South Coast, Reynisfjara Beach & Waterfalls Small-group Day Trip From Reykjavik

Overall, a great experience with visits to some breathtaking locations. We had a couple of snafus with the bus pickup because construction rerouted many stops; it wasn't the tour operator's fault. We had no working microphone in our bus for almost the first hour, sent an email to the tour operator, and it was fixed at the next rest stop! The driver had excellent driving skills; tourists doing stupid things created potential hazards, and our driver expertly steered around them. Inconsiderate fellow tour guests were more than 30 minutes late to the departure time at one of the rest stops. I suggested to the tour operator that the driver call them and remind them we would be leaving. This was the only major damper on my trip with them. Funny we took this small tour to avoid this, and you encounter inconsiderate people no matter where you go. The tour spends the perfect amount of time at each stop and ensures you get a great overview of the South Coast. Excellent customer service with my numerous bus stop questions; I have mobility issues, and walking another 10 or 20 minutes can be a challenge for me. On this tour I was able to see each and every stop, except I decided to not walk all the way to the glacier. The driver welcomed me to get back on the bus early and stay warm. I would warn customers that at one of the stops, the bathroom costs almost $4 to use. (Glacier stop). I highly recommend this tour for those who can't walk long distances; you are able to see almost everything without a great deal of walking. Excellent response from their customer service team, especially Aliaksandra.

A very enjoyable trip with a good guide. The first waterfall was amazing, the beach because of the waves had limited access and was nice to see but I could have passed, same comment for the small church we stopped at. The glacier was great but I think you are better off waking along the beach than going to the lookout. The last stop the waterfalls were incredible and walking behind it a wet but fun adventure. A difficult trip if you have mobility issues. My one issue (and this is no fault of the tour operator) is the crowds (I’d hate this in peak tourist season) if and when I come back I’d rent a car and head out to get at the falls before sunrise and before the tours get there. I’d recommend the trip but warn you that if you don’t like crowds it can get old quickly at times.

Excellent tour and guide. A full day of amazing sights and experiences.

My tour with Indra was wonderful. We did have excellent weather, which definitely helped, but he took us on a very well organized tour. I liked that he made sure we knew when to use the restroom and when to pick up snacks! We saw some amazing waterfalls, the black sand beach annd the glacier, and he was super knowledgeable about the geology and science behind the volcanoes and the island.

During my recent visit to Iceland, I had the good fortune of taking 2 tours (South Coast and Golden Circle) with Franklin as my guide. He was outstanding - incredibly personable and full of knowledge. The tours themselves hit all the key highlights and Franklin’s insight made each stop interesting and meaningful. On top of his skills as a tour guide, he regaled us with his incredible singing voice and an excellent playlist.

Great experience! The guide was prompt and very knowledgeable.

Gunn was one of the best guides we have ever had. Full of knowledge highly professional and fun.

Maria was great would recommend

We spent the day touring the south of Iceland with Edgar, who did a wonderful job telling us information and injecting humor throughout the day - The trip had a little bit of everything - We had a bit of overcast at Skogafoss, a rain and wind storm at black sand beach, blue skies and double rainbows at Solheimajokull glaciers, the evening at Seljalandsfoss, and the obligatory horse stop most tours seem to do. It was a very memorable trip! We were a quiet group but Edgar did a great job warming things up, and he also ran a tight ship with the timing - we were able to start early and end early with additional stops, which we greatly appreciated.

We had a wonderful experience with our guide Edgar! Our day was about 10 hours including pickup/dropoff, driving, and all stops; logistics were smooth throughout. We had bad weather for part of the day but Edgar helped us make the best of it, and we were rewarded with a double rainbow over a glacier! Overall, this tour was an easy way to see many of the highlights of the Icelandic landscape.

Edgar was an absolute brilliant guide. The guy needs a pay rise 😉 Very easy to chat to and very knowledgeable. Best trip we have been on. Would highly recommend to anyone.

Edgar was great! He was nice and welcoming. Definitely suggest you bring waterproof clothes.

This was a great tour of the beautiful areas on the south coast. We had enough time to experience each location, and we lucked out with beautiful weather. A particular shoutout to our incredible guide and driver, Edgar - two of the people in our group had a family emergency in the middle of the day trip and Edgar and the company bent over backwards to assist them in arranging a private taxi back to Reykjavik so that they could deal with it. We really appreciated the kindness and consideration!

