Best Of South Iceland 2018: Best Action Tour

Southern Iceland is home to most of the most popular tourist routes in Iceland—with good reason. The coastal Ring Road road from Reykjavík to Höfn is a trail of picturesque towns, black sand beaches, dramatic mountains, powerful waterfalls, basalt cliffs, towering glaciers and sprawling lava fields. It’s a completely immersive and visceral experience of Iceland’s natural environment that you could easily spend weeks exploring. These are just a few of our favourite sites along the way.

Best Action Tour

Eyjafjallajökull Summit Tour

South coast

Eyjafjallajökull. Photo by Alísa Kalyanova

Whether you’re travelling in a super Jeep or riding solo on a snowmobile, the experience of driving on a glacier to the top of a volcano is simply incredible. “You can get all the way onto the ice and see the glacier’s absolutely vast scope first hand, like visiting some kind of mystical frozen sky island,” said one panellist. Upon arriving to the summit, you’ll be greeted with a 360-degree view over the highlands and out to the Westman Islands.

Runner-Up:

Raufarhólshellir Lava Tube

Photo by Art Bicnick

Formed by an eruption over 5,000 years ago, this lava tube is just a short drive out of Reykjavík and makes a great adventure for both the novice explorer and intrepid caver. The natural and marks formed inside the tunnel are stunning and surprising reminders that nature is an incredible artist.

Runner-Up:

Black Beach By Horseback

Photo by Art Bicnick

From the small and pleasantly mysterious town of Vík, taking a ride along its famous black shores on a mighty steed doesn’t get much better. The unique and delightful demeanour of the Icelandic horse is so easy to connect with and provides sanctuary to take in the foreboding coastline and bold basalt columns.

More Best Of Iceland Awards

South Iceland

West Iceland

The Westfjords

North Iceland

East Iceland

You can buy a copy of the full Best Of Iceland 2018 magazine—an essential guide to having fun in Iceland—here, posted worldwide. We also have a Special Offer double-pack that also includes our Best Of Reykjavík magazine, about places to eat, see, swim, visit, and shop in the country’s capital city, here.