South Coast, Waterfalls & Glacier Hike is an easy sightseeing day trip with an adventurous twist.
Get your chance to walk behind the 65-meter cascade of Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and admire Skogafoss Waterfall up close. Stroll onto a volcanic black sand beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Join our certified glacier guides on an action-packed hike out onto a 700-year-old glacier tongue!
Join us for a memorable journey along Iceland’s South Coast, Waterfalls, and Glacier Hike visiting all the major sites of the area and hiking on a glacier.
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Our first day stop is at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, one of Iceland's greatest attractions. Here you'll have the amazing opportunity to walk behind the magnificent wall of water and feel the power generated by the fall. Seljalandsfoss is an excellent place for a memorable photoshoot.
Experience all those incredible places as we pass through the fertile farming lands and small villages of south Iceland, an area rich in Viking history and heritage, watched over by the infamous Eyjafjallajökull and Hekla volcanoes. On clear days, you’ll have an excellent view of these renowned volcanoes and the Westman Islands off the coast.
The next step on our journey is a giant step for those that have never set foot on a glacier. Hear the ancient ice crack as you safely enjoy your hike on the glacier tongue with our certified glacier guide. After the thrill of the glacier, we head for Reynisfjara, where you can stroll along the black sand beach known for its famous basalt columns and caverns. Witness the Reynisdrangar cliffs and basalt rock stacks that rise from the sea, which Icelandic legends say are mischievous trolls turned into rock by the rising sun.
We end this incredible day tour by stopping at the majestic Skógafoss Waterfall. Walk right up to the 60-meter-high thundering waterfall and feel the spray on your face. You can even walk up the 527 steps to gain a bird’s eye view of the cascading water and rainbows.
Pick-up: Pick-up starts at 08:00 am. You will be picked up from your selected Reykjavík pick-up location. Please note that it can take up to 30 minutes for us to arrive. You will be picked up on a bus and will be accompanied by a glacier guide during the tour.
Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures’s pick-up list.
Please note: This tour has a small group guarantee, meaning that the tour is always operated in a minibus, giving you a more personal experience. Arctic Adventures reserves the right to alter the itinerary if the weather is unfit to carry out the glacier walk. If this cancellation occurs, a part refund is given for missing the glacier hike.
These are two separate tours and if one of the tours gets canceled, the other will still be available for you to join.
Iceland is known for its colorful weather. It can sometimes show you all 4 seasons in one day.
Dressing for this sort of weather can be a challenge so we always recommend dressing in layers. 3 or 4 upper layers are highly recommended such as a light t-shirt (preferably wool) next to the skin, then a fleece or heavy wool garment, topped off with a waterproof windbreaker.
Jeans are not recommended for our trips as they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when they get wet.
Lightweight hiking pants, track pants or long cotton pants are best and then wind/waterproof pants over. We also recommend using sunglasses and sunscreen even if it is cloudy due to the high UV and sunlight reflecting off of the glacier.
You will need sturdy hiking boots with ankle support that fit crampons for the glacier hiking tours. If you do not own a pair then we rent out good hiking boots as well as a waterproof raincoat and trousers.
We recommend bringing your own backpack on our full day or 1/2 day tours. It’s great to carry a small lunch and some extra clothing.
You can bring your camera along, and you should definitely bring one since the setting on the tour is full of amazing, scenic views.
This is, of course, a personal choice, we have often had pregnant women on our trips. We recommend you take a close look at our trip description and difficulty rating, they will hopefully give you a better idea. It is also good to contact your physician, pregnant women’s health can be quite different. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions or concerns.
We do not provide lunch on any of our trips, so we recommend you bring your own lunch (for the longer trips), snacks and a bottle of water (you can refill it on the trip).
Crampons are metal spikes that we attach to the soles of your hiking shoes, these enable you to walk on the glacier ice without slipping. Get to know how to put crampons.
Yes, there is a specially trained and certified glacier guide on every glacier tour that we offer.
When glacier hiking you will be provided with an ice axe, crampons, harness and helmet. This will help you to complete the tour safely. The minimum shoe size to attach crampons is EU 35.
When snow stays long enough in one place it turns to ice. Over long periods of time, the ice layers up becoming huge blocks called glaciers. As there is a lot of snow in Iceland, it forms to create ginormous glaciers that sweep across huge masses of land. Iceland is home to Europe’s largest glacier named Vatnajökull. This Glacier Guide will also tell you everything you may want to know about Glaciers.
Rain is not uncommon in Iceland. However, we do not let the rain stop our tours. This is why having appropriate clothing is very important to keep you warm and dry. Nature is not something that we can control and therefore we need to adapt to the weather. If your safety is compromised by going on the tour, we will cancel and you will be fully refunded.
This guide to Glacier Hiking includes all the information you might need when preparing for a glacier hike.