Having an extra stop to let the kids see horses was special. Edgar was a very pleasant and efficiently guide and driver. It would be nice to have s little more time when arriving at the more crowded sites, but we understand staying on schedule is important also.

This tour was beautiful and I really felt like we got to see a lot. Edgar was awesome! He was knowledgeable and friendly and funny. We needed to adjust our expectations a bit because we thought we were going to be in a sprinter van so we were surprised when we were with a larger group in a larger bus. We were also disappointed that we were the last ones picked up even though we were the largest group and the only one with children.

Great Guide - Dovile. She was very friendly, safe driver and gave us lots of information. As an extra she took us to see puffins. Bonus!!! Thank you. Weather was sunny. Long day but worth it.

Iga was an amazing driver and tour guide she is funny and enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about the area. Iga, Come visit us in Webster NY. Thank you for a great day. Mike and Pat Sirianni

This tour was quite long and required a good deal of walking. It was also absolutely worth it. I highly recommend touring the south coast while visiting Iceland. The waterfalls and black sand beach were breathtaking. Our tour guide was friendly and down-to-earth. Everything was very comfortable for us -- there was plenty of opportunity to buy snacks and use the restroom along the way.

Wendy was an amazing guide. Super knowledgeable and made it an easy going experience for us. Excellent!

Delightful trip -- easier than driving, great guide with stories, saw so many beautiful places in our limited time. Perfect sunny day made for gorgeous waterfall mist rainbows. Seeing puffins at the black sand beach amid the falls and basalt columns was amazing. Thanks so much to our guide Edgar!

The guide was great! However, the tour itself was a bit underwhelming. As scenic stops on the way to Diamond Beach, the views were fantastic, but for a standalone day trip, there wasn't really enough to see.

Alexander was awesome. We saw much more than we expected and he made it a great adventure!

This tour was amazing! We went on our last day in Iceland and were blessed with beautiful weather and the most attentive guide - Edgar. Well worth the time & expense. We saw the best of the South Coast and made lifelong memories.

Edgar was the best guide ever…

Edger was fantastic! He went above and beyond.

This was an amazing tour, I highly recommend it! Our tour guide Edgar was wonderful and engaging, he really made the trip engaging. A great way to explore Iceland!

Great tour! Lots of good stops with a good amount of time at each. Edgar was a great guide. Bus could maybe use a little work.

Edgar was a wonderful guide! This was a must do tour to experience drastically different views than those in Reykjavik. We loved the waterfalls and black sand beach. It was nice to be a part of a small group.

Edgar was an excellent tour guide. He was informative, organized and we had a perfect amount of time at each stop. Beautiful tour, and everything was perfect!

Big Mahalo to Edgar, our tour guide super friendly, super funny, super patient and super knowledgeable. He took the time to get to know us while we were waiting for others to arrive. Thank you for taking good care of us Edgar!! Aloha! 🤙🌺🌈 Peter and Rose

Edgar did a marvelous job explaining what we would see, what to look for, and how to plan our time at the various stops. Only thing he couldn’t control was the weather but he helped to make it the best experience as possible. And we got to see the puffins and pet horses. Lived there were only 14 in our group.

Edgar is a great guide driving us safe and steady, showing us great scenery and gives us little surprises ☺️🫶 I had so much fun here

Edgar provided a bright, positive attitude and fit in a couple extra activities on our rainy day trip. His tips for staying dry and enjoying the best Iceland has to offer even on a grey day were very helpful!

Had such a fun day trip with Arctic Adventures. We were picked up at our hotel in Hella by our driver, Edgar, in a 19 person, comfortable van. Our duffel bag luggage all fit in the back and the van stayed with us for the day so we could keep items on as we visited the sites. Edgar was a great driver for our tour. He was super informative as we drove along and explained Iceland tidbits and available to answer any of our questions. We first stopped at the Skogafoss waterfall. It was spectacular. Tall and we could walk right under it. Next we stopped at a black sand beach which was super cool with lots of rock formations and caves. We then were dropped off for a glacier hike and finished our tour at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall which had a nice gift shop and the opportunity to walk behind the waterfall. Bring a waterproof jacket and pants if you want to stay dry-ish!

