Here is my 9-day itinerary for exploring southern Iceland! My husband, dad, and I set out to explore southern Iceland during the last week of September in 2022. This has always been a bucket list location for my dad, and we chose this time of year to travel in order to increase our chances of seeing the Northern Lights--we were able to see them one night! For the weather this time of year, we had a lot of sunny day and did not experience temperatures much lower than 45F, but we did get some rain and high winds. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting during this time because of the lack of crowds or traffic to deal with!
I know Iceland has a reputation for being a pricey place to visit. For transparency, in the off-season of end of September/early October 2022 and splitting things three ways, each person paid about $1600 for flights, car, lodging, and tours. This did not include gas or food; for my husband and I, the food prices were not that shocking coming from an expensive East Coast area. The gas was a bit pricey, but not bad when we all took turns paying.
I also highly recommend downloading the Hello Aurora app before going--it helps with tracking Northern Lights!
Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik
Most flights to Iceland from the US depart in the evening and arrive early the next morning. For my husband and I, we departed the East Coast on budget airline Play and my dad departed from the Midwest on IcelandAir. Both flights left around 7pm and landed between 5 and 6 am on Day 1. My dad enjoyed his flight on IcelandAir, and my husband and I's experience on Play was great! Play's seats were very comfortable and had plenty of legroom. There was no entertainment options, but that did not impact us too much since we were trying to sleep as much as possible while on the flight.
After picking up the car from Blue Car Rental, our goal was to try to stay awake as much as possible before checking into our hotel at 3pm. If I were to do this over again, I would probably book a hotel for the night before arrival so I could go straight there after landing. It was super early! We considered going to Sky Lagoon this day, but ultimately thought that might make us more tired. We did end up exploring a bit of Reykjavik and checked out the Hallgrimskirkja church before we ultimately found a park and immediately all fell asleep in the car--our grand ambitions thwarted by the inevitable jet lag. We spent the night at Storm Hotel, which was very nice and we would all recommend. We chose it because it was on the affordable side, had free parking (a very tight lot!), a free breakfast that was delicious, and was within walking distance to town. We were able to wander down the main shopping street after freshening up and enjoyed a nice dinner.
Rental Car Tips:
You can easily walk to Blue Car Rental from the terminal instead of waiting for the shuttle - it only takes 4 minutes!
Take a video of your car: there are a lot of ways to get scratches and dents in your vehicle, so make sure you document any that are already there and I recommend getting extra insurance on your car (such as Sand and Ash Protection)
Day 2: Golden Circle
After getting a good night of sleep, we were ready for our first real adventure in Iceland: the Golden Circle. This day and the next day of our trip to Iceland (end of September) were filled with some of the craziest wind I have ever experienced; it was the first "autumn storm" of the season, and it actually greatly impacted tourists on the northern and eastern parts of the island. Luckily for us, it only made it a little challenging to walk around.
Our first stop on the Golden Circle was about a 42 minute drive to Thingvellir National Park. Some Game of Thrones scenes were filmed here! We enjoyed the cool geological formations and did the 2.6 mile Öxarárfoss Waterfall Trail loop. Afterwards, we set out for another drive of about an hour towards Strokkur Geyser with a plan to stop for lunch along the way. We attempted to eat at the very popular Friðheimar, which is a farm-to-table restaurant in a greenhouse serving primarily tomato-based dishes. Despite the lack of overwhelming crowds at most places we visited, this was packed! There was no option for a table (we should have made a reservation), and the bar area was full. So we opted to go to another local farm-to-table restaurant, this one focusing on mushroom dishes: Farmers Bistro. It was delicious! They had a wonderful buffet, and we even got to try mushroom ice cream!
After our meal we stopped to see Strokkur Geyser and all of the fellow geysers around. This is where the word "geyser" comes from! The eruptions happened about every ten minutes when we were there and were fun to see. Afterwards, we drove another 10 minutes to the highlight of our day: Gullfoss. This was spectacular to see in person, and the rainbows that often occur because of all the mist just added to the ambiance. From the parking lot, you look out at mostly flat terrain but can hear the roar of water; descending some steps you are met with the impressively large falls. We were amazed at how much water was gushing by and how loud it was! You are able to hike a trail and get very close to the falls, which was so awesome. There is a nice gift store here and some snacks as well.
We then completed the final thirty or so minute drive to our awesome Airbnb for the night (Mosas Cabin 3), stopping for some groceries in Flúðir to cook dinner. Right before bed, I happened to check Hello Aurora and noticed that people in Reykjavik had seen the Northern lights; we rushed outside and were able to see them right over our cabin. It was awesome! This ended up being our only night spotting them due to clouds the rest of our trip.
