15 Unforgettable Must-See Sights on Iceland’s South Coast

In this post, we’ll take you to the top 15+ must-see sights on Iceland’s South Coast. This stretch along the Ring Road is beautiful and dotted with spectacular sights. Here’s an overview of this leg of the Ring Road journey:

• We’ll start by leaving Reykjavik and making our way to the top spots of the Golden Circle.
• From there, we’ll head south to see some stunning waterfalls and follow the Ring Road east to see puffins and cliffs.
• Next, we’ll stop in Vik for provisions and make our way to the highlands to see an uncrowded multi-level waterfall while hiking some beautiful terrain. If we’re lucky, we’ll come face to face with a herd of horses being moved from one area to another.
• We’ll visit a gorgeous canyon and hike to multiple waterfalls in Skaftafell National Park.
• Then we’ll make our way over to the glacier lagoons to watch the icebergs calve and float around and over to Diamond Beach.
• Finally, we’ll check out Vestrahorn to see if we can catch the reflections of the mountain range in the bay.

See the Golden Circle Highlights

Kick off with Thingvellir National Park, where the Eurasian and North American plates pull apart. Walk the rift, feel the earth’s cracks underfoot—it’s like stepping into geology class. History buffs love the old Viking meeting spot here. By the way, here’s how to pronounce Thingvellir. And, you never know, you might meet the most recent President of Iceland! In 2025, just after his last term in office, he worked a summer job as a guide at Thingvellir.

In our post on Reykjavik, we introduced you to where we stayed — Hotel Muli. But for anywhere you stay in Reykjavik, the information below will be similar.

1 – Take a Short Hike to Öxarárfoss

In this National Park, you can take the trail to see Öxarárfoss. According to Guide to Iceland:

• Öxarárfoss is a stunning Thingvellir National Park waterfall known for its geological and historical significance.
• It is part of the Golden Circle Route, making it easily accessible for travelers.
• The waterfall was artificially created in the 9th century to supply water to Iceland’s parliament, Althingi.
• It was featured in “Game of Thrones,” adding to its appeal to pop culture enthusiasts.

My Google Review mentions that restrooms are walking distance from the parking lot, the trail was crowded, and it’s not handicap accessible due to stairs.

2 – See the Silfra Fissure

Try snorkeling in Silfra fissure at Thingvellir if you’re up for it. Clear waters between plates make for unreal views. Book ahead—it’s a highlight that feels otherworldly. I read that you could see the fissure from above the water, and I suppose you could see some of it. But you will undoubtedly get a better view by snorkeling or diving. We saw a lot of people, mostly snorkeling. You have to be drysuit certified to dive here, which we are. But we haven’t dived in dry suits nearly enough to feel confident about going into the frigid waters for any length of time. So, we opted not to do that.

Here are some photos of the trails to and from Öxarárfoss and to and from the Silfra Fissure. See if you can find the rainbow on the waterfall. We also posted our route on AllTrails, which shows how to get from the parking lot to Öxarárfoss and then up the main trail past the bisecting trail to Silfra, and back again, and over to Silfra.

3 – See a Turquoise Blue Waterfall, Bruarfoss

This one is not on most Golden Circle itineraries, but I added it to our plan at the last minute after watching an itinerary video on Natural Habitats, so we made an effort to squeeze it in. It is beautiful, but the word is out, and there were quite a few people here. There are no restrooms, but a food truck is available here. Rick was able to fly his drone, so he had some fun away from the crowded bridge.

4 – Explore Dormant and Erupting Geysers

Where to Park at the Geysers

I saw some posts where people said you could park for free on the left side of the visitor’s center. Alas, this is no longer the case. You’re limited to parking in the main lot, which is a Parka lot. So, you need to use the Parka app to pay. From there, you need to walk to the busy road and cross at the crosswalk. You will need to wait for a lot of traffic to clear. There are restrooms at the Visitor Center.

What You’ll See at the Geysers

While the original Geysir, after which all others are named, is considered dormant, there is plenty of other activity to take in. Watch Strokkur erupt every few minutes, shooting water high. It’s a thrill that kids and adults both enjoy. You might want to plan to stay here for up to an hour to wait for the perfect eruption from Strokkur, though. Yes, it erupts often, but to varying degrees. You also need to aim your phone or video device so that you can capture the whole thing – especially when it might be an extra-tall explosion. Here’s the best video we got, which Rick captured.

