Iceland is the place of the moment, and it’s also one of the most Instagrammable places in the world with waterfalls, glaciers and beaches. I’m obsessed with Instagram (but isn’t everyone?!) and try to publish photos to my Instagram account @sophiessuitcasetravel every single day.
When going on trips, I usually research the most beautiful, impressive and photogenic places and try to visit them all, so I can bask in the moment and grab a load of photos for Instagram. Here are my favourite places to visit in Iceland right now….
Contents
The most Instagrammable places in Iceland
- The Blue Lagoon
- Urriðafoss
- Seljalandsfoss
- Skógafoss
- Solheimajokull Glacier
- Sólheimasandur Plane Crash
- Black Sand Beach (Reynisfjara)
- Hveragerði Hot Springs
- Gullfoss
- Geysir Hot Spring Area
- Kerið Crater
The Blue Lagoon
I go into this further in another blog post, but I couldn’t leave it out of this must-see list either. When me and Katie headed to Iceland last month, we couldn’t bypass the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of the most visited attractions in Iceland, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Blue Lagoon is simply a large lake that has the perfect temperature to bathe in, on average it’s 39°C/102°F. It’s supposedly great for your skin, offering soothing waters and rich skin nourishment.
The lagoon’s warm geothermal water and natural active ingredients; mineral salts, silica and blue-green algae help you relax and unwind while the lagoon’s distinctive white silica mud gently cleanses and exfoliates the skin. Read my full post on The Blue Lagoon here.
Urriðafoss
Whether you’re coming from our hotel or Reykjavik, you will begin your journey, coming across a lesser-known waterfall close to our hotel called Urriðafoss. As our hotel was super close we arrived around 9am and there was no one else around. It was stunning to watch the waterfall from the river down to the south.
We wandered here for a while, despite it being super windy and about 5 degrees that morning at 9am. The sheer power of this waterfall was felt some 1km away when we could still feel the water droplets landing on our faces. A must-visit place to add to your road trip adventure.
Seljalandsfoss
Next up is Seljalandsfoss, the second most famous waterfall after Skogafoss. A unique waterfall in the river Seljalandsá, about 30 km west from Skógar which is 60 meters high with a footpath behind it at the bottom of the cliff.
It is the only known waterfall of its kind, where it is possible to walk behind it, but be aware the path may be shut due to ice. Even in April when the weather was warming up, the footpath was closed. The waterfall is very picturesque and offers an opportunity for some amazing photos. Plus it’s right by the road so no detours taking you on a wild goose chase…
Skógafoss
After you’ve finished at Seljalandsfoss, not far along the road is Skógafoss. You must have been living under a rock for the last decade if you didn’t know about Skógafoss waterfall. The pictures are everywhere!
Situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline, Skógafoss is my all-time favourite waterfall from the trip, simply because you could really see it’s power as it fell from the 60-metre drop.
Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, with a drop of 60 meters and a width of 25 meters, and you can walk right up to, but be prepared to be drenched, as we did. And if you can try head there early in the day so you miss the buses arriving!
We got there about 40 mins before everyone else arrived so managed to get some incredible photos! It is just overwhelming standing next to it – take your time to watch this immense natural wonder.
Solheimajokull Glacier
Then after an hour, you’ll pass by Solheimajokull Glacier on your left. Now, I am biased here because we didn’t do a tour at Solheimajokull Glacier, but I’ve heard they’re great, despite being expensive. Instead, we stopped off on our road trip of the south of the island and parked up.
We chucked on our hiking boots and went for a 15-minute walk up to the edge of the glacier, where you can see it in all its glory falling from the mountains, as it falls into the glacial lagoon. Don’t attempt to climb onto the glacier unguided as it is very dangerous.
Sólheimajökull is a glacier in southern Iceland, between the volcanoes Katla and Eijafjallajökkull. Solheimajokull glacier is an approximately 11-km-long outlet glacier, which advances from Myrdalsjokull glacier, down a one to two km wide valley.
The glacier falls from a height of about 1,300 m down to 100 m and, because of the location and shape of the glacier, it is sensitive to climate change. If the climate continues to warm, there is a possibility that the glaciers will have virtually disappeared in 100 to 200 years.
Sólheimasandur Plane Crash
Then literally across the road, you’ve got Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck. I’m sure you’ve seen photos before… every Instagrammer and their family has visited this wreck on the south coast. It’s a twisted wreckage from an old aeroplane crash on Sólheimasandur black sand beach.
If you don’t know where to look, it can be a difficult place to discover on your own, as it can’t be seen from the road and is actually around 45-60 minutes walk from the car park on the right-hand side of the road.
On Saturday Nov 24, 1973, a United States Navy Douglas Super DC-3 aeroplane was forced to land on Sólheimasandur’s black sand beach in the south of Iceland after experiencing some severe icing. Luckily all crew members survived the crash, but the aeroplane’s fuselage was abandoned.
