How to Explore Southern Iceland
There are several places to visit in Southern Iceland. The coast is filled with waterfalls, black beaches and other hidden gems. If you wake up early enough, you can hit almost everything in one day. Here is how we tackled the southern coast of Iceland:
So let me just say that we did not wake up early. We woke up around maybe 10 am and then had to go to the car shop because we had a taillight out and also our tire pressure was low. So we wasted about 2 hours fixing that but it was something we had to do.
Once we were on the road, it was about a two and a half hour drive to the southern coast. Our first stop was at Seljalandfoss. We stepped out of our car and turned around because the place was swarming with tourists. We decided since we had the entire day and 24 hours of sunlight, we would come back later when it was less crowded.
So back in the car we went. We soon came upon the Western side of the mountain and David spotted a waterfall he wanted to explore. There were no signs, no people, just a waterfall and a fleet of sheep. So we got out the car, walked through the field and made our way to the fall.
I immediately regretted this decision when I looked up and realized David was already at the top of the fall. He sometimes forgets that I have shorter legs than him and what looks like a hill for him, is a mountain for me. So up I went, slipping and falling, until I finally reached the top.
As we gazed into the mist, I then began to question how we were getting down. The ground was wet and mushy and also covered in sheep poop. I of course became angry and started making my way down. I am just going to say it was a disaster. When I reached the bottom, I was covered in mud, my shoes were soaked and my bottom was wet from where I fell.
It wasn’t the greatest moment but we named the waterfall David’s Waterfall because he conquered it. We skipped Skògafoss and decided we would stop at it on our way back because we could see the tour buses from highway one. So we stopped at the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck and then Vík.
The black sands of the beach were absolutely gorgeous. We walked down along the waves, built a stack of rocks along the hundreds of others, and gazed at the waves crashing onto the shore. While we were there, we also witnessed a wedding on the rocks.
After a little beach leisure, we then hiked the almighty, Hjörleifshöfði. At this point, we decided that it would be a good idea to turn around and hit the places we passed by. The first on our list was Skògafoss. This waterfall was beautiful and so large. We snapped a few pictures and then headed to Seljalandfoss. I am so glad we decided to wait until later to stop at these two destinations. There was nobody at these sites, except the campers.
We decided to save the best stop for last, swimming at Seljavallalaug. We did have to back track it because we did not realize that we had already passed the hidden pool, but it was already midnight so we didn’t care. We arrived at the pool around 12:45 after a short hike and left before 2 am.
The pool was so relaxing and although it wasn’t as warm as we both would have liked, it was still worth the dip. We arrived home around 4 am, which probably wasn’t the best idea but it was a day full of fun, adventurous things.
XO, G