And here are pictures of other mud pots and the area.

5 – Drive to Gullfoss & Faxafoss

There are still two more waterfalls to see on this leg of the trip: Gullfoss, a massive waterfall that roars like a beast. Mist soaks you as you navigate the paths. And Faxafoss, a wide, beautiful waterfall with a fish ladder.

Visit Gullfoss

Since my camera is water-averse, I took the path furthest from Gullfoss, but it still offered an amazing view of it from that location. This is a no-drone area, too, so Rick could not fly here. Gullfoss did have restrooms and a visitor center. You can pay the parking fee on the Parka app.

Visit Faxafoss

This one is also not on most Golden Circle itineraries, but it should be. At Faxafoss, you pay for parking at the manned kiosk upon arrival. It’s a short walk to the viewing area, where you can see the waterfall. There is a walkway to a picnic area and on down to a restaurant, but the restaurant wasn’t open while we were there. There are restrooms, but those were also not open while we were there.

Stay the Night at Hotel South Coast

After visiting all of these places in one day, you will be tired! We stayed in Selfoss at the Hotel South Coast. Here’s what it looks like.

After we ate breakfast, Rick waited around in the lobby until somebody showed up so he could get some ice from their bar. It took a while, but he eventually was able to get some ice, and off we went.

Check out Waterfalls and the South Coast Drive

6 – Explore Selljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui

Next stop, Seljalandsfoss, where you can stroll behind the cascade. Water pounds down, creating a cave feel. Pack waterproof layers; you’ll get drenched, but the experience is worth it. When we first arrived, we did not see a sign for parking. We decided to try to capture some photos before we went hunting for parking info.

There’s a bridge over a river facing the waterfall. The river carries the water from the waterfall out to the ocean. So, it’s a pretty good vantage point for a photo, except that when people see you with a camera and a tripod, they tend to gather around you. Consequently, there was a lot of trampling on the bridge where my tripod was stationed, which is not conducive to taking shots at a slow shutter speed. At this point, there was only one tour bus in the parking lot.

So we decided to head over to nearby Gljufrabui, a tucked-away fall in a narrow gorge. We waited for most of the people to leave and then climbed in for a private splash. After visiting Gljufrabui, we went back to Seljalandsfoss, thinking the crowds might have died down. No such luck, though. The parking lot seemed to be mostly occupied by tour buses at this point. So, we got in the long line to walk behind the waterfall and then went back to the bridge to take some more pics.

Here are the shots we got at Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui.

As you can see from the photos, there is a little deli at Seljalandsfoss, and there are restrooms. Look carefully at the signs on the restroom doors because these are gender-specific, unlike almost every other place we went to in Iceland.

Also, make sure to pay the parking fee on the Parka app. This is the one place we missed on our whole journey, and it cost us three times the amount of the parking fee because we missed it while we were there.

7 – Check Out Skógafoss and Kvernufoss

Next, you’ll head down the road to Skógafoss, which has stairs going up to a rainbow viewpoint. Climb for the full force, or stay low to dodge the spray. This day builds the south coast’s dramatic pull. If you stay below, be prepared for lots and lots of selfie-takers and people walking through the river to get to the other side, which will put them front and center in your composition. If you walk up closer to the falls, you will find people taking turns to get their shots. This takes some time. Here are a couple of the shots we got of Skogafoss.

If you take the trail to the top of Skógafoss, you can continue on the trail where it runs along the river that feeds Skogafoss. And if you have time for a 16-mile hike, there are several other beautiful waterfalls behind Skogafoss. We, unfortunately, did not have time.

Instead of climbing up and behind Skógafoss, you could drive over to the nearby Skógar Museum, park, pay for parking, and take the trail to Kvernufoss. Bonus: If you pay for parking at the Museum, you can use their restrooms.

