On our second day in Iceland we drove along the southern coast of Iceland from Grindavík to Káfafell!

It was the day of waterfalls!

There are so many wonderful stops along the side of the ring road on this particular road trip. We stopped at waterfalls along the side of the road and emerged ourselves into the scenic roads of southern Iceland! It was a beautiful drive for our first full day in Iceland. I highly recommend a road trip to the South ring road if you can!

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

This was our first stop and attempt at finding the landmarks in Iceland. We navigated there and were not disappointed. There was a parking fee and we walked up towards the waterfall. This particular fall has a walking path behind the falls, allowing you to get up close and personal. We decided to go for it and take the kids back there. The path was a little rough, but worth it. My toddler fell and got full of mud. My mom, who stayed back, heard his scream and thought he fell into the water - haha! Really, he just fell into the mud and became one with the earth. After he settled down, he was pretty proud of his new muddy attire. We continued to cautiously walk behind the waterfall and come out the other side. It was a blast. We were covered in fresh waterfall spray. Afterwards we got a small latte from the food truck and jumped back in our rental.

Skógafoss

The next stop was Skógafoss. This is another large and powerful walk up waterfall. Instead of behind this monster, you can take many, many stairs to get a view from the top deck and view the rapids that flow down to the waterfall. Sophia and I make the trek up the side of the falls to take in the views. It was neat to see how simple and normal the river leading up to the waterfall was... then at the end - a massive, tall waterfall! The sun was shining and the spray created gorgeous rainbows. It was perfect. Worth the stop, and a must see.

Dyhólaey, Reynisfjara & Reynisdrangar

For our last adventure of the day we drove back to a look out to get a view of the back sand beaches near Vik and the keyhole. We took a small road off the main HWY 1 back to the look out area. There were hiking trails for multiple different views of the beach and the key hole rock formation that extends out into the ocean. It's a small rock window, and a natural beauty. We weren't very close to either site, but with a bit of hiking and adventurous spirit - it was possible to get pretty close to each.

One of the other main southern sites is the plane wreckage on the beach. We didn't stop at the plane wreckage - it's a long walk back to the beach where the crash site is, and it didn't seem like it would be worth it since the pictures likely do it justice. In that way, it is unlike the waterfalls where you can stop and appreciate the awe inspiring roars and rolling waters.

The south loop is gorgeous. You technically could drive in one day to the sights in the south coast of Iceland - and there are a lot of tour companies that will do this for you, but I wanted to stay in the area for a few reasons. First, I wanted to minimize driving time with our two kids in the car and for my Dad who was tasked with driving the family van/car/SUV around the country. Driving gets old, so it was worth the time investment of packing and unpacking at each new destination. I also wanted to fully immerse myself in the Iceland countryside. I loved our little AirBNB that was nestled into the spare space on a farm. There were a few other hotels and "glamping" options - but we loved the ability to cook and warm up food in the kitchenettes.

In summary - highly recommend the south ring road and all of the sites to see! After our first true sightseeing day we snuggled up into camp near Káfafell.

Southern Iceland: Grindavík to Káfafell

It was the day of waterfalls!

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