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South Coast and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Day Tour from Reykjavik

Badge of ExcellenceReykjavík, Iceland

From $169.72

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Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Reykjavik Tours
All Reykjavik Tours
Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out
Private and Luxury
Unique Experiences
  • 14 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup from select hotels
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Discover southern Iceland and take a cruise on the ice-strewn Jokulsarlon Lagoon on this scenic day trip from Reykjavik. Traveling by air-conditioned coach, trace Iceland’s spectacular south coast, a canvas of towering mountains, waterfalls, and glacial rivers. Visit the Skogafoss waterfall, view the ice-covered peaks of Skaftafell, and learn about the area's geology and then go behind the cascading water at Seljalandfoss waterfall.
  • See the Skogafoss and Seljalandfoss waterfalls, and Skaftafell National Park
  • Check out the film locations for James Bond's 'Die Another Day' and 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'
  • Learn about the area's history from an English-speaking tour guide
  • Enjoy convenient pickup and drop-off from Reykjavik hotels and guesthouses

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This is one of the most affordable options for a full-day adventure along Iceland’s South Coast, including Jökulsárlón.

What's Included

  • Professional guide
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Pickup and drop-off from most hotels and cruise ports upon request (if option is selected)
  • WiFi on board
  • Gratuities
  • Food and drinks
  • Boat tours on the glacier lagoon

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

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Pickup points

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Start time

08:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Pick-up from all hotels and bus stops starts 30 minutes before the starting time of the tour. You must contact the local operator after booking to confirm your pick-up location or meeting point.

What To Expect

Depart your central Reykjavik hotel by air-conditioned coach and gaze out over Iceland’s rugged landscapes as you journey toward the south coast.

As you travel, listen as your guide shares tales of south Iceland, an area rich in picturesque villages and natural spectacles such as glacial rivers, waterfalls, and volcanic peaks.

Drive through villages such as Selfoss, Vik, and Kirkjubaejarklaustur, and marvel at the snow-capped mountains and epic landscapes of Skaftafell, part of the Vatnajökull National Park.

Visit the spectacular Skogarfoss waterfall, and drive through the volcanic desert of Skeidarasandur—a vast sand plain where sandstorms can be so intense that they strip paint from cars!
 Pass Iceland's largest active volcano, the ice-covered, sub-glacial Oraefajokull, and gaze up at 6950-foot (2,119-meter) Hvannadalshnjukur on its summit crater, the country’s highest peak.

Shortly afterward, arrive at Jokulsarlon Lagoon: a breathtaking expanse of water strewn with ice chunks that has provided the backdrop for several action films, including the James Bond hit 'Die Another Day' and the 2001 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' movie.

Stop a Seljalandfoss on your way back to Reykjavik, where you have the opportunity to follow the path behind the falls. Your day trip concludes with drop-off at your hotel.

Volcano Eyjafjallajokull (Pass By)

Iceland's most notorious volcano is undoubtedly Eyjafjallajökull, which last erupted in 2010 and caused flight disruptions in Europe for weeks.

Skogafoss

Before reaching Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, you will stop at Skogafoss, a stunning waterfall that allows you access to great views from both below and above, by way of a staircase.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Please note: Boat tours on the glacier lagoon are not included in the tour price.
  • Warm and waterproof clothing is recommended
  • Drop-off after tour may not be directly in front of your hotel, depending on route and traffic limitations.
  • Stops will be made during the tour where you can purchase meals and use restroom facilities
  • Tour is approximately 14 hours long, but with regular stops along the way
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Traveler Tips

