South Coast, Continued
July 1, 2026
Today the weather forecast was not optimistic, but we set out with crossed fingers. The first hour of our drive from Vik covered the same ground as yesterday. We made a couple of picture stops, including at Gönguleið um Eldhraun, a lava field covered in interesting moss (and part of the Geopark) before reaching our first stop, Skaftafell.
Here is the map that shows our route on the south coast, including places we visited yesterday.
The above photos show the mossy lava and a gloomy mountain view on the way to our first stop.
We parked at the Skaftafell Visitor’s Center and took a half hour walk (each way) to the face of the Vatnajokull Glacier. Except for a brief five minute rain shower, we were pleased the walk was dry! After our walk, we had lunch in the cafe, and by now the sun was shining. As we drove east we had view of several other glaciers and volcanic peaks.
Above photos show the glacier from afar and from the closer viewpoint.
These next photos are taken from the drive towards our next stop.
From Skaftafell, we drove about forty five minutes to Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon. We walked for about forty-five minutes along the rocky shore of the lake, which was filled with icebergs. We found this glacier more attractive than the last one. While there, we saw tourists taking zodiac cruises of the lagoon to get close to the icebergs. We originally planned to do a similar cruise tomorrow on another lagoon, but as it turned out, high winds would cancel our trip.
After warming up with a coffee, we headed towards the next glacial lagoon (Jökulsárlón), but the promised heavy rain arrived with a vengeance. Since the view was now obscured by mist and low clouds, we elected not to stop here today and hoped for better weather tomorrow.
We drove on to our hotel, just a few minutes away and were able to check in early and stay out of the heavy rain. This afternoon (and tomorrow) would end up being the main time the weather had an impact on our activities.
Rain does not put a damper on outdoor bathing in Iceland.
Tomorrow, we hope the rain subsides.