Other Golden Circle Stops I considered (and would love to do in the future):
Brúarfoss
Kerid Crater
Reykjadalur Hot Springs
Day 3: Waterfalls
After a slow morning, we started our day with an hour drive to our first waterfall--and favorite of the day--Seljalandsfoss. We were able to stop in Hella on the way for gas, snacks, and some local yarn. Seljalandsfoss is special because you can walk fully behind the waterfall! Today was another windy day for us, and it was crazy to see the waterfall not even fully touching the ground at some points because of the wind. Because of this, I would take the advice to bring a rain jacket/waterproof clothing even more seriously--we got soaked! Right down the path from here is Gljúfrabúi waterfalls, which was also spectacular; we had to traverse a shallow creek in waterproof shoes to enter the narrow canyon where these falls are, but it was very much worth it.
Afterwards, we headed towards Skogafoss, which was about a 30 minute drive. For those seeking hot springs, there is Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool between these two spots. We had a delicious lunch at the Hotel Skogafoss, right next to the waterfall's parking lot. The falls themselves were stunning and we were treated to a rainbow here. There are stairs next to the falls that take you up to the Skogafoss Waterfall Trail where you can hike as far as you want for an out-and-back excursion; it has about 25 more waterfalls and pretty canyons on the trail. The stairs were steep, and we took our time with stops to admire the stalwart sheep hanging about. Once at the top, my husband and I hiked out for about a mile before turning around; the wind was practically blowing us away! But we saw Hestavaðsfoss and Steinbogafoss. We were a bit defeated by the wind, but next time we would also hike to Kvernufoss, whose trail you can access from the same parking lot.
We chose this lovely Airbnb for a couple nights while in the area, and it was spectacular (though they do not appear to be taking reservations at this time). It was actually back by the hot springs more, so had we not been so windblown we may have taken a dip after the falls. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Gamla fjósið restaurant!
Day 4: Ice Cave and Vik
We had scheduled the Katla Ice Cave Tour + Glacier walk at 10:00, which left from Vik and was about a 30 minute drive from our Airbnb. This was well worth the money and was a highlight of our trip. The pickup spot was easy to find at the main shopping/food hub in Vik, and we all got loaded up in off-roading Super Jeeps and were treated to a beautiful drive. The path to get to the glacier takes you through stunning scenery, used for movies like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the tour operators had a great place for us to stop, stretch our legs, and take pictures. Once at the glacier, they provide you with all the safety equipment you need and were great at explaining all of it. The Katla Ice Cave was the first thing we saw, which was so cool, but the entire hike takes you through glacier canyons and ice tunnels; we felt safe the entire time and were pretty much just in awe! Once finished and back at the pickup spot in Vik, there are a couple food options and a nice gift store and we enjoyed a good lunch.
From the same parking lot, we were able to check out Vik's black sand beach before hopping in the car to see the famous Reynisfjara Beach. It is worth noting that at all the stops throughout our entire trip--to include this famous beach--we always found plenty of parking and a lack of overwhelming crowds; I imagine during high season, this would not be the case. I have heard that there can be backups on the Ring Road, which is a road with a single lane each direction and takes you to all of these sights; but again, we luckily never ran into these issues. After Reynisfjara, we drove up to Dyrhólaey for the sweeping views before returning to our Airbnb for the night. It is worth noting that the famous Solheimasandur Plane Wreck is in this general area, though we did not have time for it this trip as it can be a pretty long hike.
Day 5: Glaciers and Diamond Beach
This day, as well as the following, were driving-heavy but we broke it up with fun stops. After checking out of our Airbnb, we headed back towards Vik to stock up on gas and snacks. We also got coffee from Skool Beans, a wonderful little micro roaster situated in an old school bus with a friendly cat. After heading east out of Vik, we also made a stop at Gígjagjá Cave 15 minutes or so away; this is known as the Yoda Cave for its uncanny resemblance to my favorite Star Wars character! The dirt/gravel road you have to take to get to this cave is a bit rough, but our 2-wheel drive SUV did fine (we saw sedans taking it, too). Definitely worth a stop!
