South Coast & Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck Tour from Reykjavík

A short stop at the Lava Centre in Hvolsvöllur, with toilets and food to take away, before the waterfalls ahead.

Skógafoss falls in one broad curtain about 60 metres high and 25 metres wide, right beside the village of Skógar. On sunny days the spray usually throws a rainbow, sometimes a double one, across the pool at its base. A staircase of 527 steps leads to a viewpoint at the top, where you can see the river before it drops. One of Iceland's most photographed waterfalls, with stairs up to a viewpoint over the top.

Reynisfjara is a black sand beach with the sea stacks of Reynisdrangar rising out of the water offshore. At the western end, a cliff of hexagonal basalt columns, stacked like organ pipes, stands beside the cave Hálsanefshellir. It is also one of the most dangerous beaches in Iceland, because of sudden, powerful waves that run far up the sand. Keep well back from the water and follow the warning signs.

On 21 November 1973 a US Navy Douglas Super DC-3 made an emergency landing on this flat black sand plain after icing caused engine trouble. All seven crew walked away unhurt, and the plane was stripped of anything of value and left where it landed. Wind, salt air and visitors have left the rusted hull you see today. The walk from the car park on Route 1 is about 4 kilometres each way across flat, exposed ground, so bring layers. The rusted remains of a US Navy DC-3 that crash-landed on the black sand in 1973, now one of the most photographed sites on the south coast.

Vík is Iceland's southernmost village, and Dyrhólaey is a headland rising 120 metres above the coast, named for the arch the sea has cut through the rock. It gives wide views along the coast, though the upper area can be closed from 1 May to 25 June to protect nesting birds.

Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, the ice cap that sits on top of the Katla volcano. It is about 8 kilometres long and retreating. From the car park a short, mostly flat gravel path leads to a black meltwater lagoon at the edge of the ice, 15 to 20 minutes each way. Glacier hikes onto the ice itself need a guide and equipment, and you should not walk onto it without one.

Seljalandsfoss drops 60 metres from what was once the edge of the coastline, before sea levels fell after the last ice age. The Seljalandsá river is fed by meltwater from Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 and grounded flights across Europe. It is one of the few waterfalls in Iceland with a path behind the falling water, so expect to get wet and bring a waterproof jacket.