To celebrate my 40th birthday, three friends and I set off with a guide in a car to explore as much as we could have of southern Iceland. The result was incredible beauty and adventure. In retrospect, this trip would have been totally doable without the guide. It is a very safe country, even for women traveling alone. Everything that we saw is located along the Golden Circle or the Ring Road. Here is the detailed 4-Day southern Iceland road trip itinerary to help you in planning a trip to Iceland. Click on any heading for pictures and stories from the day.
Don’t just dream about it, rent your car for Iceland now!
Day 1: Reykjavik and the Golden Circle
- We spent the first half of our day wandering around the streets of Reykjavik. We wanted to just get a taste of the place and climbed up the Reykjavik Cathedral to get a full view.
- We then spent the rest of the day driving the Golden Circle and exploring its sights.
- Pingvellir
- Stokkur and Geysir
- Gulfoss Waterfall
- Soaked in the natural hot spring at Hrunalaug.
- We arrived for dinner and the night at Hotel Ranga in Hella.
Day 2: Snowmobiling on glaciers, exploring behind waterfalls and hiking
- We started our day exploring Seljalandsfoss and Gljufurarfoss.
- We then went snowmobiling on the Langjökull glacier. Book your tour now.
- We took an amazing hike in the Vatnajökull National.
- Park among the fall scrub to the Svartifoss Waterfall.
- We then took one of our longest drives to spend the night at Hofn.
Day 3: Vik and Jokursarlon
- The next morning we visited my favorite place- the glacier lake at Jokursarlon.
- We used our afternoon to explore the wonderful black sand beaches of Vik and its amazing basalt columned caves.
- We drove back to stay around Reykjavik for our final night in Iceland.
Day 4: The Grindavik Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon
- Before catching our 4 pm flight out of Reykjavik, we explored the Grindavik Peninsula and then splurged for floating massages at the Blue Lagoon.
If you follow my blog, you know that I am a “hare” traveler. In normal life, I don’t spend much time just chilling. I fit a lot into my trips. I planned this trip and three girlfriends joined. We all left feeling like we had a fabulous adventure and got a perfect overview of this beautiful country. We never felt rushed through anything and were able to add on anything we wanted to. Let me know if you need any more information or advice.
If you are more of a “tortoise” traveler, check out Savored Journey’s Reykjavik Itinerary. If you are wondering what it is really like to drive in Iceland, check out Like Riding a Bicycle’s video blog This is Iceland.
The hotel links above are affiliate links, so if you book using them your purchase will help support this site. Thanks!
Love your writing style, makes me feel like we have traveled together!
I sone ring road in 4 days but it was intense traveling. Visited the places you mentioned. But it meant constant movement
We definitely did a lot of driving so we could see as much as possible. That is often my preferred way to travel.