After driving through eerily cool lava fields for 45 minutes, our next stop was Fjaðrárgljúfur. Probably most recently famous as a backdrop for a Justin Bieber music video (lol), it's a beautiful river canyon carved out over 2 million years that took about 15 minutes for us to hike around. We chose to skip the optional stop of a 1-hour hike at Svartifoss and instead headed straight to Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach, which took about an hour and a half. From this direction, you will hit Diamond Beach first; walking among the washed up iceberg pieces and glimpsing the seals in the water was such a unique experience! We then drove up to the parking lot at Jökulsárlón for our 17:30 amphibian boat tour we had booked the night before. When we were there, this place was not very built up; they had bathrooms and a few food trucks, but not any sort of indoor restaurant or visitor's center. This was fine by us, but just something to keep in mind. The boat tour was awesome and our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the lagoon and the glacier. We learned so much!
After the 40 minute tour, we had the final 1 hour drive to Fosshotel Vatnajokull outside Hofn. I had originally wanted to go here specifically to see Stokksnes the next morning, but it ended up downpouring rain. This last hour of driving felt a bit long to us, and I wish we would have turned back around here and spent the night at the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon instead. The total driving for the day ended up being about 4 hours. The Fosshotel we stayed at was very nice, and we ended up having an adorable meal in Hofn at Hafnarbuðin. Their lobster roll was delicious! We had tried to go to a couple other restaurants but they were all weirdly busy.
Day 6: Driving Day
As mentioned above, we were hit with downpouring rain all day, which was ultimately fine since this day was primarily for driving, but we skipped our planned morning stop at Stokksnes. Since we were focusing our itinerary on southern Iceland, we turned back around towards Reykjavik at this point instead of continuing to follow the Ring Road around the entire island (though we did drive back into Hofn for a delicious breakfast back at Hafnarbuðin). This meant passing all of our previous spots; we had originally considered doing stops we hadn't yet gotten to do such as the famous plane crash. But we were hit with almost a solid day of rain and opted to just power through on the drive to our ultimate destination just north of Reyjavik: Hvalfjörður. This drive was about 6 hours in the car. On the way, we enjoyed stopping back in Vik and grabbing lunch and gas, and stopping in Reykjavik for some groceries.
Hvalfjörður is located on a beautiful fjord and we spent the next couple of nights in this wonderful Airbnb while we explored the area.
Day 7: Hiking Day
The primary reason I chose this area to explore was because I wanted to do the Glymur Waterfall hike, which is often touted as one of the best hikes in Iceland. I full-heartedly concur; it ended up being one of my favorite hiking experiences ever. The trail is technically a 4.3 mile loop--though we turned it into an out-and-back--and takes 3 to 4 hours. We brought plenty of snacks, lunch sandwiches, and water. My dad used hiking poles, which definitely came in handy, and we had waterproof hiking boots and a couple of extra socks and towels. Towards the very beginning of the hike, there is a river crossing: it has a wire strung across the river to help with balance, a single log bridge on half the river, and some rocks you could walk on to reach the log. I say this casually, but it was pretty daunting and took concentration, good balance, and encouragement from other hikers! Once over the river, you begin a steady uphill climb towards the top of the waterfall. The scenery on this hike was breathtaking at every angle, always with multiple small waterfalls in sight; it felt like Rivendell for any LOTR fans. There were multiple stopping points for views of the primary waterfall, and my husband and I left my dad at one and continued the climb to the top. The trail does not necessarily look steep, but we were surprised how tiring it was! Typically, you hike to the top and do another (I believe larger) river crossing and head back down the other side. We just chose to return down the same way we came after taking in our fill of the surrounding beauty.
We relaxed the rest of the day, though as always there are hot springs nearby to take advantage of if you wish. We were hoping to go Northern Lights scouting that night, but there was too much cloud cover; instead we enjoyed a peaceful dinner in Akranes.
Day 8: Snæfellsnes Peninsula
We were met with another rainy day today, so instead of opting for more hiking and waterfalls around the area, we opted to do 4 hour round-trip drive up to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Overall, we were a little underwhelmed with this area, maybe because it was raining and a bit more primitive. Despite the rain, we were able to take a cool tour of Vatnshellir cave, which is a lava tube underneath the peninsula's glacier; I was able to book tickets day of. We stopped at the famous Kirkjufell waterfall, but felt it was not nearly as cool as social media had lead us to believe; maybe it was because we had already seen so many spectacular waterfalls up until this point? They just fell a bit flat for us.
Day 9: Leave
Unfortunately, it was time for us to say goodbye to Iceland. From our Airbnb on the fjord, the airport was about an hour and a half drive. We had plenty of time to get there ahead of our late afternoon flights. All three of us are counting down the days until we can return!
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