• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Destinations
    • Brazil
    • China
    • Honduras
    • Iceland
    • Ireland
    • Japan
    • New Zealand
    • South Korea
    • USA
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Florida
      • Hawaii
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Washington
      • Wyoming
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Baking
    • Dinner
    • Desserts
    • Salad
    • Side Dish
    • Low Carb and Keto
    • Freezer meals
    • Party Favorites
    • Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)
    • Slow Cooker
  • Lifestyle
    • Homeschooling
    • Parenting and Motherhood
    • Health and Fitness
    • Home
    • Seasonal/Holidays
  • Shop
  • About
    • Work with Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Good Life Xplorers
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Destinations
  • Lifestyle
  • Work with Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Things to Do in South Iceland

    July 1, 2019 by Jana Leave a Comment

    Sharing is caring!

    391 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and participant in other programs, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

    This travel guide highlights the best things to do in South Iceland. The Golden circle is beautiful and a short trip from Reykjavik.

    You have many choices on things to do when visiting Iceland. However, since Iceland has only one main road that encircles it, you will be faced with the tough decision of what to see in the time you are there.

    Some options are:

    • Circumvent the entire island (7-10 days)
    • Take day trips from Reykjavik like the Golden Circle (1 day)
    • Choose a direction West, North or South to explore (2-3 days)

    We only had 5 days to explore Iceland on this vacation. 2 days were allocated for Reykjavik to be able to relax.

    On the remaining 3 days, we decided to drive the Golden Circle and to explore the South Iceland for the waterfalls.

    This turned out to be a great itinerary as it is fairly accessible and perfect for families.

    Things to Do in South Iceland

    Houses at the bottom of a mountain face in Vik Iceland

    Two things that surprised me about South Iceland are: how close to the road everything is and how many waterfalls there are.

    You will need to walk, at most, a couple hundred feet to reach these places. The waterfalls can also be seen from the road!

    South Iceland is perfect for travel with small children as no hiking is required.

    Just make sure you take cash to pay for parking and restrooms stops along the way.

    Skogafoss

    A massive waterfall, you have the option to tent camp here or stay in a couple guesthouses nearby. There are a couple restaurants too.

    Parking is free, but be aware that to use the bathroom you must pay 200ISK per person.

    Skogafoss waterfall in south Iceland

    Seljalandsfoss

    We were surprised to drive by Seljalandsfoss and soon after arrive at our Airbnb. It was literally only a mile away.

    You can tell that this place has seen a lot of change since the boom of tourism hit Iceland. There is a nice paved parking lot and a automated parking machine to collect the 700ISK fee per car.

    There are free flush toilets on site and the path to the waterfall is clean and well maintained.

    If you are not afraid of getting wet, an option is to walk behind the waterfall. This requires climbing some very slick steps, so make sure you wear appropriate footwear and a rain coat.

    Seljalandsfoss waterfall in South Iceland Europe

    Reynisfjara Beach

    The basalt rock cliff is super impressive as are the caves you find underneath it. The beach is long and there are nice round pebbles everywhere for the kids to throw into the water.

    Reynisfjara is a nice place to picnic and there is also a restaurant at the parking lot if you prefer to dine in.

    Bathrooms here are also on a fee and you need to pay for a card to insert into the door to get in.

    Reynisfjara Beach in South Iceland
    Reynisfjara Beach Cave in South Iceland

    Vik

    A cute little town with an Instagram famous church and an incredible view. This was our end-point during this day trip.

    There is a big store in town (where the Ice Cave Bistro is located), that sells the biggest variety of souvenirs and Icelandic products that we saw.

    The complex houses two restaurants and a grocery store on site as well. We stopped here to eat and rest before heading back to Reykjavik.

    The church in the town of Vik with a view of the ocean and mountain cliffs in the background

    Icelandic Horses

    If you have ever seen pictures of Iceland before, changes are you have seen a couple Icelandic horses as well. The breed is unique as it has not been bred with any other breed in centuries. They have a great temperament and a mane to make anyone jealous!

    There are farms with Icelandic horses all through South Iceland so pull over and see if you can take a picture of these beauties. Just make sure you are not impacting traffic or trespassing on someone’s property.

    We were fortunate enough to stay at an Airbnb that was a farm and has these beautiful horses near the property for us to pet them.

    Icelandic Horses

    Other Places of Note in South Iceland

    These places are also of note if you are traveling to South Iceland, but unfortunately we were not able to see them during this trip.

    I caught the flu traveling from Ireland to Iceland so our plans were derailed a bit as I developed high fever and body aches and became bedridden for a couple days.

    Solheimasandur Plane Wreck

    We weren’t able to stop here, but if you have more time and don’t mind walking a bit further to reach it, then it’s an interesting site.

    Jökulsárlón

    An iconic lake filled with icebergs, it is further away and requires an overnight if you don’t want to drive for half of the day.

    Seljavallalaug

    This was the first public pool built in Iceland to teach people to swim. It was built on the side of a mountain which makes is so appealing to visitors. Nowadays it’s a spot for pictures for the ‘gram’.

    It requires some hiking and although idillic, if you are skirmish, this place may not be for you as the dressing rooms are not separate or clean but once a year. The pool is natural and also only maintained once a year, so bathe at your own risk.

    Sólheimajökull

    Glacier in South Iceland that is easily accessible. That are tours that take you into the Glacier, but since we have them back at home, we didn’t venture into the mountains. If you never been to a glacier though, this sounds like a cool place.

    If you enjoyed this article, you might want to check out my guide to Things to do in Reykjavik or one of these other travel guides:

    • Things to Do in Dublin, Ireland
    • Ritz Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    • Snacks You Must Try In Brazil
    • Things to do in Las Vegas with Kids

    Don’t forget to follow my travel or lifestyle accounts on Instagram and to subscribe to my YouTube channel for videos.

    Pin it button
    Waterfall and view of the town of Vik in South Iceland

    YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

    This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and participant in other programs, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

    Sharing is caring!

    391 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Filed Under: Destinations, Iceland

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    I’m Jana. I am fueled by travel and everything good about life. If you are infected by wanderlust, love good food and the outdoors, let’s be friends!

    More about me →

    Never Miss a Post

    Products I Recommend

    *affiliate or referral links - which means I might earn a commission from the company on your purchase. This does not mean it changes my recommendation at all. I only promote products I use myself.

    All About Reading

    Latest

    • Best places to visit in Japan, Itsukushima, Shrine, Shinto, Temple, Buddhism, Japan, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan, torii gate
      Best places to visit in Japan
    • Child Sleeping on Skycouch on Air New Zealand
      What is a Skycouch? And why you should book it with Air New Zealand
    • All About Reading Review
    • Math U See Curriculum Review

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Policies and Disclaimers

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Shop
    • Work with us

    Copyright © 2021 Good Life Xplorers

     

    Loading Comments...