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7 Most Instagrammable Spots on Iceland's South Coast
From waterfalls you can walk behind to a lagoon full of drifting icebergs, Iceland's Ring Road south coast concentrates some of the country's most photographed scenery into a single day's drive.
Sep 23, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Iceland's south coast, followed by the Ring Road east from Reykjavík, packs waterfalls, black-sand beaches and a glacier lagoon into a stretch that can be driven in a day, though most visitors take longer. Here are seven spots worth building a shot list around, each with a direct map link.
1. Seljalandsfoss
A 60-metre waterfall dropping from an old sea cliff, Seljalandsfoss is one of the few in Iceland with a path running behind the curtain of water, giving a rare view looking out through the falls.
2. Skógafoss
Wide and powerful rather than tall and thin, Skógafoss drops 60 metres over a former coastline, throwing up enough spray to produce a rainbow on sunny days, best seen from the base or the steep staircase running up alongside it.
3. Reynisfjara
A black-sand beach near Vík, Reynisfjara is known for its hexagonal basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks rising just offshore. Sneaker waves here are genuinely dangerous; keep well back from the waterline regardless of how calm it looks.
4. Vík í Mýrdal
Iceland's southernmost village is small enough to see in an hour, its red-roofed Reyniskirkja church sitting on a hill above the houses, with the Reynisdrangar stacks visible out at sea in the same frame.
5. Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Icebergs calved from the Breiðamerkurjökull outlet glacier drift slowly across this lagoon, Iceland's deepest lake, before washing out to sea, the ice taking on shades of blue and white that shift through the day.
6. Diamond Beach
Directly across the road from Jökulsárlón, chunks of ice that wash out of the lagoon land on this black-sand beach and catch the light like scattered glass, giving the spot its name.
7. Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
A roughly two-kilometre canyon with moss-covered walls dropping about 100 metres, Fjaðrárgljúfur was carved by glacial meltwater over thousands of years and gained wider attention after appearing in a Justin Bieber music video in 2015.
Traveller tips
- Most of these spots lie along Route 1; a rental car gives far more flexibility than organised day tours from Reykjavík.
- Winter daylight is short, often only four to five hours in December, so plan fewer stops per day than in summer.
- Reynisfjara's currents have caused fatalities; never turn your back on the sea here.
- Diamond Beach conditions change daily with the tide and lagoon outflow; visit at different times if the first stop looks bare.
Where this is
South Coast, Iceland