The trail to Kvernufoss runs along another river. Along the way, you’ll see sheep, but few other people. That’s because tour buses, which do park near the museum to let their groups get out and get something to eat at the nearby FreyaCafe, do not allow these groups to take a hike down this trail. This hike is very beautiful in itself, but what awaits at the next stop is an uncrowded, walk-behind waterfall. Here are some photos.

When you walk back to the parking lot at the museum, you can see some Icelandic turf houses. There is a lot to learn about turf houses, especially what they looked like inside. The turf houses here are reconstructions, but contain elements from the 1830s.

Drive to Dyrhólaey

8 – Check out Puffins!

When we arrived around 4 PM at Dyrhólaey’s viewing area, which is high up, the fog was heavy. You couldn’t see the ocean or the arches. However, there were puffins galore because they weren’t flying out to sea in search of food. I got several great photos of them just walking around the parking lot. But we walked along the cliffs and found many more very inquisitive puffins. So we took quite a few photos of them. The first nine shots below I took with my phone were in the parking lot. The rest I took with my camera farther along the cliff path.

Follow the Ring Road to Vik

Here, you’ll want to fuel up and get some groceries if you need to before you continue on. Vik has a very nice Krónan, but everyone is there, especially toward the end of the day. Pack your patience.

Watch Wild Horses and Hike to a Remote Waterfall

Ófærufoss is one of the prettiest waterfalls we saw in Iceland. One thing you must remember is to stop and get gas in Vik. Don’t do what we did — forget to stop for fuel.

The drive out to Ófærufoss is long and rough. The journey will take at least an hour and a half. It requires 4-wheel drive, clearance to cross rivers, and ample insurance to get you out should you get stuck in a river. The good thing is that the sun doesn’t go down until after 11 PM in early July.

Getting to Ofaerufoss via the Highland Roads

In the Winter, F-208 is typically closed as you get into the highlands. But if you go in the Summer or even up to early September, before the snow, you can take this route. Of course, check road.is before settling on a path.

9 – See Wild Horse Drives in the Highlands

Another potential reason to make this trip , besides the beautiful waterfall, is the movement of the wild Icelandic horses throughout the highlands. When we were driving this road to the waterfall, we were almost there, and we saw a herd of wild horses running full blast down the single-lane road, headed right for us. There was a hill on our right, and a drop-off on our left. There was enough room for single-file horses to go around us on our left, but no room on the right, unless the horses scrambled up the hill. The herd was running four horses abreast. At first, I didn’t see riders, but after a while, I noticed there were a few riders up front, and eventually we saw a few riders in back.

Rick, whose phone was connected to CarPlay, was trying to take a video, which we found out later was impossible to do with CarPlay connected. I could not take my eyes off the horses, which looked terrified. I had stopped the car, of course, but there was nowhere else for me to go and not much space for them to go around, and they didn’t appear to want to slow down. Somehow, they divided themselves into two groups, one diverted up the hill around us on our right, and the other went single-file around us on our left. We were awestruck. Rick got one picture. This is what it looked like before the bulk of them got to us.

Later, when I was researching what this anomaly was, I found that it’s a regular occurrence, and you can participate in this horse-riding extravaganza yourself. Here’s a video where you can follow along on a six-day ride. An event called Réttir occurs in the fall, when the horses are moved from the highlands, where they’ve been free-roaming during the summer, down to the grassy south for the winter. It looks like fun, but these types of rides sell out far in advance.

10 – Hike to Remote Ófærufoss

After that excitement, we went and forded the river to get to the waterfall parking lot. Two cars came from the other direction before we crossed, so we could see that it wasn’t that deep. We had no trouble crossing, but we crossed in an area that appeared to be shallower than the way the other cars went.

Here’s a drone video Rick took of the waterfall.

Here is what Ófærufoss and the trails to and from look like. (We took the highest trail going to it, which gave us a better view of the waterfall.) My Google review has more info about the trails, but in a nutshell, we took the trail that went up to the top of the mountain opposite the waterfall, and we came back via the trail that was level with the river (and was marked). Our AllTrails post has the route we hiked.

We drove conservatively both to the waterfall and back out due to our low fuel situation. But we made it to the next town with a fuel station, and it was still open. Whew.

