Iceland, the magical island known as the land of fire and ice. It's the land of thunderous waterfalls, lush green valleys, and scenic mountains with breathtaking views. It's completely logical that Iceland is high on the bucket list for so many travelers. We were also deeply impressed by the natural beauty of Iceland during our road trip. But what are the most important things to see and do in Southwest Iceland?
Things to do in Southwest Iceland, we know a thing or two (actually 10) about that. We’ve been to this majestic and scenery area in Iceland and we know exactly where you need to go. Follow our lead and your trip to West Iceland will be unforgettable!
A day of strolling in colorful Reykjavik
There only live about 300,000 people in Iceland. In the main city of Reykjavik, it's just 122,000 people. This makes it feel like a peaceful community with all sorts of colorful houses, cozy apartments, and hip restaurants and shops. The city center is not that exhilarating, so don't expect some impressive world city here. But it is fun, laidback, and cozy though, its definitely worth a visit for about two to three days tops!
You can enjoy a nice day of shopping, strolling around, lunching, beer-drinking, and some fun sightseeing. The most famous tourist attractions are the Hallgrímskirkja (a beautiful unique church), the Harpa-concert building (futuristic design), the world-famous hotdog stand (it wasn't that good, to be honest…), and the Sun Voyager (and cool art piece made for the former Vikings). In the far distance, we already saw the first green mountains. The adventure was waiting for us!
Visit the Gullfoss waterfall, the biggest waterfall in Europe!
Gullfoss is one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland and the largest in Europe. The waterfall is part of the Golden Circle and is easy to visit. It is a very wide waterfall and is located on the Hvítá (White River). The entire waterfall is about 32 meters deep and provides an impressive view and thunderous sound!
You park your car in the large parking lot at the restaurant with a souvenir shop. Then you walk along the path towards the waterfall. You can view the entire waterfall from a distance, but you can also continue up the trail to get closer. Please note that it can be slippery in some places due to the water!
The closer you are to the waterfall, the more sprinkling water you will notice. So bring a rain suit, especially when there is a lot of wind! Because of the spray water you often see rainbows at this waterfall, which makes the already impressive view even more magical.
If you are also looking for great accommodation in Iceland, be sure to check out our recommendations!
Marvel at the active geysers Geysir and Strokkur
The geysers Geysir and Strokkur are located in a geothermal very active area and are also part of the Golden Circle. Geysir comes from Gjosa, which means “spraying”. Unfortunately, Geysir is not that active anymore, about every 20 minutes there is a small eruption. But Strokkur or “churn” which is located a few meters from the Geysir is more active and sprays its water about 20 meters every 5 to 8 minutes.
Every eruption is received with amazement from its bystanders. The eruption is very fast and the geysers have no omens when it happens. It's a welcome surprise every time.
So be patient during your visit and plan enough time to wait for an eruption. While waiting you can also admire the hot springs in the immediate vicinity. These are filled with boiling clear blue water caused by silicates.
Did we inspire you? Well, great! Let´s check flight prices!
Beautiful Thingvellir National Park: see the gap between two continents
Thingvellir (Þingvellir) is a popular national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Thingvellir National Park in Iceland, you will find the division between the North American (northwest of the division) and the Eurasian continent (southeast of the fault line). Due to the movement of these tectonic plates, about 2-4 cm per year, a beautiful nature reserve has developed around it, from a waterfall and heaps of solidified lava to deep gorges filled with crystal clear water, you will find it all, culminating in Almannagjá: a huge canyon that cuts through the national park.
You can enjoy a walk through this beautiful area. You have several beautiful viewpoints, especially a fantastic view over the large Thingvallavatn lake.
In addition, this place also has a lot of Icelandic history. This is where the Icelandic parliament was founded in the year 930, the so-called Althing (Alþing). A meeting was held here every summer, bringing farmers, landowners, and merchants together to pass new laws, discuss crimes, carry out executions, and conduct business, among other things.
At the start of the tour, you'll find an information center and plenty of public toilets. At the information center, you have four campsites where you can camp and a shop where you can buy drinks and snacks. Parking here costs about $ 5 and entrance is free. You should definitely not miss this nature park during your visit to the Golden Circle.
See the mystical view of the iconic church of the village Vík.
On the hill of the small village of Vík, there is a beautiful red/white church, the Víkurkirkja. It was built between 1932 and 1934 and is open to the public. And especially the view from the higher hill to the church with the village and the sea in the background is very iconic and stunning!
Off the coast in the sea lies Reynisdrangar, these are black basalt columns about 66 meters high. They are thought to be trolls who were surprised by the first rays of the sun when they tried to pull a ship ashore.
The village of Vík is quite small. There are a larger supermarket and a few restaurants. It is the southernmost tip of Iceland and it also has the most rainfall in all of Iceland. But rain or shine there is plenty to see and do in and around Vík. You can easily drive yourself to this most southern point of Iceland if you make a road trip in West Iceland and that is why this is one of the things to do in West Iceland.
Game of Thrones at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
These impressive black beaches are very typical of Iceland. Years ago, a volcano erupted and lava flowed into the sea. The cold seawater cooled the lava and formed black pebbles that washed up again and formed these black beaches. The sand is therefore not fine but consists of very small to larger pebbles.
Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach belongs to the town of Vík. On the beach, you can also see the impressive and mysterious Reynisdrangar in the water. A magical view to say the least!
