iceland with kids: south coast

See the best of Iceland's south coast with kids using this packed itinerary! Black sand beaches, waterfalls, and glaciers - it was unreal! We did this all in one (long) day from Reykjavik using a tour on Viator. I was most excited for this day due to the breathtaking photos I saw in the travel books - and it literally was just as magnificent.

We were picked up at 7am sharp across the street from our hotel. It was a Sprinter van with a few other families on it, and our driver had booster seats ready to go. It was still dark outside, and we drove for an hour while the guide told us a little more about what we could expect that day.

We made several stops for snacks and bathroom breaks, but below are the real sights we saw on our tour!

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

First, this waterfall was on our itinerary, but we didn't make the stop due to timing/weather. (It was literally pouring down freezing rain.) It's commonly listed as one of the best waterfalls to visit, as it's one of the tallest and you can stand behind it - just expect to get wet!

Skogafoss Waterfall

Of all the waterfalls in Iceland, this was my favorite! It's 60 meters high, and the water is just dropping straight down! You can climb up a few flights of (slippery) stairs to view from the top, but we just explored in front of it (and the fields of sheep next door)!

• 

• 

• 

Reynisfjara Beach

This was hands down my favorite spot on the trip. Sometimes you see a picture in a magazine and you can't let it go. This was one of those things. I saw pictures of this black sand beach with stacked soaring basalt rock, so we had to make it happen. It didn't disappoint - it was unbelievable to see it in real life. Just the other day, I saw that it was ranked as one of the top beaches in the world - it's no joke.

• 

• 

• 

It was freezing cold and pouring raining when we got to the beach, but it didn't matter. We spent the whole allotted time out on the beach climbing the rocks, stepping into the caves, and watching the massive waves crash onto the black sand. We were soaking wet and had black sand everywhere for the rest of the trip (seriously), but it was magical.

Kaffiterían Skaftafelli

We made a stop at the little cafeteria inside the Skaftafell Visitor Center. It had surprisingly good soup and snacks! You can see views of the largest glacier (floor to ceiling windows) while you eat - pretty cool!

We also stopped in the little gift shop to buy postcards. Andrew got one with a picture of an Icelandic dog, and one of the cashiers got to talking to us about her dog, and then we were showing pictures of our dog Kedzie... and before we knew it, we were taken to the back office and living area to meet a real Icelandic dog!! So cute!!

Once we left, we stopped at a lava field that was covered in moss. You can see these driving around, but it was neat to be up close and see them stretch as far as you can see.

• 

• 

• 

Jökulsárlón (aka Glacier Lagoon)

This was our first time seeing a glacier up close, and it was a beauty. This spot is a lagoon filled with pieces of floating icebergs! And they are all a cool blue - this is not a filter! There are so many little pieces (well they appear little... but we know most of their size is under the water - it's honestly hard to imagine).

In order to make the most of the visit, I highly recommend the amphibian boat to see the actual lagoon!! We got onto a truck in the parking lot, and then drove straight into the water and moved around in the newly transformed boat. We spent most of the ride slowly moving around the water to look at and photograph the icebergs.

Our guide even grabbed a small floating piece of an iceberg and let us touch it... and if you think it's just ice you're kind of right but also... he said it was likely 1,000 years old. It's mind blowing to even think about that.

Fellsfjara (Diamond Beach)

Right next door, it was still raining for this stop, but it didn't dampen the beauty of this place! It's a black sand beach with pieces of ice washed up and just glistening like diamonds against the sand.

At this point, we headed back toward Reykjavik. And on this journey, we found something else that was most spectacular... the Northern Lights! Check out our next post for all the details!