The South Coast — Overview
The route from Reykjavík along the Ring Road (Route 1) to the east is Iceland's most traveled and most spectacular route. Over approximately 380 km to the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, the highlights are closely packed:
- Seljalandsfoss & Skógafoss — Two of the world's most famous waterfalls
- Reynisfjara — The black beach with basalt columns, regularly voted the world's most beautiful non-tropical beach
- Dyrhólaey — The dramatic cape with rock arch and puffin colony
- Fjaðrárgljúfur — A 100-meter deep, moss-covered canyon of breathtaking beauty
- Skaftafell — The national park at the foot of the Vatnajökull with Svartifoss and glacier hikes
- Jökulsárlón & Diamond Beach — Iceland's most magical place
You can see the highlights up to Vík in one long day (day trip from Reykjavík, 12–14h). For the complete route to Jökulsárlón, plan 2–3 days — it's worth it.
The south coast is geologically fascinating: You drive at the foot of a chain of glacier volcanoes — Eyjafjallajökull, Mýrdalsjökull (with the feared Katla beneath), and Vatnajökull. To the left, the mountains and glaciers, to the right, the open sea with black sand beaches stretching to the horizon. The flat coastal plain (Sandur) was shaped over millennia by catastrophic glacier floods (Jökulhlaup) — massive flood waves that occur during subglacial volcanic eruptions.
