In all my travels I have found Iceland to have the most amount of travel blogs to help plan various drives ! There are many good blog postings that can help plan your South Coast Drive .

I will add some additional tips and share my experience. I have done the South Coast Drive both in Winter and Summer.

South Coast Drive for me is from Reykjavík to Höfn.

How are the roads ?

The roads are mainly flat , elevated in some parts , in few places it goes through small mountains/hills and curves . Nothing to be worried about in the summer. Manage your speed and you should be fine . In winter make sure you have winter tires and the option to wait out bad/blinding storms if required .

The best way to see Iceland is to drive – there is something very therapeutic about driving through such beautiful landscape.

How long do you need to see the South Coast?

It depends. If you don’t have much time and have strong drivers you can do it in a day . You need to be conscious of the time you spend at each location and skip any that requires hiking etc to get to it .

Best way to see it would be over two days . Drive up to the village of Vik on Day 1 , stay overnight at Vik and go up to Höfn on Day 2 and drive back .

There are many sights to see along the way and the best part – there are no entrance fees .

Day 1 – From Reykjavík to Vik these are the stops :

1. Seljalandsfoss – First stop and the coolest water fall in Iceland. You can go behind the falls and take some wicked photos .There is a fee for parking. Drive 2 minuets further down and you can park for free .

2. Gljufrafoss – Is a small waterfall ten minutes walk from Seljalandsfoss. You need to walk on rocks to get inside-the view inside is worth it ! Definitely visit this when visiting Seljalandsfoss.

3. Skógafoss- We call this Beyoncé Falls . There is a photo of Beyoncé and Jay-Z at this fall . It’s a beautiful waterfall. The time we were there it kept on producing rainbows. Which was pretty cool . The area around this fall is surrounded by Lupins (blue/purple ) flowers . There is a long set of steps that you can climb up for views. Personal opinion- the steps are not worth the views !

4. The Sólheimasandur plane – A US military plane ran out of fuel and crashed on to the black beach of Solheimasandur in 1973 . No one was hurt in the crash . The wreckage of the plane is still there . This is about 15 minuets from Skógafoss. The parking lot is right off the road, however you need to walk about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the plane crash ! It is not a scenic walk . Be prepared to spend 3 to 4 hours to see the plane . I only recommend this if you have sufficient time . You also need to be fit enough to walk 8 kilometres, otherwise you are going to be grumpy at the end of this activity.

We finished Day 1 by driving to Vik checking into our hostel and going out for dinner.

Day 2 – Vik to Höfn to Reykjavík

1. The next morning we woke up early and walked to the Black Sand Beach . There are many hotels / hostels within walking distance of the Black Sand Beach in Vik . If you get to visit only one beach in Iceland pick the Black Sand Beach in the town of Vik ! The contrast of white water against the black beach , the green mountain surroundings , field of blue/purple lupins , soothing sea wind and the sound of waves will help reset your mind! The water is too cold to swim but just sitting on the beach itself is an experience!

2. Once we finished the beach we headed to the Fjaorargljufur Canyon . I had two people with drones . This Canyon is an awesome place to shoot from a drone . Even without the drones it is beautiful. A location out of myths/stories . One thing to keep in mind – the canyon is close to Ring Road However you have to drive on a gravel road for about 2 KM to get to the parking lot . We had a 2W Drive and it was fine . There are also longer hikes you can do if you wanted to explore the Canyon.

3. Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon – This is one of the most visited sites in Iceland. It is a glacial lagoon formed from the run off from glaciers. The Lagoon leads to the Atlantic Ocean . The Lagoon is a glacier blue colour . It is filled with different size ice bergs . It’s a beautiful sight . You can take boat tours to go more deeper into the Lagoon. I been here two times . You don’t need to take the boat tours to experience the glacier you can do that by walking alongside the Lagoon. Once you are done with the Lagoon, crossover and visit the Black sand beach across from the Lagoon. It’s a unique sight . The beach has pieces of glaciers on it .

From the Lagoon we drove to the village of Höfn ! The sites are stunning along the route . Höfn is a fishing village with lots of options for food and hotel .

You can either choose to stay in Höfn or drive back to Reykjavík.

This drive is amazingly beautiful and represents what Island has to offer . I highly recommend it .