Stay the Night at Adventure Hotel Geirland

We stayed the night at the Adventure Hotel Geirland. This place attracted hikers, glacier tour takers, and explorers. The main reason we stayed here was its proximity to Fjaorarglijufur Canyon. Here’s what the hotel and property looked like.

Visit Beautiful Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon

11 – Take a Hike Along the Canyon

Although the light is better in the evening, it’s still a beautiful place in the morning. Here are some of the photos we took in the morning.

Stop by a Lovely Waterfall Just off the Ring Road

12 – View a Beautiful, Unnamed Waterfall

I have seen this waterfall called Hamrafoss Waterfall and Foss (waterfall) a Síðu. According to Google Maps, it’s simply called Waterfall now. It’s just off the Ring Road, 10 kilometers past the village of Kirkjubæklaustur. There’s a small, free parking lot just off the road. This is a no-drone area, though. Not only is the waterfall beautiful, but it has interesting folklore tied to it. Here are a couple of photos we got.

Drive to Skaftafell National Park

In your navigation device, you want to put in either Skaftafellsstofa (which means Skaftafell Visitor’s Center) or Skaftafell Parking (aka Skaftafell – bílastæði). It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the Visitor’s Center, where you’ll find restrooms and can purchase refreshments if desired.

13 – Hike to Four Waterfalls

The first viewing area we came to was on the east side, looking at Hundafoss. There were a lot of people there. But we walked a little bit farther along the trail and noticed there was a dirt path that went behind some bushes, and that view was much better. So, we stopped for some more photos and then continued on to view Magnusarfoss. Magnusarfoss turned out to be one of the prettiest falls, especially when viewed from the bottom near the base of the waterfall. But from here, we continued on the path to Svartifoss. That was a bit of a longer walk. Svartifoss is an interesting waterfall, more so because of its surrounding basalt walls. However, people were still playing in the water, despite signs posted that said not to do so. It took a while before we could get some decent pictures of the waterfall without people.

We highly recommend hiking the entire path to take in the views of the falls from the west side, but please note that the trail is rougher on this side. There are a couple of places where you can climb down to the river level to see the falls. The hike was approximately 3 miles in total. If you do go all the way around, you’ll find another small waterfall called Þjófafoss, which I wrote a Google Review about. We also posted our route on AllTrails.

Here’s a snippet of a video Rick took while we walked around the west side of the Svartifoss trail where we ran into some women building steps for the trail.

Here are the photos of the waterfalls, the path, and the views.

14 – Hike to Skaftfell Glacier

It’s about a 3-mile hike out to the Glacier from the Visitor’s Center and back. You need to get a guided tour to actually walk on the glacier. I would go with this one from Arctic Adventures and book it in advance. We’ve walked on glaciers before, so we weren’t interested in doing that here. Instead, we went back to the car to make some lunch. By this time, it was 3 PM.

Here’s a snippet of the walk out to the glacier.

Here’s what the hike to the glacier looked like.

Explore Glacier Lagoons and Beaches

15 – Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Fjallsárlón is a glacier lagoon with fewer people than there are at Jökulsárlón. While we were there, it was serene. The people who were there were enjoying the zen of the place. The calved-off glacier pieces don’t go beyond the lagoon. They sit there and melt. We saw a black glacier calf here, which was interesting. These dark icebergs can originate from the very bottom of the glacier, rich in sediment, or from volcanic layers mixed with ice, and their calving is a significant contributor to glacier mass loss. Here’s what it looked like in the lagoon while we were there.

Weirdly, there was no fee for parking. We looked and looked and even went back the next day to look for a camera. There was no such thing, nor did we receive any charge later on.

16 – Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

There’s more activity here, more people, more wildlife, more calves floating down the channel and out to sea. You can watch seals swimming in the lagoon while birds land on the ice calves. We were mesmerized by watching the calves slam into each other, get stalled in the middle, tumble around, and eventually break free and head out to sea. After you watch the ice float out, don’t expect the pieces to land on Diamond Beach until the tides have washed them back up onto the beach. We waited overnight.

Here are some videos of what we saw there.

