South Coast (of Iceland) Best Coast! No but seriously, the South Coast of Iceland is where all of the best waterfalls are, plus Black Sand Beaches! You’ll find the most popular waterfalls; Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss here, as well as Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach! Plus if you’re up for it, you can keep going further to the Southeast coast and see Jokusarlon Glacier Lagoon!
Time: Full Day
Cost: About $80 for gas + food money
Tip: Bring a raincoat & waterproof camera; chase waterfalls
When I first started researching things to do and see in Iceland, all I saw were expensive Golden Circle tours or whale/puffin watching cruises. Then i stumbled upon a tour of the South Coast of Iceland which looked AWESOME because of all the waterfalls, but wayyyyyy out of my price range.
Being the overly-ambitious DIY adventurer that I am, I quickly realized that the sites weren’t restricted to tours only, and that anyone could drive, bike, or hitch hike there if they wanted to. So, instead of paying to go on one of the pre-planned tours, I just researched all of the places their tours went to, and planned my own little South Coast roadtrip fo’ free!
The stops are all about 2-3 hours from Reykjavik, but you’ll probably want to spend some time at most of them, so prepare to spend a whole day exploring the South Coast!
The easiest way to differentiate this waterfall from the rest, is by its extremely difficult-to-pronounce name, and the fact that you can fully walk behind it! It’s also the first waterfall you’ll see as you head east along the south coast, about two hours into the drive.
Seljalandsfoss is probably my favorite waterfall because of how magical and fairy-tale like it is. It’s surrounded by bright green meadows and it plunges into a cute little lagoon, that then runs down a creek towards the ocean. There are steps to get behind it, then a pathway along the inner stone wall, just be aware that there’s a good chance you’ll get soaked if you decide to walk behind it! (This is where the raincoat comes in handy.)
Although you can’t walk behind it, Skogafoss is probably the most popular waterfall on the south coast of Iceland, and even where a few famous movies were filmed! It’s a lot taller, wider, and more powerful than the dainty Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and pretty freaking cool to walk up to it.
Instead of plunging into a lagoon, it dumps down into a basin that turns into a creek which empties the water, so directly in front of it is a rocky ground area that you can walk on to get closer, if you’re willing to get really wet. Skogafoss is just a few kilometers east of Seljalandsfoss, and you really can’t miss it from the road.
The purple flower fields aren’t exactly on any of the tour stops, and they don’t really have one designated spot to go see them in, but since so many people have asked, I thought I’d include them on the South Coast roadtrip. They’re located on the sides of the road in between Skogafoss and the next stop, Reynisfjara (the black sand beach).
According to the internet, these flowers are called Alaskan Lupine and were first introduced to the area to help increase Nitrogen to the soil, but now they kind of take over the weaker indigenous plants…even though they’re still really pretty. You obviously can’t miss the fields of purple flowers that seem like they go on for days, you just need to keep a look out for the little nooks on the side of the road that you can park on to get out and take pictures.
Reynisfjara is the most well-known black sand beach in iceland, and was included on most of the tours I looked up. It’s a nice last stop on the South Coast roadtrip because it has a little cafe/restaurant, and bathrooms and wifi if you buy something (including wine or beer).
The actual beach is stunning as well, with its black lava rock formations that stick out from the coast, as well as the mind-boggling black basalt columns and cave that look intriguingly similar to the bigger ones in Ireland and Scotland next door.
Popular for being the hardest name to pronounce in all of Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull is actually an active volcano topped with a glacier that sits somewhat behind Skogafoss. Eyjafjallajökull actually erupted in 2010, causing a lot of flight cancellations, but don’t worry, it isn’t scheduled to erupt again any time soon (hopefully).
I didn’t get to go to Eyjafjallajökull, but if you want to check out a glacier or a geothermal pool, add this to your list of stops on the South Coast!
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Hey! I'm looking to take a trip to Iceland next Feb. Can I just ask where you hired a car from and roughly how much it cost? Thanks
Awesome!! I booked it online and just chose the cheapest car lol, I think it was Fox rentals and around $40/day, but they have even smaller ones for cheaper than that I think!
Great post and this is my next trip. So glad I read it. Thanks
So how long does it take to do this tour?
All day, it's a few hours just to get out there from Reykjavik and you'll want to spend a couple hours seeing all of the sites!
Love this! Heading next month & trying to plan my route! Where would you recommend I overnight along the road from Reykjavik to jokulsarlon? I gave 3 nights!
You could get to Jokulsarlon in one day and then stay in that area, they have little lodges or camping areas, or you could stop and stay in Vik which is the town where the South Coast is then head to Jokulsarlon and Skaftafell National Park the next day!
If you head up the Southeast coast about an hour, you can reach Jokulsarlon, the glacial lagoon which is probably the prettiest place in Iceland (which is saying a lot!).
Then on the way back, you can stop at Fjadrargljufur Canyon. Good luck trying to pronounce that but it's spectacular.
Hello, madam
I readt your Huffingtonpost article, and I really admire the way you express your "self" (not yourself).
Hope you keep enjoying your journeys.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Yes! I did a Southeast Coast self-tour too - "5 Stops on the Southeast Coast of Iceland" Jokulsarlon was one of my favorite places in all of Iceland! It took me almost 5 hours to get there from Reykjavik though, so I'd recommend maybe staying the night out if it's a combined tour lol I didn't hear of the second place (and you're right, no chance of pronouncing it, ha!) but I'll have to look it up! Thanks!