Travel

Iceland: 4 days road trip itinerary along Southern Iceland

Very blessed to finally check off Iceland from my bucket list this year. I did a 4 days road trip along the Southern coast of Iceland. I didn’t do the full Ring road, only because I do plan to return again another time in Summer, hopefully to be able to catch the Aurora.

Tip: Check out my previous post to help you plan your Iceland trip, i.e. Is road trip for you ? Winter or summer ? How many days ? 

So, this is my 4 days 4 nights itinerary to Southern Iceland!

Day 1 / Seljalandfoss, Skogafoss, Solheimasandur, Reynisfjara

We arrived Keflavik International Airport at midnight, and waited a fair bit for our hired camper van. After we sorted out the car, we drove to the first campsite (Reykjamörk Hveragerði) we could reach for much-needed sleep.

Tip: We originally planned to drive to Selfoss, however the bridge to Selfoss was closed at night for maintenance. Be sure to follow http://www.road.is/ for latest updates on road conditions. 

In the morning, we went to the public swimming pool (Sundlaugin Laugaskarði) behind the campsite to shower.

We started the day with Seljalandsfoss, definitely the most touristic waterfall due to its closest proximity to Reykjavik town. Hike up the small hill to the right of the waterfall, for the best vantage point to take photos.

jermpins iceland Seljalandsfoss waterfall
Seljalandsfoss

After, we went to Skogafoss. You probably have seen a lot of photos on Instagram taken in front of the waterfall. I can tell you it is no easy task with the water mist constantly fogging the camera lens. So instead, climb the 527 steps to the top of the waterfall for this shot below!

jermpins iceland
At the top of Skogafoss

The top of Skogafoss is much more beautiful! I wish I spent more time hiking further in. But, we had to move on cause we had much more to cover, and needed at least reach Vik for the night.

Next, we went to Solheimasandur, for the infamous plane wreck. Be warned that to reach the plan wreck, you need to walk at 4 km one way! Including 30 minutes wait time for the perfect shot, all in all we spent about 3 hours! Now that I have done it, I would say it is a bit overrated. But, it was all #forthegram.

After, we drove to Reynisfjara, for its famous black beach, and basalt rock columns.

Reynisfjara beach

For the night, we drove to Kirkjubaer II campsite. Didn’t shower because it was cold. Cooked dinner in the campsite kitchen.

Highlights / View from the top of Skogafoss; black sand beach of Reynisfjara

Day 2 / Skatafell national park, Svartifoss, Jokursarlon

Second day, we started the day checking out this cute little waterfall, Stjórnarfoss, just next to our campsite.

kirkjubaer II to stjornarfoss
From Kirkjubaer II to Stjornarfoss
Stjornarfoss

We then continued on to Skatafell national park, which is about an hour drive. We totally didn’t expect this to be a big national park. It has a large campsite, and chalets if you want to stay the night. Otherwise, the park offers many trekking routes, and even glacier hikes.

The plan we had was to just check out Svartifoss, which to me, it is my favourite waterfall in Iceland !

jermpins iceland svartifoss waterfall
Svartifoss

Somehow, Svartifoss reminded me of the film set in Prometheus ! The Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik is said to be inspired by this very waterfall !

We ended the day at Jokursarlon lagoon, finally witnessing “ice” (icebergs to be specific) in Iceland !

Highlights / Weird yet beautiful Svartifoss; seeing icebergs for the first time in my life

Day 3 / Golden circle, Thingvellir national park, Gulfoss

The program for Day 3 is to start driving back toward Reykjavik, and do the Golden circle.

On the way, we stopped by the roadside to check out moss plains. This to be is one of the my favourite landscapes to see while on the road.

jermpins iceland moss plains
Moss plains

Note: I urge you all, as sustainable travellers to not trespass the lines, and step on the moss. As much as we all want to take that beautiful Instagram shot #forthegram, stepping on the moss can damage them, and is potentially irreparable. These delicate and fragile moss take years to grow !

We continued on the Golden circle, which includes, Thingvellir (Þingvellir) national park, the Geysir, and the gianormous Gulfoss.

  • Thingvellir park
  • Silfra (Thingvellir park)
  • Geysir

Note: If touching two tectonic plates (North America and Europe) at one time is your kinda thing, you want to dive in Silfra but be prepared to brace the cold (below 2 degC) glacial water. I gave it a pass. 

Highlights / Planet alien like moss plains, gorgeous lake in Thingvellir park

Day 4 / Reykjavik, Hallgrímskirkja, Harpa concert hall

For Day 4, we drove back to Reykjavik and explored the town. Some of the must sees are of course, Hallgrímskirkja church, and Harpa concert hall.

jermpins iceland Hallgrímskirkja church
Hallgrímskirkja church
jermpins iceland harpa concert hall
Harpa concert hall

We didn’t get to explore much of Icelandic cuisines but we are very lucky to stumble upon Icelandic Street Food. The menu is very simple, there are only 3 options,

  • Fisherman stew (mashed potatoes with Icelandic haddock and Hollandaise sauce)
  • Shellfish soup (loaded with Icelandic scallops and shrimps)
  • Lamb soup

And the best part, there’s free refills and desserts ! Best deal ever !!

jermpins icelandic food store.JPG

As we are both not fans of lamb, we ordered the Fisherman stew and the Shellfish soup. The soup was extra yummy, especially when you eat it hot in the cold weather ! And it is loaded with scallops and shrimps ! They are not stingy at all with the ingredients even though we must have had like three refills !