Here are a few of the photos we took while we were there:

17 – Hunt Picturesque Ice Chunks at Diamond Beach

Walk Time: Jökulsárlón to Diamond Beach – 10 minutes

After we watched the ice calves make their way out to sea, we went over to Diamond Beach to see what was there. Unfortunately, there were no diamonds on the beach, probably because the tide was in already. We needed to wait for the tide to go out, fetch the ice, and bring it back in. By this time, it was getting late, and we were tired. So we headed to our hotel and in the morning came back to find that the diamonds had made it to the beach.

This is also the place where we brought one of the diamonds with us for our cooler. There was nothing on any of the signs that said not to take them. The day was starting cloudy, so the photos of the diamonds on the beach were not stellar, but here’s what it looked like.

Stay Near the Glacier Lagoons

We chose to stay at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. It was a fantastic place. And, although they don’t advertise it on their website, they do “wash and fold” your clothes overnight. They also have laundry facilities if you want to do them yourself, but based on what I read, it’s not worth the cost or time involved. The machines are small, requiring multiple loads, and they’re expensive.

Here are some photos of the property and the hotel.

Drive to Vestrahorn

18 – Visit the Magnificent Vestrahorn

Getting to Vestrahorn may seem straightforward from a Google Maps perspective, but once you’re on the Ring Road, past Hofn, it’s not going to look like you think. First, if you see the turn and make the turn without bypassing it and having to turn around, excellent work! From the Ring Road, after you pass the turn to Hofn, you want to turn right on Stokksnesvegur. This is a gravel road that has a sign that says Stokksnes. It looks like this.

You’ll be boonie crashing on this road for 4.4 km. Soon you’ll see horses grazing on the grass between the road and the ocean. Once you get to the end of the road, you’ll see the Viking Cafe. Park in the lot to the left of the Cafe. When we were there, they were remodeling and adding on. Now they have guest rooms that you can rent. There’s also a campground here. In the cafe, they serve food and drinks, but primarily, they sell tickets to get to the peninsula so you can see Vestrahorn, Viking Village, and potentially seals swimming offshore. It’s ~1100 ISK per person. The tickets you get here get you through the gate at the road in front of the cafe that takes you to the peninsula.

Drive to the Vestrahorn Photo Location

Here are a couple of photos of the Viking Cafe and the gate across the road you take to get to the peninsula. Since I thought it was hard to see where things were, I’ve highlighted where the gate is on the second photo relative to the Cafe.

Once you get through the gate, you drive down the road out to the peninsula. You’ll pass the trail to the Viking Village on your left. Ordinarily, you could take the road that leads up the hill toward the Viking Village. The road is between Viking Cafe and the short-term parking area, but they have that blocked off, probably because there’s no ticket-taking gate there. Here are some topographical views of the area.

The first image on the left shows the path you drive down to the peninsula. It also shows a camera icon at the top, and that marks the Viking Village. The camera icon at the bottom is where people take photographs of Vestrahorn, which you can see in the distance, and ideally, some water in that bay allows for reflection. The image below that on the left shows where we parked. The image on the right shows where there is additional parking. It looked quite full to us as we drove by.

Find a Place to Park

Pretty soon, you’ll come to a parking area where you can leave the car and walk out to take photos of Vestrahorn, which is also on the left of the road. We did not take time to go to the Viking Village, but we did walk out to view Vestrahorn from the bay. There were several people who persisted in walking around the beach, but we waited for them to exit our frame. Fog started to come in, and the tide was out, so it wasn’t an ideal photo op.

I would suggest getting up early to get there early, but the Cafe doesn’t open until 9 AM. If you’re a photographer, you might want to book a couple of nights to stay at one of their new guest rooms, so you have sun up and sun down with tide in reflection options. But here are the shots we got.

Conclusion

In this post, we’ve introduced you to more than 15 sights to see along Iceland’s Golden Circle and south coast. If you feel you need to spend more time in one area, you could certainly spend more time in Vik or in Vestrahorn and cut the trip through the highlands, especially if you don’t want to rent a 4×4 with F-road capability.

In case you want to drive the Ring Road, including the Westfjords, check out our post about that here. If you want to add to the South Coast trip by traveling to the east, see our post about the east. If you want to head to Myvatn and the northern parts of Iceland, check out our post about that area.