While our coach tour of Iceland’s Golden Circle was great given the weather, when it came to exploring part of Iceland’s southern coast we decided to hire a car ourselves. Between the five of us it was incredibly cheap, and gave us the flexibility to plan our own day and pull over at a moment’s notice to befriend ponies – more on that below!
We headed out of Reykjavik early and apart from a couple of hairy moments with very low visibility, found the two hour drive to our first stop pretty easy. The magnificent Seljalandsfoss Waterfall was visible long before we got close, unsurprising as it’s a 60m drop. With all the rain and snow the falls were in full flood and quite mesmerising! You could also walk right behind the waterfall although given how slippery and muddy it was on the ice, I sadly didn’t quite trust my feet to keep me upright and dry.
You can walk along a nearby path for about five minutes and, especially in these conditions, spot half-a-dozen smaller waterfalls, including this beauty nearly hidden behind the cliff.
We drove past Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that created such havoc a few years ago, on the way to our next stop, the stunning Sólheimajökull Glacier. I loved its incredible colours and shading, it looked magical. It was dotted with snaking lines of people who had opted to pay to walk on the glacier itself, but we contented ourselves with tracing the curves of the glacier from where we stood.
Kate, Cleo, Nat, Anna and me well-rugged up!
We stopped in Vik for lunch – this was our turning point on the drive. I’d love to have kept going round to Jokulsarlon, a glacier lagoon, but sadly we just didn’t have the time. Something more to return to Iceland for!
Our next photo op was Reynisfjara, a black pebble beach with some incredible geography. On the land side, basalt stacks that reminded me of pictures of Ireland’s Giants Causeway tumbled down the cliff. Out to sea, rocky islets held strong against the huge pounding waves. It was bleak and beautiful.
At the other end of the beach, although we had to drive around to get to it, was Dyrholaey. It was hugely windy but it gave those of us who braved the elements a view down the coast, which would have been fantastic if we could see through all the mist!
Very serious driving face
Our last official stop was another huge waterfall, Skogafoss. It was amazing to see how small the people near the top looked!
I said last official stop, as we did have one more that was unscheduled. All day I’d been wanting to get up close to one of the beautiful Icelandic ponies that grazed along the roadside. However most of them did not share the same sentiment and few were by the roadside. Just as I thought I’d have to give up my pony dream, we drove past this beauty. He came straight up to me and we shared a few beautiful moments (and a selfie, of course) before I scampered back to the car content.
I’d definitely recommend this drive – it was very easy to find the attractions along the way, and the roads were straight and uncrowded. It was a fabulous day!
Do you like to explore by car, or are you happy to sit back and let others take the wheel?
For more on our adventures, check out my Iceland video here!
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