Iceland’s South Coast area is one of the quadrants of the picturesque road trip on Ring Road that goes around all of Iceland. This area is often further divided into Southwest and Southeast Iceland. Southwest is where you will find iconic South Iceland waterfalls and Black Sand Beaches, one in particular called Reynisfjara Beach with basalt columns that is among the most famous black sand beaches in the world. Southeast is where you will find glaciers including Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and the unique Diamond Beach. In this post I am going to cover South Iceland Waterfalls and Black Sand Beach first.
After adjusting to Iceland time after your possibly very early AM flight arrival (and possibly exploring early morning things to do and/or rainy day Reykjavik recommendations), I had suggested traveling the famous Golden Circle first as the initial sampler of Iceland’s natural beauty. Those are day trips, but now starts expanding into 2 days or more because there is so much to see as you head farther away from Reykjavik and you don’t want to lose time having to drive back. Staying as you travel this way also gives you more freedom to savor your stops here and pull over to unplanned unique sights all along the way. Head south to what many Icelanders and repeat visitors argue is the easiest to drive and can be visited over and over because the scenery is so stunning. I would agree with that assessment- on a future trip I will probably skip the Golden Circle now that I’ve seen it, but I would go south again.
That said, there are not a lot of restaurants or stops – it may be 30 min or more between gas stations and restrooms. There are some small towns, but don’t be surprised when you also see a crowd of people overwhelming a restaurant or gas station especially if you see tour vans and buses parked nearby. You might consider grabbing some provisions like sandwiches or other baked goods as you leave Reykjavik or be content with rest stop sandwiches and Icelandic hot dogs which actually are pretty affordable. I enjoyed this “lava cheese” a lot, I should have bought boxes back with me.
Seljalandsfoss
After the first two hours driving south from Reykjavik you will want to pull over at Seljalandsfoss. The cascade of the Foss (which translates to waterfall) is relatively narrow but falls from a tall cliff the height of 60 meters (197 feet). This waterfall is well known because this is a waterfall you will be able to walk behind. Perhaps that why it has the name that means “selling the land of waterfalls”. Or probably because it comes from Seljalandsá River, which itself is glacial water from the glacier-covered volcano Eyjafjallajokull and from here goes to the sea. This area used to be an ancient sea cliff and the ocean eroded this cave, before the ocean levels and coastline receded to where you see it now.
The cliffs behind the falls have a wide cavern, and you can walk down to the bottom behind it, right up to the water, as well. As you go out the left side of the falls (when facing the falls) the path gets a bit more rocky and wet – I even encountered a bridge that was mostly ice here, and I slipped on a rock despite my hiking shoes. Going out this way includes following a rocky path up, and then stairs coming down. Everywhere will be wet from the mist of the falls. 
You can walk past Seljalandsfoss to visit the secret gorge waterfall Gljúfrabúi. What makes this waterfall unique is that although it is not as tall as Seljalandsfoss (only 40 meters) it is falls inside a gorge and is inside a cave. It isn’t obvious this waterfall exists because you can’t see it from Seljalandsfoss. You can find a Gljúfrabúi after walking to the left of Seljalandsfoss for about 1.5 km/1.2 mile loop with some backtracking back to parking lot. Be waterproof with your clothes and camera – you have to enter an opening in the cliff and wade through a small river. There is limited lighting because of the cave, and it’s humid and wet – but photos from here look incredible. We didn’t have time to see this waterfall but if we visit South Iceland again I would definitely stop here.
Skógafoss
Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, with a drop of some 60 meters and a width of 25 meters and the power of that roaring water is impressive up close or from a viewing platform looking down the cliffs. Skógafoss gets its name from foss which means waterfall and the fact that it is part of the Skógá River. 
A legend is connected to Skógafoss; it is believed that behind it you can find a chest filled with gold and treasures. The story goes that a Viking hid a chest behind the waterfall and it is said that the first man who goes there will find great treasures. Some men eventually got close enough to try hooking to the chest handle ring to try to drag it out, but the ring ended up detaching in their efforts – and they donated the ring to the Skogar church. The church is gone now, but supposedly you can see the ring on display at Skógar Museum.