My trip was amazing and we were blessed with beautiful weather. Edgar was our bus driver and he was very friendly and informed. He knew lots of interesting facts and was willing to answer any questions we had. He kept on schedule and gave us plenty of time at each spot to explore. At the end of the day he even had Icelandic candies for us all to try! Definitely a worthwhile trip!

Our guide, Maria, is so very knowledgeable, fun and helpful. The tour was interesting. I would recommend it.

Great way to spend a day as a visiting family of 6. We had 3 full days to fill. The first was at the Hvammsvik Hot Springs. We just landed from the US, grabbed our rental car, and drove straight there for the next few hours and late lunch. Perfect. The second day was when we did the South Coast tour. Our guide, Alex, was great. He played 80’s and 90’s soft rock in between telling stories about overland and its history. He gave us some great tips on how to spend our third and final day of our whirlwind trip, as well. The glacier, 2 waterfalls, Vik, and the Black sand beach were beautiful. We were lucky since there was gorgeous weather. A simple poncho was perfect for the final waterfall where you walk behind it. Our kids thought the ponchos were silly and left theirs on the bus. All I know is that my husband and I are riding comfortably dry back to Reykjavik. This tour hit a bunch of highlights and we stayed there perfect amount of time at each stop. Highly recommend this tour and Alex was great!

Spectacular tour and highly recommend. So many fantastic sites to see in Iceland and our guide, Edgar, was so nice and helpful.

Edgar was a great tour guide! Great to see and cover so many areas in a day!

Fantastic way to spend a day in Iceland! Beautiful sites - some are truly otherworldly! Very comfortable seats and ride. Knowledgeable and easy going guide who shared lots of information. Highly recommend!

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Tour itinery is well planned with so many interesting stopovers. Our tour guide Ms Gunn was outstanding. Thanks to her we were well prepared for what to expect in each activity. It was not only fun but also educational too. Our thanks to Arctic adventurs and tour guide.

We had Bruno for our guide and we couldn’t have had a better experience. He is super friendly and very fun to listen to. Bruno shared lots of stories of Iceland, monuments, volcanoes, animals, food and much more about Iceland in general. It was such a fun tour and was so informative. You should take this tour and ask for Bruno!

It was an amazing tour of the South Shore of Iceland. Our tour guide, Bryan (?) originally from Portugal is wonderful. He managed the time carefully and squeezed in an extra sight seeing spot ... Puffins!! He was patient, friendly, welcoming and shared great stories. Thank you. Many walked behind one of the waterfalls. We walked super close before one would get doused completely! We did walk right up to the next waterfall, which was spectacular as it was like a curtain right behind me! There were 2 rainbows off to the side. However, I had to carefully navigate my way around a 1-way rock-path to get there. Well worth it! Black sand, pristine, super soft beach. Definitely see and feel the super soft sand. Be wary of the high winds, waves and undertow. Puffins flying around near the Basalt columns. Close by is another location of puffin viewing, near the lighthouse. It isn't always accessible, apparently only a couple of months a year, as it is a nature reserve. If it is open, absolutely go see the Puffins up close, literally 3 metres away from you, just sitting on the cliff side, enjoying the wind whipping around them. Love seeing fauna in their natural habitat!

We really enjoyed our South Coast day tour; so many great experiences and memories. Our guide Edgar was fantastic and kept us entertained and informed. The tour allows you to choose whether you want more/less strenuous hikes and wetter/drier paths around waterfalls. Highly recommended!!

Edgar was awesome! Fun and informative. Great overall experience.

Long but amazing day and you need waterproof clothes and shoes. Peter, our tour guide, was fantastic! Timing at every site was perfect and even wifi on the bus. Don’t miss this adventure.

Gunn was our guide and she is phenomenal. Her knowledge about Iceland is encyclopedic and she shared a wonderful wealth of stories and insights throughout our trip. She was delightfully relaxed and comfortable and provided just the right amount of gentle management and guidance on activities and timing. A big thumbs up from this group. We would be delighted to have Gunn again as a guide and we already have another Arctic Adventures booked. Thank you for a wonderful experience. 🙂🙂

The weather was quite bad, but still our driver/guide (Andrew) managed quite well to change a bit the itinerary, so we could see most of this wonderful scenery. Pouring rain and wind all over black sand beach, but it was the only hiccup. Thanks to our driver, we could see the glacier and the waterfalls. Also he gave us a lot of explanations about geology, volcanoes etc

Magnus was a terrific guide and the trip was so much fun! Highly recommend this tour.