South Coast & Zip Line Tour in Vík

A short rest stop at Hvolsvöllur, with cafés, a shop and toilets, on the way east. Lunch is not included, so this is a good place to buy food for the day.

Vík í Mýrdal is the southernmost village in Iceland, with about 750 residents, and the natural stopping point on the South Coast. It sits under the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap, which covers the Katla volcano, and has a black sand beach with sea stacks, a hilltop church, a supermarket and a filling station. It is a good place for a meal or a break before the next stretch of road.

After a short drive from Vík and a brief hike to the site, you clip in for a zipline crossing above the river canyon. The minimum age is 10, and wind can affect whether the ziplines run.

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 biggest waterfalls by volume, with a viewing platform at the top reached by several hundred steps.

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.