We stayed the night in an Airbnb not far from the airport, and took the first flight back to Paris the next day.

Highlights / Beautiful architecture of Hallgrímskirkja church, our best meal in Iceland

Instagram Highlights

If you want to check out some of the videos I posted on my Instagram stories, click on this link for my Iceland Instagram Highlights !

50 thoughts on “Iceland: 4 days road trip itinerary along Southern Iceland”

    1. It wasn’t that packed actually. It was quite manageable. I’ve seen other people’s itinerary where they tried to cover the whole island in 7-8 days ! That’s crazy !

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  4. Excellent post! I was in Iceland for only a short period of time, but I’d love to go back and take a tour like this. I also must applaud you for your comment about being sensitive to nature and to barriers…I know it’s #forthegram for a lot of people, but nature and rules still need to be respected!

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  6. Iceland is very high on my bucket list. Northern lightning, amazing waterfalls, Golden circle, ice cave. There are lots of amazing things to do in Iceland. I hate Winters and snow but I know I have to weather it out one day just to witness northern lights.😍

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  8. Looks like you had a great four days there. I havent done the southern side of the island yet (only done the capital and golden circle tour) but would love to get back to Iceland and give it another bash. All the nature and landscape beauty!”

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    2. It was a very memorable experience. I’m personally not a road trip person, especially the sleeping inside car ! However, I still very much enjoyed myself ! Will be back again for the Northern part ! =p

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  9. Oooh I blooming love visiting waterfalls so I neeeed to go back to Iceland in summer! We visited during the winter. It was truly gorgeous, but the snow hid a lot of that gorgeous green landscape.

    Did you manage to visit any of the hot pots (geothermal springs)?

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    1. No, we made a decision not to visit the Blue lagoon as we read alot about being it abit of a tourist trap. My friend visited it and still said the onsens in Japan are much better ! I love Japanese onsens ! =)

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      1. Me too! It’s the thing I miss most about Japan!

        The blue lagoon may be a bit of a tourist trap, but there are hundreds of other hot pots (some of them are free!) Let me know if you’re interested as I wrote a guide a while ago about how to find them. Just in case you go back. 😀

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  11. I love your photos! I wish I had taken some more adventurous ones while in Iceland. We only saw Gullfoss and I realize now that I really wish I had seen Skogafoss too — it’s beautiful! I also regret not making it to the lagoon to see the icebergs. You definitely saw so much of Iceland sounds like a great trip!

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  13. I loved the south of Iceland and wrote a post on it as well. You seem to have a lot less people in your picks than I did! What time of year did you go? I was there in June. It was crowded but the weather was amazing. I want to go back and do the west and north!

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    1. I went in August, slightly into the shoulder season. There were still alot of people nearer to the golden circle, but once we were out of it, the crowd was significantly lesser ! =)

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  15. So jealous as you got to see so many colors to Iceland. When I went I did a similar 4 day hitch hiking, car rental, backpacking tour and everywhere was still blanketed in white. Love your pic with the “hidden” plane, looks really cool with the black beach beneath it instead of my white snow. I personally loved all the waterfalls and the basalt columns at Reynisfjara beach. Apparently it is those same basalt columns that inspire the famous church design in Reykjavick.

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    1. Yea when we were deciding whether to go during summer or winter, we had to choose between the colours or the northern lights. I guess everyone wants both of them ! So that just means we all have to return again ! =p

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  16. I almost ended up going to Iceland for my honeymoon but chose to go to a warmer place to enjoy the beach before it gets too cold. However, I feel the moment of exploring Iceland is approaching slowly, but surely. And I can barely wait, it’s amazing! And the sooner I visit the better since with every passing year more ice melts 😦

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  17. Iceland is so darn beautiful! So much so that I have been twice. The second time I did a road trip similar t yours, but it was for 7 days. You hit all the awesome spots and captured some amazing photos 🙂

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  18. I love a road trip and I want to go to Iceland, it’s that simple… The rock basalt pillars are amazing, such an interesting natural phenomenon! We have a few of those in Australia, it’s a really good photography subject!

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  21. What a pretty road trip! Iceland has some pretty cool landscapes. I’ve never been, but I’ve wanted to visit for quite some time. That church looks amazing too!

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  22. If I get a chance to visit, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of those gorgeous waterfalls! And the fisherman’s stew sounds hearty and delicious!

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  23. I’m so jealous you got to see Solheimasandur! I only had time for about a week in Iceland and when I got to the plane wreck, I defs wasn’t prepared to hike 4km and back. There’s just so much to see and too little time! I missed out on Svartifoss too and was absolutely devastated. Reading this for sure makes me wanna plan another trip back!

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