6 Days – South Coast Road Trip Adventure in Iceland
6 Days – South Coast, Road Trip Adventure in Iceland
Drive along Iceland’s striking and diverse South Coast at your own pace. Take in some of the world-famous landmarks that you’ve always wanted to see. Majestic Waterfalls, Black Beaches, Geysers, Volcanoes, and Glaciers. With moderate driving distances per day, you can add optional activities along the way. This 6-day holiday is suitable for families or active travellers.
Discover the land of Ice and Fire
| Included | Not Included |
|---|---|
| 5 Nights accommodation in 3-4 star Hotels | Flights |
| Rental Car | Optional Activities |
Packages with flights include departures from most UK airports. Only holidays booked in conjunction with flights are covered under our ATOL license. Through our membership with The Travel Vault, other packages are also financially protected in accordance with the EU Package Travel Regulations at no extra cost to customers.
Tour Program
Day 1: Arrival
Arrival Reykjavik kef – The South Coast
Arrival and pick up your rental car from Keflavik Airport on your way to Reykjavik.
Optional: Start your Iceland holiday with a soak in the famous Blue Lagoon. This geothermal wonder of nature is located only 30 min drive from the airport. If you’re hungry and want to start your trip off with a gourmet meal, we can reserve you a table at the Lava Restaurant or at the Moss Restaurant.
Continue to Reykjavik where you spend your first night. Explore central Reykjavik on your own. Reykjavik is a small but vibrant city and its centre has a great range of interesting spots to visit and restaurants to suit everyone’s taste. We can send you plenty of recommendations.
Overnight in a standard room at 3-star hotel (upgradeable to a 4-star hotel)
Kea Hotel Storm, Hotel Borg or similar
Day 2: The Golden Circle
The iconic Golden Circle is a very popular area to visit, we recommend starting the day early to avoid the traffic. Your first stop, the scenic Þingvellir National Park (50 min drive from Reykjavik) is the location of Iceland’s original parliament: Althing, held for the first time in 930 AD.
Iceland is divided by the Mid Atlantic Rift; some parts are on the North American tectonic plate, and others on the Eurasian plate. Iceland is the only place in the world where this rift is above sea-level, and nowhere are the edges of both plates as clearly visible as in Þingvellir.
If the area looks familiar to you, you may have seen it as the “Entrance to the Eyrie” on the TV series Game of Thrones. You’ll spot a few more familiar places on this holiday, we can add those to your final itinerary if you’re a fan.
Optional: – snorkel tour of the Silfra fissure “between the continents”
Next Stop is the thundering Gullfoss waterfall (Golden falls) and Geysir geothermal area. Gullfoss is an extremely powerful waterfall and one of Iceland’s most beautiful landmarks. The geyser of Strokkur erupts every few minutes and all around, hot springs bubble and steam.
Recommended optional stops on the way include the Secret Lagoon (15 min drive from Geysir). Laugavatn Fontana Spa, Fridheimar farm with its geothermal greenhouses and many more. We’re happy to give out some more tips.
Continue to the village of Vik. On your way there you will pass Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the area evacuated in the large volcano eruption in 2010. Make sure to stop by the two world-famous waterfalls Seljalandsfoss (you can walk behind this one) and the majestic Skógafoss. An interesting visit here would be the Skogar Folk museum next to Skogafoss waterfall.
Overnight at Kea Hotel Katla or similar
Day 3: Black Beaches and the Village Vík
At Vik, you will find the Reynisfjara beach Reynisdrangar cliffs and Dyrhólaey.
Reynisfjara is a beach with black volcanic sand and stunning basalt rock formations. The cliffs sticking up from the ocean are called Reynisdrangar. According to legend, there were two trolls pulling a three-mast ship to the shore. They were caught by the sunlight at dawn and turned into stone. The beach is hauntingly beautiful but please be careful as the waves are sneaky, the undercurrent is extremely strong and tragic accidents have happened in this area.
The area has rich birdlife and you will be able to see puffins here. Dyrholaey is a massive rock arch, a result of centuries of erosion. Boats can easily cruise through its opening and one daredevil went through in a small plane.
Dyrhólaey is occasionally temporarily closed to the public because of nesting birds, but you can see puffins just as well at the nearby Reynisdrangar cliffs.
Optional: Glacier Exploration Hiking Tour on Sólheimajökull Glacier
Overnight at Kea Hotel Katla or similar
Day 4: South Coast and Hveragerði
You may want to have a dip in one of Iceland’s oldest pools Seljavallalaug, in a narrow valley under the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Getting to the pool is an adventure in itself. From the parking lot, trek for around 20 min towards the bottom of the valley. The pool is not maintained in any official capacity but is cleaned once a year by a team of local volunteers. The waters are sometimes covered in algae but its natural beauty makes that easy to ignore.
Other places to visit on the way:
US NAVY DC-3 Solheimasandur Plane Wreck: The result of a fuel failure in 1973, the aircraft crashed into the black sand desert of Sólheimasandur, there was no loss of life in the incident. This has become one of Iceland’s most iconic photography locations. We can send you a detailed description of how to get there.
You may need to start the day early if you want to fit all these activities into one day.
If you want to do some optional tours along the way, we can send you recommendations.
Accommodation for 2 nights in Hveragerði area. Hotel Örk or similar
Day 5: Hveragerði
Depending on your flight back, you may need to head directly to the airport (1 hour and 15 min).
If you have some time to enjoy Hveragerði, here are some options:
The town of Hveragerði is famous for its geothermal park, open daily in the summertime. Enjoy a natural clay foot bath and after you can soak your feet in one of the hot springs. The locals bake bread in a hole in the ground using the geothermal heat like an oven. You can boil eggs in the hot springs and have with the bread. Guidance is provided on the spot
The hot springs led people to settle in Hveragerði. The natural hot water could be used for space heating, for cooking, baking and laundry. It allows greenhouses to flourish, as they can be provided with heat throughout the year. Hveragerði is thus the world’s northernmost producer of bananas, which are grown alongside a host of other fruits and vegetables. Horticulture is a key sector of the local economy.
You may want to relax in the Hotel pool and explore some of Hveragerðis excellent hiking trails, – ask us for maps/suggestions. Other options include: A lava tunnel tour, Black Beach Yoga Class, Black Beach RIB Boat Safari, Horse Riding tours – all levels (private tours available), Þórsmörk Super Jeep tour (minimum of 4 participants)
In the afternoon we recommend taking a drive to the old villages of Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri. Home to the Icelandic Wonders Museum (Wednesday-Sunday:13.00-17.00)
And Eyrarbakki’s Heritage Museum (1th May – 30th Sept. Daily: 11-18)
The locals travel from Reykjavik and surrounding places to visit the restaurants Rauða Húsið “The Red House” in Eyrarbakki and Fjöruborðið “At the seashore” – These restaurants are renowned for their signature langoustine soups, but also have other delicious options on their menus.
From the Red House website: “This is the most famous langoustine soup in the Republic of Iceland, prepared by handsome cooks who step naked out of the ocean at Stokkseyri with their catch: the plumpest langoustines who desire only one thing – to get onto dry land”
Overnight in Hveragerði area. Hotel Örk or similar
Day 6: Departure
Depending on your flight time you might want to enjoy Reykjavík in the morning. Depart for the airport about 3 hours before your flight. Return the rental car at the airport and depart for home.
Optional extra days available at all stops, variations can be tailored to your needs.
