Day trip from Reykjavik to South Coast: how to get there and what to do

The South Coast here means the stretch from Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss to Vík í Mýrdal, on Route 1 east of Reykjavík. There is no train and no useful public-transport day option, so your choice is a guided coach tour, a rental car, or a private driver.

Guided tours leave Reykjavík between 08:00 and 10:00 and run 11–14 hours, with pickup from most downtown hotels and guesthouses. They cover Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, the Reynisfjara black beach and Vík, and often add Sólheimajökull or a glacier walk. Booking a day or two ahead is enough outside July and August; in peak summer, book a week ahead.

Self-driving gives you the same route on your own clock. Route 1 is paved the whole way and signed in English. Fuel stations cluster around Hvolsvöllur, Skógar and Vík. In winter, studded tyres are not standard on rentals, and sudden wind on the open stretches between Hvolsvöllur and Vík is the main hazard — check vedur.is and road.is before you leave.

Strætó route 51 does run Reykjavík to Vík, but the journey takes around 3.5 hours each way with limited departures, which leaves no time at the stops. Treat it as a way to get there and stay, not a day trip.

A realistic self-drive day: leave Reykjavík by 07:30, reach Seljalandsfoss around 09:30, walk behind the waterfall (rain shell essential), then Skógafoss by 11:00. Climb the stairs beside Skógafoss for the upper view if you have 20 minutes spare.

Continue east to Sólheimajökull for a short glacier viewpoint walk, then Reynisfjara black beach near Vík — stay well back from the water, sneaker waves here have killed. Reach Vík by 14:00, eat, then turn around. The drive back is 2.5–3 hours, so you are in Reykjavík by 18:00–19:00.

A coach tour follows a similar order but moves faster and adds a lunch stop. If you want a glacier walk on Sólheimajökull, book it as a separate add-on; it takes 2–3 hours and will not fit a same-day return to Reykjavík without a very early start.

A guided South Coast tour is the simplest budget line: ISK 13,000–20,000 per person for the day, with a glacier walk adding ISK 10,000–15,000. Lunch in Vík runs ISK 2,500–4,000 for soup or a sandwich.

Self-driving splits better across a group. A compact rental in summer is roughly ISK 8,000–14,000 per day, fuel for the 380 km round trip about ISK 4,000–6,000, and the Hvalfjörður tunnel toll (if you take that route) around ISK 1,000. Parking at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss is paid, roughly ISK 700–1,000 each.

Prices are 2026 estimates and move with the season and the króna. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including the small car parks.

If you have two days, stay overnight in Vík or nearby and skip the sprint. The parent Iceland plan gives the south coast two nights, and that is the right call: it lets you add Jökulsárlón, Skaftafell or a glacier hike without a 3-hour drive home in the dark.

Stay if you want the black beaches at sunset, a glacier walk, or any chance of northern lights in winter. Day-trip if you have one spare day, no car, and just want the two big waterfalls and Vík. In winter, the case for staying is stronger: storms close Route 1 between Hvolsvöllur and Vík with little warning, and a tour operator will handle the rerouting for you.