Welcome to Southwest Iceland
Black beaches stretch along the Atlantic, geysers spout from geothermal fields and waterfalls glide across escarpments while brooding volcanoes and glittering ice caps score the inland horizon. The beautiful Southwest has many of Iceland’s legendary natural wonders, so it's a relatively crowded and increasingly developed area. The Golden Circle – a tourist route comprising three famous sights: Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss – draws the largest crowds outside of Reykjavík, but visit during off-hours or venture into the wilderness and you’ll find quiet hiking routes and otherworldly scenes.
Top experiences in Southwest Iceland
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Southwest Iceland activities
Snowmobiling Experience on Mýrdalsjökull Glacier
This snowmobiling tour is the perfect trip for first-time riders and individuals looking for a scenic, fun ride, exploring and experiencing the wilderness on the glacier and admiring the breathtaking views over south Iceland that can bee seen in good weather. The tour starts from the base, 23km west of Vik. Your guide will take you through safety procedures and equip you in special clothing and helmets, before you step into a jeep or a truck for the drive up the mountain to the glacier. At the top of the mountain you will pick up the snowmobiles and ride to the glacier Mýrdalsjökull.The snowmobiling experience itself lasts approximately 1 hour, with a total of an hour's transportation to and from the glacier. You will ride 2 people per snowmobile, with one driving and one as a passenger. If you are traveling alone, or in an odd-numbered group (3, 5, 7 etc.) there is an additional charge payable locally for single riders of 10,000 ISK. The glacier adventure will provide stunning photo opportunities in good weather, so don't forget to bring your camera!You will be provided with everything you need for a safe and comfortable ride. No snowmobiling experience is required to take part and the skill level for this activity is deemed as 'easy'.
Glacier Walk on Sólheimajökull Glacier
Your tour begins at the Solheimajokull glacier base, about a 30-minute walk from the glacier.Walk through the varied landscape, formed by the glacier over the course of millennia, and see how fast the glacier has melted over the past 15 years.Solheimajokull is the southernmost glacier in Iceland, and its ice is up to around 656 feet (200 meters) thick. Its total size, along with the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull, is about 231 square miles (600 square kilometres). Underneath the main ice cap is the caldera of the Katla volcano, one of Iceland's biggest volcanoes.On arrival, get a safety briefing and lesson in ice-walking. Then, suited up with your ice gear, head onto the glacier to experience its unique environment, where the terrain features crevasses, sinkholes, and ice ridges.Your 3-hour tour includes the walk from the base, your glacier walk, and the walk back to the base where your experience ends. The glacier walk does not require any special skills, so this tour can be enjoyed by anyone in good health. The minimum age requirement is 10 years.It’s recommended you bring warm clothing and something waterproof to wear, as well as good walking shoes. You will be provided with crampons, a helmet, and an ice axe.
Solheimajokull Glacier 3.5-Hour Guided Hike
Meet your highly trained guide at Sólheimajökull Glacier parking area to start your 3.5-hour walk, which is located on the Icelandic south coast. Overlook the glaciers most beautiful features, such as deep crevasses, water cauldrons and natural ice sculptures. Learn about the behavior of glaciers and their impact on nature. Capture amazing images of the surroundings, which are marked by majestic rock formations that are shaped by the glacier. Enjoy a unique experience of a glacier walk on one of the many retreating glaciers of the world that is sure to leave everlasting memories. No technical requirements are needed for the tour as an experienced glacier guide will teach you how to use basic glacier equipment, such as crampons and an ice axe, which are provided for all our glacier walk tours. Choose your preferred departure time to embark on a glorious journey into Sólheimajökull Glacier.
Myrdalsjokull Glacier Quad Bike Tour from Vik
The tour begins base nearby the Mýrdalsjökull glacier in South Iceland. We start by going over the tour plan and safety instructions. From the base we cross some small rivers and head down to the black lava sands fields which derives from the dormant volcano Katla. Down by the black beach we stop and enjoy the amazing view up to the Mýrdalsjökull glacier and along the coast to the southernmost part of Iceland, the small peninsula Dyrhólaey. We then head along the coast to the famous aircraft wreck, from there we continue to the river Jökulsá and up to the foot of the mountain. Upon our return we follow the mountain back to the base. The ATV experience itself lasts approximately 2 hours. You will ride 2 people per ATV, with one driving and one as a passenger. If you are traveling alone, or in an odd-numbered group (3, 5, 7 etc.) there is an additional charge payable locally for single riders. The adventure will provide stunning photo opportunities in good weather, so don't forget to bring your camera!You will be provided with everything you need for a safe and comfortable ride. No ATV experience is required to take part and the skill level for this activity is deemed as 'easy'.
Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll Admission Ticket
At the Icelandic Museum of Rock ‘n’ Roll guests can walk through the history of Icelandic pop and rock music throughout the years. Guests can dive deeper into the history of each artist and listen to their music with the help of the Rock ‘n’ Roll app on the iPad guests receive during the visit. Check out our 20 seat VIP cinema running documentaries all day about Icelandic music and don’t forget to check out our Sound Lab to try out some instruments and feel like a real rocker! In the Rock 'n' Roll shop you will find memorabilia to take home. Get rockin’ in our Icelandic Museum of Rock T-shirts or check out the newest releases by Björk, Sigur Rós and many more. If you want to go the extra mile and become an expert on Icelandic music we also sell books and documentaries on Icelandic music and artists. In the museum you can sit down, listen to music and buy a cup of coffee… or tea.. or hot chocolate, whichever sounds good to you. Our coffee comes from Kaffitár a local roasterie, specializing in importing, roasting and serving the finest Arabica coffee beans.
Sólheimajökull Glacier Small-Group Walking Tour
This tour is for anyone looking to experience one of the natural wonders of the earth. You’ll meet your guide in the Sólheimajökull parking lot at your scheduled time and then make your way to the ice itself, a brisk 30-minute walk to get the blood flowing. (The glacier was once closer to the lot, but warming weather and the glacier's own movement has caused it to recede into the distance).Sólheimajökull is a part of Mýrdalsjökull, one of the biggest glaciers in Europe. It is featured in detail in the 2012 documentary "Chasing Ice", an award-winning investigation of climate change.Once you reach the ice, you’ll be given plenty of time to marvel at the eerie silence and feeling of isolation, as if you and your fellow hikers are alone in a vast, empty world of ice and snow. You’ll view millennia-old blue ice, created when oxygen bubbles are trapped in the snow and compressed into ice by the enormous weight of the glacier pressing down upon it. You’ll be able to gaze deep into a glacier moulin, a vertical shaft like a well, which can go all the way to the bottom of the glacier.What’s down there? The ice cap sits on top of the mighty Katla volcano, one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Iceland. On a clear day, you may also be able to see Eyjafjallajökull, another glacier to the east which famously brought European air traffic to a halt in 2010 when its eruption filled the sky with fire and ash.