South Iceland, waterfalls, glaciers and black sand.

What is there on the south coast?

A stretch of about 380 km of Route 1, between Reykjavík and the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, with Vatnajökull, Iceland's largest glacier, closing off the horizon at the end. Almost nothing needs a detour: the stops are right by the road, and you take them from west to east in this order.

• Seljalandsfoss, about 125 km from Reykjavík. A waterfall that drops from an old sea cliff; a path passes behind the curtain of water. Bring a waterproof jacket: you will get wet.
• Skógafoss, about 30 km further on. A wide, straight drop, beside a staircase that climbs to the edge. From the top the trail to Fimmvörðuháls begins, following the river past one waterfall after another.
• Sólheimajökull, a tongue of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier a few minutes from the road. You can see it from the edge on foot; to walk on the ice you must go with a guide and crampons.
• Reynisfjara, next to Vík, about 185 km from Reykjavík. The black sand beach with basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks in the water. It is also the most dangerous: waves that come in without warning and a current that has already dragged several people away.
• Eldhraun and Fjaðrárgljúfur, on the way to Kirkjubæjarklaustur: a lava field covered in moss and a narrow canyon that you walk along the rim of.
• Skaftafell, inside Vatnajökull National Park. From the visitor centre marked trails set off: the one to the glacier tongue, about 4 km and an hour to an hour and a half, and the one that climbs to Svartifoss, the waterfall among basalt columns, in an easy loop of about 6 km and two hours.
• Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach, about 380 km from Reykjavík. Icebergs that have broken off the glacier float in the lagoon and drift out to sea through a short channel. On the beach on the other side of the road, the sea washes pieces of ice up onto the black sand. Next to it is Fjallsárlón, a smaller lagoon with fewer people.

How to organise the trip

You can do it there and back from Reykjavík, but not in a day: to Jökulsárlón it is more than five hours' driving without stops. What works is to split it into three areas to sleep in.

• Hella, Hvolsvöllur or Skógar, for the waterfalls. An hour and a half to two hours from Reykjavík.
• Vík, the village with the most services on this stretch, with a supermarket and petrol station, for Reynisfjara and Sólheimajökull.
• Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Skaftafell or the Höfn area, for the national park and the glacier lagoons.

With four nights you see everything at an easy pace and return to Reykjavík on the last day. With six, you can add long hikes in Skaftafell, a guided glacier trip or the Golden Circle at the start.

How do you get there and get around?

You fly to Keflavík and pick up your car or campervan at the airport. The whole route follows Route 1, paved and with no need for a 4x4 in summer. Headlights are always on and the limit is 90 km/h. Do not stop on the hard shoulder to take photos: use the car parks at each stop. At many of them parking is paid.

If you sleep in a campervan, do so only at campsites. The one at Skaftafell is open all year; at the others, check dates.

Without a car, day tours by bus leave Reykjavík for the waterfalls and Vík, and two- or three-day tours go as far as Jökulsárlón.

When to go

From June to September everything is open and the road is clear. In June and July it hardly gets dark, and you can see the waterfalls at night, with far fewer people. May and September are quieter and prices are a little lower. From October to April there are northern lights and the waterfalls freeze, but the days are very short and wind and snow close the road on some days: leave slack in your plan and check road.is every morning.