You can walk right up to Skógafoss , but be prepared to be drenched. I got a full blast of cold water that was the equivalent of if I had stood under a shower head and just turned it on – but horizontal. I was soaked to get the shot below – and I was still many yards away. 
On the right side (facing the waterfall), you can vaguely see the steps lead up to an observation platform above Skógafoss. That is, if one is up for it, as there are all in all some 417 steps (others count 570 or 370 something but whatever it’s a lot of steps). Most of the steps are part of floating metal stairways, and there is not always a handrail up this steep climb.
Once you are there, you can continue to see additional waterfalls on the 25km Fimmvorduhals hiking trail which passes between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull and past 26 possible waterfalls depending how long you are willing to hike. Some call this trail Fimm Hike or Waterfall Way. This blog post from Earth Trekkers for example shares some of the lush beauty of greens and waterfalls you can see if you continue.
Just as we were about to leave the sun peeked out enough to catch the plenty of waterfall mist and reveal a rainbow. We were part of a 2-day Troll Expedition tour for this trip to South Iceland, and the guide/driver mentioned he pretty much always sees a rainbow here on sunny days.
For more waterfalls along this way, see this blogpost hosted at Guide to Iceland.
Reynisfjara Black Beach
In 1991, National Geographic voted Reynisfjara (fjara means the beach) as one of the Top 10 non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet, and in 2021 Travel website Big 7 Travel listed it as the sixth best beach in the world out of fifty. And it is stunning – you can see the the arched cliff of Dyrhólaey (Door Hill Island – the arch does look like an entrance) looming over the sea. 
Out in the roaring sea, you can see sea stacks – Reynisdrangar. The story goes that Reynisdrangar were once trolls that have been turned to stone. Whether the trolls frozen by a grieving husband or by the rays of the sun depends on which story and misdeed you believe. Be careful of that roaring sea yourself – sneaker waves have surprised many people here and there have been fatal accidents. We gave the sea a wide berth and between the two of us always had an eye on it, just in case.
You can walk on the black sand with pounding Atlantic waves to Hálsanefshellir sea cave and the octagonal basalt stacks. The hexagonal basalt stacks here were formed when the magma of this ancient volcano cooled slowly and cracked into these columns. They do look together like a pyramid of organ pipes. Above us and at Reynisdrangar you can see lots of sea birds, including puffins in the summer (I mostly noticed guillemots), flying and nesting above you. 
Climbing partially up on the basalt columns was extremely popular for that moody new profile photo and selfies.
Yoda Cave
Surprise highlight! In some random trivia, there was a scene in Rogue One that was filmed at Reynisfjara. And, only a short drive on the other side of this town of Vik, there is Yoda Cave or Gígjagjá on Google Maps. Opening scenes for Rogue One were also filmed here (where Jyn Erso hides).
Abandoned Plane on Sólheimasandur
We didn’t have a chance to stop for this, but another cool stop in this area though it requires a bit of hiking is visiting the Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck. This Douglas DC Plane Wreck did not result in any fatalities, but as it is open to the elements it is slowly wearing down since 1973. You can get more details at this useful page on visiting. Also some great tips here and the story of the crash here.
Depending on how many of the above stops you make, and how long you spend at each stop, you may decide to stop here for the night, and then continue to Southeast Iceland for Day 2. Or, if you are making good time, you can drive towards Jökulsárlón or Hofn to get closer to the justifiably famous and spectacular Glacier Lagoon. It’s a unique sight that you should not miss.
This post was the fourth of my series sharing photos and suggestions of things to see and do while in Iceland from my trip in mid October 2021. The next post will cover us visiting the famous Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach for sunset.
Svartifoss
If you are up for seeing a waterfall that may have inspired Icelandic architecture and basalt columns check out Svartifoss.
Other Iceland Posts
- Early Morning Things To Do for when you arrive early in the morning or are jet-lagged and up early
- Rainy Day Reykjavik Recommendations for when you want indoor options for things to do
- Golden Circle Highlights, including one stop that may not be quite as famous but is well worth it
- South Iceland Highlights Part 1: Waterfalls and Black Sand Beach
- South Iceland Highlights Part 2: Glaciers and Diamond Beach
- South Iceland Highlights Part 3: Glacier Hike and Ice Cave
- Reykjavik Vibes
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