We booked our south shore excursion through the Guide to Iceland website. When we originally booked, we didn’t quite realize that Reykjavik Excursions was the tour company as the website wasn’t very detailed. Despite not booking the tour directly with the operator, it was less expensive than the other options I found on Trip Advisor. We also booked this tour really close to our departure date so several of the other operators were sold out.
Here’s how the day went. We were picked up from our hotel around 7:00 a.m., made a stop at the bus station and headed out around 7:30 a.m. We were out of Reykjavik with minutes and began enjoying the stunning landscape of the south shore. Check out the photos documenting our journey below.
Oraefajokull Volcano
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
Diamond Beach
Tips:
- Sit on the driver’s side of the bus. You’ll get the best view.
- Bring your own snacks and drinks. While the tour does stop throughout the day, the food didn’t look to appetizing at the places we stopped. The bus station does have a café where we purchased a sandwich to split, chips and bottled water for less than $15.
- Bring a tripod for your camera! It’s a big help when trying to capture the Northern Lights and gives you a way to snap pictures without them looking like the traditional ‘selfie.’
- Bring battery back-up! An external battery charger for your phone is a must. The bus was equipped with Wi-Fi which is awesome!
Bottom line:
The South shore was the most beautiful part of Iceland in my opinion. While it was a very long day it was completely worth it. I wasn’t a fan of a few of the stops but it did help to break up the day and gave us a chance to stretch our legs. I wish we would have been able to see the beaches and explore the town of Vik. We did stop at a shop and gas station in Vik which I think hardly deserves a mentioned on the tour operator’s website. We may not have stopped due to the lack of sunlight (it started to get dark before 4:00 p.m.) so it could be part of the tour in the summer months. That was really the only down side of the day.
Habitual Tourists 