Road Trip: Chasing Waterfalls & Wonder on Iceland’s South Coast

After the end of our NCL Prima 11 Night Northern Europe cruise, I took advantage of NCL Air’s free two day deviation to explore more of Iceland. During this time, I went to the Perlan Museum, snorkeled Silfra, and explored the South Coast as a day trip from Reykjavík. (See the other top spots section for more info and links to my posts detailing my experiences for those activities).

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One of the reasons why I use Viator, is that you can read reviews beforehand and this tour has over 5,000 reviews and is still rated 4.7 stars! (for more about Viator, check out this post)

Skógafoss

Start at the powerful Skógafoss waterfall (82 feet/25 meters wide with a 200 feet/60 meters drop). As typical with Nordic nomenclature, the origin of the name is from the Skógá river and foss meaning falls and drops from the cliffs that once marked the old coastline.

You can experience the power of the Skógafoss up close – the spray is really powerful with rainbows often being produced on sunny days! As always, dressing for the weather and conditions will make your experience more enjoyable – a waterproof jacket, pants and shoes are recommended if you want to get close to the waterfall.

There’s a second way that you’re able to view the falls and it’s from a higher vantage point (visible at the top right of the photo). There is a moderately challenging climb of 527 steps to a viewing platform at the top of the falls.

Kvernufoss

I will write a longer post about this waterfall since it’s not as well-known as our other stops which are insta-famous and stops on tours hence their popularity. But if you are driving, don’t miss out of on this gem!

Kvernufoss is only a six minutes drive from Skógafoss but feels so secluded due to less people and the hike in. The only other people we encountered were a group of 5 hikers during the hour we were here (from 8:20 – 9:20). The walk to the waterfall is 15-20 minutes on a mostly flat, well maintained pathway along the Kverna river (see what I mean about names of things here?)

The allure of this waterfall is the gorgeous walk to see it but also that you are able to experience it up close in front and behind the waterfall!

Make time for a coffee and sweets break at the Freya cafe located inside the Skógar Museum -depending on when you started your morning before or after Kvernufoss.

Sólheimajökull Glacier

Drive about 25 minutes to the next destination: Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of the much larger icecap of Mýrdalsjökull to the north and is one of the most accessible glaciers (as it is just 98 miles (158 kilometers) from Reykjavík. Important to note that you can drive to the glacier but if you are wanting to climb it, you must do so with a guide – be respectful of Icelandic law and the glacier.

It is five miles long and just over a mile wide (about eight kilometers long and two kilometers wide) but sadly is rapidly shrinking like all glaciers in Iceland. It used to be a short walk to the glacier from the parking but now takes 20 minutes. The glacier retreated .5 mile (almost 1 kilometer) between 2000 and 2015.

A glacier lagoon at its base reveals how quickly it is receding: the length of an Olympic swimming pool every year. Perhaps this is sadly, an irreversible consequence of climate change and it may be gone within decades.

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach

Thirty minutes away, you’ll drive to another of Iceland’s iconic landscapes: Reynisfjara beach. Here’s the fire portion with the black sands formed from sea-worn black volcanic rocks. Also at the stop, one can see the bizarre and otherworldly basalt column wall (unfortunately with my knee, this was ruled out as a photo shoot location but I sorta wish I would have grabbed an insta pic whilst I was here). You may also have seen many photos of the cave on the beach. The sea is beautiful but dangerous and you need to be aware of what creeper waves in the area!

Stop in Vik for a lunch break.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

As you can see here that Seljalandsfoss is one of the most visited falls in Iceland – the queue was so long and I was so tired (I started my day at 2 AM), that we didn’t go behind the waterfall. Fun fact: the water that feeds this 60m tall waterfall originates from the (in)famous Eyjafjallajökull glacier-capped volcano – the one that grounded flights in Europe in 2010 and what has been credited for setting off Iceland’s travel boom!

OTHER TOP SPOTS AROUND/IN REYKJAVÍK TO EXPLORE

Blue Lagoon

One of the most enjoyable things to do in Iceland is to go to a lagoon and take a dip in the geothermal heated water. I consider this a must to truly experience the land of fire and ice in the same way you should sauna when visiting Finland or eat pasta and gelato in Italy. The most iconic of the lagoons is the Blue Lagoon. We did this Blue Lagoon Admission with Transfers excursion – read about our experience and how convenient it was to get to the Blue Lagoon here.

Perlan Museum

Why is the Perlan one of my FAVORITE places to go in Reykjavík? Fun and immersive museum experience? – check! Incredible 360 views of Reykjavík? – check! Delicious and reasonably priced food, drinks AND ice cream? – check! Read about my experience here.

Snorkel Silfra

I love unique experiences and this was perhaps the most one I have ever done. The Mid-Atlantic Rift or Ridge, which runs through Iceland, marks the boundary between two tectonic plates – the Eurasian and North American plates. Silfra Fissure is a rift formed within this incredible feature so you are literally snorkeling between two continents in some of the clearest and cleanest water I have ever been in. Read about how I was able to also touch the two continents, at the same time!

Golden Circle

If you are spending one day in Reykjavík, the choice is normally either the South Coast or the iconic Golden Circle Tour…both are incredible. The Golden Circle Tour is the most popular day route from Reykjavík and takes you to the Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss, and Thingvellir national park with this tour having the additional stop at Kerid Crater. Wanna know more of what our tour was like – read this! The tour I WISH we would have done would been this one that included the Blue Lagoon to the Golden Circle Tour!