, and then the part that actually rewards the drive: waterfalls you can walk behind, a black beach with basalt columns, and Jokulsarlon, where the glacier calves into a lagoon that empties into the sea twice a day. Driven east and back rather than as a full ring, so nothing is rushed.
Day by day
- Day 1
The Golden Circle
Out of Keflavik, the three standard stops, and on to the south coast.
10:00Thingvellir National Park
You walk in the gap between two continental plates, and the Althing sat here from 930.
Parking is metered at P1; the walk down the rift to the church takes twenty minutes.
12:30Geysir geothermal field
The word geyser comes from this field, which is a reasonable claim to fame.
Geysir itself is dormant. Strokkur next to it goes every five to ten minutes.
14:00Gullfoss
Two drops into a canyon you cannot see the bottom of from the upper path — take the lower one.
- Day 2
Waterfalls
The two big ones, and the walk up beside the second.
09:00Seljalandsfoss
One of very few waterfalls anywhere with a walkable path behind the curtain.
You will get wet on the path behind it. Waterproofs, not an umbrella.
11:00Skogafoss
Sixty metres wide with a flat approach, so you can stand at the base of it.
527 steps to the top, and the Fimmvorduhals trail continues from there if you want more.
15:00Reynisfjara black sand beach
Basalt columns, a sea cave and the Reynisdrangar stacks, on black sand.
Sneaker waves here kill people most years. Stay well back from the water line, whatever everyone else is doing.
- Day 3
East to the glacier
Across the sandur to Skaftafell and the lagoon.
09:30Fjadrargljufur canyon
A hundred-metre serpentine canyon, and the two-kilometre rim walk is flat.
The rim path closes in spring to let the moss recover. Check before driving in.
13:00Svartifoss
The basalt column waterfall that Hallgrimskirkja's facade was modelled on.
About 1.8 km uphill from the Skaftafell visitor centre, roughly forty-five minutes.
- Day 4
Jokulsarlon
The lagoon at first light, then the beach the ice washes onto.
07:30Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon
Icebergs calving off Breidamerkurjokull and drifting out on the tide, and it is deeper than the lake was fifty years ago.
Zodiac and amphibious boat tours run from about May to October and book out in July.
10:00Diamond Beach
The ice that made it out of the lagoon, washed back up on black sand.
Directly across the road from the lagoon car park.
- Day 5
West again
The long drive back, with the stops you skipped on the way out.
11:00Dyrholaey
A sea arch big enough to sail a boat through, and puffins on the cliffs in summer.
Closed during puffin nesting in parts of May and June; the lower car park usually stays open.
14:00Solheimasandur DC-3 wreck
A 1973 US Navy DC-3 on an empty black plain, and the walk out is the point.
Four kilometres each way across flat black sand with no shelter. There is a shuttle bus if the wind is up.
- Day 6
Reykjavik and out
The city briefly, then the lagoon on the way to the airport.
09:30Hallgrimskirkja tower
A lift to the top and the whole city laid out in coloured roofs.
13:00Blue Lagoon
It is on the road to the airport, not a detour from it — which is the only sensible way to fit it in.
Twenty minutes from Keflavik and pre-booked only. It has a luggage store, which is the reason to do it last.
Questions
- How long is the Iceland's South Coast itinerary?
- The Iceland's South Coast itinerary runs 6 days and covers 14 stops across Reykjavik, Vik, Hofn.
- When is the best time to do the Iceland's South Coast itinerary?
- June to September is the best window for the Iceland's South Coast itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Iceland's South Coast itinerary?
- Day one is the golden circle: Out of Keflavik, the three standard stops, and on to the south coast.
Sources
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