Visiting South Iceland

Nadi Travels
Jul 5, 2022
3 min read

South Iceland is stunning with numerous waterfalls, glaciers and beaches. You can spend anywhere between 1-3 days visiting the south of Iceland. My recommendation would be a minimum 2 days, but prefer 3 days for a relaxed visit. From Reykjavik to Diamond beach is about 4.5 hours drive each way, so it will be very difficult to do it in one day and see everything.

Things to do in South Iceland

We start our journey with Seljalandsfoss. This is probably one of the most photographed waterfalls in Iceland. You can walk behind the waterfalls and its an amazing experience. You can take a short walk from here to visit Gljufrabui waterfalls. The view from between the rocks is so worth it. There is parking and a restroom available at the Seljalandsfoss.

Photo Credit: Robert Lukeman

Skogafoss - A few minutes from Seljalandsfoss is Skogafoss. Its so huge and stunning. You can take the stairs to go to the top of the falls and there are a couple hikes up there too. Going to the top is optional but worth it. There is a huge parking lot and some gift stores too.

Photo Credit: Tomas Malik

Once you are done with the 2 most stunning waterfalls, its time to head to Vik. Vik is a beautiful town with the most popular beaches and the perfect spot to view puffins during the season. You can visit Reynisfjara beach and Dyrholaey. Vik has amazing food as well.

The black sand beach and the Reynisdanger cliffs are so beautiful. The waves are pretty aggressive and have a huge pull, so be very careful near the waters here. The cliffs are beautiful to watch. Dyrholaey is about 15 mins from here and you can actually see the Raynisdanger cliffs from Dyrholaey on a clear day. There are multiple paths to walk on the cliffs in Dyrholaey. There is also a paid WC. You can easily spend an hour at Dyrholaey.

Photo Credit: Rostyslav Savchyn

Vik is also the place to go for an ice cave tour. We highly recommend Troll Expeditions for their customer service and friendly staff. My favorite tour was the Katla glacier in the super jeep. It takes about 2 hours for this tour but is so worth it.

It's a good place to break for the evening and cover the rest on the next day.

The next main attraction is Vatnajökull National Park. The landscapes are so beautiful. On the way here, take a deviation and visit Fjaðrárgljúfur. This is where Justin Bieber's song "I'll show you" was filmed. The canyon is so beautiful. You require a 4x4 vehicle for this road as its a F road. There are hiking trails that are very well maintained.

From here, you would head to Svatrifoss. The hike to the falls is absolutely worth it. The tall black basalt columns are a sight to see. It feels very serene at this falls. It takes between an hour and a half to 2 hours to do this hike.