The wings & tail are missing, it’s full of holes, and the crumbling fuselage is covered with wind-blown black sand. Now it’s become a photography dream location! Even Bieber filmed part of his latest music video skateboarding on top of the plane.
I have mixed opinions on whether this stop is worth it as its a super long walk, and it nearly killed me, but it is cool. So you decide, if you want a lengthy walk, do it. If you’d rather do something else, give it a miss!
Black Sand Beach (Reynisfjara)
Next up, ranked one of the 10 most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world in 1991, Black Sand Beach is beautiful. The lava beach of Reynisfjara is stunning and possibly one of the coolest beaches in the world with its black sand, insane basalt columns, lava formations, towering cliffs, gaping rock faces and caves galore.
Reynisfjara is found around 180 km from Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik, and is a popular stop-off for those taking a sightseeing tour along South Coast. It was super busy when we arrived at around 2pm as the buses were there too, so pick a spot and grab a view of this amazing sight.
Hveragerði Hot Springs
We actually stayed close to here so we didn’t go too far away from the hotel as we had our own hot springs in the hotel grounds, but we did go for a wander up to the top of the hills near Frost & Fire.
The Hveragerdi hot spring river trail is one of the most visited hiking trails in Iceland. The trail leads from the town of Hveragerdi to a geothermal river where you can bathe in warm water while admiring the astonishing Icelandic landscape.
The name of the valley, Reykjadalur, means Steam Valley and is filled with hot springs and mud pools, and there is even a hot river in which one can bathe! One to add to the list…
Gullfoss
Gullfoss, another famous waterfall, is located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland with millions visiting this expansive waterfall each year.
The wide Hvítá river rushes southward, and about a kilometre above the falls it turns sharply to the right and flows down into a wide curved three-step “staircase” and then abruptly plunges in two stages (11 metres or 36 feet, and 21 metres or 69 feet) into a crevice 32 metres (105 ft) deep.
Together with Þingvellir and the geysers of Haukadalur, Gullfoss forms part of the Golden Circle, a popular day excursion for tourists in Iceland.
Geysir Hot Spring Area
Don’t be fooled by the Instagram photos, the great Geysir is not the only geyser in the Geysir hot spring area.
The most active geyser in the area is called Strokkur as it sprouts hot water as high as 30 meters into the air every few minutes or so, but the area as a whole is pretty cool, with small spring rivers running down the valley, smaller pools with bubbling brooks and an array of natural phenomena for you to see.
I would try and miss the crowds by visiting the early morning or late afternoon as it gets busy.
Kerið Crater
Kerið is a volcanic crater lake in Grímsnes, South Iceland, and is a great addition along Iceland’s world-famous Golden Circle route. Kerið is normally visited as an extra, and we hadn’t planned originally on stopping here, in addition to the famous Thingvellir National Park, Haukadalur Geothermal Valley and Gullfoss waterfall.
Kerið is a volcanic crater lake filled with milky blue-green water next to the deep red slopes and is once believed to be an explosion crater formed 3,000 years ago, and last had a volcanic eruption more than 6,000 years ago. Kerid is 55 meters deep.
There is a path lining the rim for visitors to walk around and view the red and black slopes contrasting with the striking aquamarine water contributing to the otherworldly landscape. We visited here early morning around 9am and it was super quiet, only us and another couple here walking.
If you’re planning your own trip to Iceland, feel free to ask me any questions by tweeting me @sophiessuitcse or use the Google Map I created for our trip here.
My Travel Tips and Recommendations
Flights
To book flights, I always use flight search engine, Skyscanner, I regularly use the Everywhere tool to find the cheapest places to travel. It’s how I get to travel so much all around the world. I find it the easiest way to compare flight prices across airlines and get the best deals.
Accommodation
For accommodation, I usually book most of my hotels or hostels through Booking.com. I love using this platform as it provides me with some amazing deals for accommodation all around the world. Or if you prefer, I also recommend using Airbnb. If you haven’t signed up with Airbnb already, you can use this link to get £25 off your first visit!
Photography and Technology
Here is a list of the technology I always travel with:
Travel Insurance
Picking travel insurance that covers you in all eventualities is an essential part of planning a trip for every single person. If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. You never know what’s around the corner. World Nomads is an affordable option that I personally recommend. BOOK HERE
You can also find me on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Sign up to AirBnB with this link and receive a £23 off your first booking.
To receive my articles and reviews straight to your inbox SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Did you know I also vlog my trips? Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel so you get alerted when all my travel videos goes live… CHECK THEM OUT HERE
Thank you for reading and as always happy adventuring! If you have any questions about the destination please leave these in the comments below.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please share it for me with all your friends and family!
Sophie X