Along the beach, you will find special rock formations called Gardar. It is a stone cliff that consists of stone columns. This formation consists of basalt and is a natural phenomenon caused by lava. Due to the volcano eruption, the lava flowed down this basalt coast. And when the lava cools, the basalt can crack and break down. That happened here and is the cause of these beautiful columns. It's like walking around in a set of Game Of Thrones (and they actually filmed a big scene right here, so you are factually walking around in a GOT-scene!).
The beach is definitely not intended for swimming or surfing here. It is known for its Sneaker Waves. The waves are incredibly strong and unpredictable. And the wind also blows very hard here. Tourists here are regularly attacked by waves that unexpectedly go further up the beach and take/grab you into the strong sea, which could cause you to drown. So uphold sufficient distance from the water!
Gaze at the impressive clumps of ice at Diamond Beach
Just past Vík, you will find Diamond Beach or Glacier Lagoon. It's actually just a little further to the south-east, but because this is such an unimaginably beautiful place, it's really worth the drive here. For us, this was the furthest point of our road trip and from here we drove back to Reyjavik.
It is the largest glacier lake in Iceland. And as the name suggests, it looks like there are diamond blocks in the water and washing up on the black beach. Pieces of ice break off the glaciers into different sizes. Some are immense and others can be picked up in your hand (spoiler alert: it's colddddd!). Some are transparent and clear in color and others are blue/white.
The whole area is like a living work of art with incredible beautiful images of ice, water, sun, and with a bit of luck, there are also happy seals swimming in between. You can also book a tour to ride a rubber boat between these ice floes to see everything from up close.
Car rentals can be found for a great price at Rentalcars.com. Road trip!
Check out a real crashed plane, the DC3 plane wreck
In November 1973, the United States Navy's DC-3 aircraft made an emergency landing on the black beach of Sólheimasandur near the town of Vík, in South Iceland.
The cause of the emergency landing has never become clear. Fortunately, all occupants survived the crash. The plane wreckage was never removed, so many years later you can still admire it in the vast volcanic area of black pebbles. You can walk to it from the parking lot for free, which takes about half an hour (which is a long walk when the weather's kinda wild). Or for $ 4 you can be brought there and picked up again within 10 minutes by some huge truck.
It's an incredibly popular attraction, so be prepared for a lot of crowds or go as early or late as possible. You can also look inside the plane which is very impressive because the plane has been so damaged. You can also stand on the wing to take a cool photo of the plane that crashed in this rugged and black volcanic region of Iceland.
And if you're lucky, you might even catch a rainbow! 🙂
Visit Skogafoss and Kvernufoss
The Skógafoss is a 60 meter high and 25-meter wide waterfall in the south-west of Iceland. You can view this beautiful waterfall from the ground, but also from the top. There is a walking path up to the waterfall. Also, there is a camping site a 1-minute walk away, so you can visit the waterfall early in de morning before it will get crowded.
The Kvernufoss waterfall is definitely a lesser-known waterfall in West Iceland, but our absolute number one. And it is very close to Skogafoss, a 5 min drive away.
This is a special waterfall because you can stand behind it and feel the force of the water running down. Also, its environment looks like a scene from the Lord of the Rings (very photogenic!). And because this waterfall is less known, you can enjoy the experience in peace.
If you are also looking for great accommodation in Iceland, be sure to check out our recommendations!
Enjoy the warm river, the Reykjadalur hot spring.
When in Iceland, you have to hike through its majestic and colorful valleys. And we have found the most beautiful one: towards the Reykjadalur hot spring!
The name of the valley where you can make this amazing hike is Reykjadalur, meaning Steam Valley. You will understand why it has its name when you see the valley, especially after rain or with cold weather. The Valley is filled with hot springs, waterfalls, and mud pools. These give off their heat in cold weather using steam. That makes the beautiful landscape even more mysterious to walk through. At the end of the 2 hours walk, you will find the highlight of it all: the warm river where you can swim in!
Reykjadalur is a lesser-known attraction of Iceland. Which is weird, because it is a very unique experience, chilling in a warm river in the middle of the mighty nature of Iceland! Also, the hike towards it is one of the most beautiful, perhaps THE most beautiful hike we have ever taken!
If you are in Iceland this should be on your bucket list! For us, it was one of the highlights of our road trip through West Iceland. Here we tell more about the Reykjadulur hot spring.
Just driving around is a treat
Besides all these things you can do in West Iceland, you will especially enjoy the views during your hikes and while driving in the car. The nature in Iceland is grand, mighty, and varies quite often. There is more than enough to gawk at while just driving around!
We did a 5-day road trip across Southwest Iceland and loved every minute of it. Check this article out if you want to know more about our costs, itinerary, and recommendations.
“Every 15 minutes you would be shocked how fast the landscape changed. It was like driving through Scotland, then Canada, then America (especially Texas), then Switzerland and then New-Zealand. It was like they put the beauty of all these countries in a blender to form Iceland!
It was just one big movie set! It was like driving through Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings…”
We can't wait to go back and even see more of this magical island. A two-week roundtrip across the whole island is high on our bucket list!
There are many more things to do in southwest Iceland. Consider a guide to show you the way around this magical place!
More Travel Inspiration: The daylight and sunshine hours in Iceland; an overview per month
