The south coast of Iceland, without rushing it
The Golden Circle and the waterfall coast, done in six days instead of the usual two.
Almost every visitor drives this stretch, and almost every visitor drives it too fast, because the map makes it look short. It is short. It is also where Iceland puts its highest concentration of things worth stopping for, and the difference between a rushed day and an unhurried one is whether you saw the glacier lagoon in the hour when the tour buses were not there. Six days, one direction, out and back or continuing round the ring - your choice at the far end.
The route, day by day
- Day 1 Thingvellir National Park
The rift valley and the old assembly site. Start here because it explains the rest of the island.
- Day 1 Geysir and Strokkur
Strokkur erupts every few minutes. Fifteen minutes is plenty.
- Day 1 Gullfoss
The big one, right next door. Both are on the standard circuit and both are busy from ten to four.
- Day 2 Seljalandsfoss
The one you can walk behind. You will get wet - that is the point.
- Day 2 Skogafoss
Twenty minutes further, and the stairs beside it lead to a whole valley of smaller falls almost nobody climbs to.
- Day 3 Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
Black sand and basalt columns. The sneaker waves here kill people most years - stay well back from the water.
- Day 3 Dyrholaey
The arch and the puffin cliffs above the same beach, closed during nesting when the birds need it.
- Day 4-5 Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon
The glacier lagoon, plus the beach opposite where the icebergs wash up. Two nights nearby lets you catch it at dawn.
- Day 5 Svartifoss
In Skaftafell, a short walk to a waterfall over black hexagonal columns.
- Day 6 Fjadrargljufur Canyon
A mossy canyon on the way back west. It has been closed before to let the moss recover - check.
Ticks are kept in this browser only. See your map
Getting around
A car. Roads on this stretch are paved and easy, but the wind is not: car doors get ripped off their hinges here often enough that rental insurance has a specific clause for it. Fuel stations thin out east of Vik.
When to go
June to September for open roads and long light. February and March for ice caves and the aurora, with far shorter days and real winter driving. Avoid the shoulder weeks if you want certainty either way.
Honest expectations
This is the busiest corridor in the country - the Golden Circle sites in particular are a car park with a view for most of the day. Iceland is very expensive. The weather closes roads at no notice, and the official road and weather sites are not decoration. The lagoon is a two-hour drive from anywhere with a choice of places to eat.
This is a suggested order, not a booking. Every stop links to its own page with access, season, entry and what is genuinely annoying about it. Check opening days and ferry timetables yourself before you commit - they change, and this page does not.