Some hotels are not the pick up point but the bus stops are 1-2 minutes away.
For long trips like this, I would rent a car so you can stop for as long as you'd like!
Reviews
4.5
459 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 459 reviews
Poor customer service
Stephanie_t, Mar 2023
I was tested positive for coviid the night before. So I politely let them know I was sick. I never asked for a refund but that’s all they were worried about. Poor business practices. Covid does not give a 24 hour notice. Will not book with them
Not worth the risk
Katrin_C, Feb 2023
Not the first person to miss this tour thanks to confusion with pick up spot and to be honest, I don't know how you would avoid this disaster either. I called their office after 15 min delay and they said the tour has left and their policy is not to refund and they would have ended the call then but as I knew from someone to whom exactly the same thing had happened, that they have other tours leaving later I pressed on and asked them to offer me to join something else rather than lose ALL $180! So I was able to join a shorter south coast tour but due to bad weather, the main attraction (the glacier) was taken off the list and was not replaced with anything at all. I'd recommend to choose another company as there are many good ones and my other 2 tours went all very well with even extra stops added on.
Amazing trip!
Venetia_S, Jan 2023
This was the first of two south coast tours I did as they both covered different things but this was definitely the best tour for the South Coast! Our guide was amazing and knew so many interesting and entertaining things. The route itself was also so well planned so it felt like we got to see so much but it wasn’t too tiring either. We saw the waterfall, diamond beach, vatnajokulspjodgardur National Park and were even lucky enough to see the northern lights aswell
Stunning tour of blue icebergs and 'diamonds'!
Susan_M, Jan 2023
This was my absolutely favorite tour! The blue icebergs were stunning beyond words, and the diamond beach was remarkable. I LOVED this trip.
Awesome!
Georgina_K, Dec 2022
This day trip was a highlight of our visit to Iceland! The bus was warm, clean and our lady tour guide kept us entertained during the trip with Icelandic Christmas stories and Troll stories. When we arrived at Glacier Lagoon, the view was mesmerizing, beautiful blue icebergs floating in the lagoon. Across the street is a black sand beach full of white icebergs, some rolling in the surf. On the way back the Northern lights came across the sky, the bus driver got off the road for us to get out and take pictures. Trip to remember for the rest of the life!!
AVOID!!!! The driver never showed - waste of time and money
Philip_C, Nov 2022
Booked this for the day of our 3rd wedding anniversary - driver was a no show. Customer service was unhelpful and unfriendly. Completely wasted the small amount of time we had in Iceland. Wouldn’t recommend this company unless you want to be disappointed
Breathtaking
Michaela_C, Nov 2022
Amazing tour with a really informative tour guide. It’s a really long day so bear that in mind, the glacier lagoon is very far from Reykjavik. That being said we were very happy with the tour and were glad we did it
Amazing
Younglong_P, Oct 2022
I thought it would be pretty tiring when I found out the destination is a long drive away. But the jokes the guide dropped in his own way and the safe driving we were provided with made the whole journey nice and smooth. I strongly recommend it
Amazing!
Kate_I, Oct 2022
I truly enjoyed this 15-hour trek to see all the beautiful and different points of interest in Iceland. Ramon, our tour guide, was so informative, cheerful, and super accommodating!! 5 stars across the board!!
Fantastic guide and wonderful sights
Cat_W, Oct 2022
Brandon (our guide) was fantastic - he was very knowledgable and accommodating. We highly recommend doing the boat trip - that was the highlight of the tour for us.
A Must Do Tour
Leisa_M, Sep 2022
If you had to choose only one tour to do in Iceland 🇮🇸 look no farther. This is The tour! Don’t hesitate, as we did, by the length of this tour. Carve out an entire day of your itinerary and do it. The bus is a Volvo greyline and very comfy (although the windows needed a good cleaning, lol) it makes many stops for breaks. Great Food places along the way. (Try the pizza place in Vik) 2 waterfalls, glacier lagoon, black sand beach are all IG worthy and “Bucket List” things to see.
Jokulsarlon Tour
Melissa_P, Sep 2022
We had such a wonderful day around the South of Iceland, Vik and Jokulsarlon Glacier. Our guide gave us many great and interesting facts about everything we saw on the road, which I loved! The Glacier was breathtaking and I am so glad I got to live this moment. I would recommend finding more time at Diamond Beach as it is such a great spot. We also did the boat ride around the Glacier and it was amazing. However they should put less people on the boat as we couldn’t really move around and see all sides of the boat. On a less pleasant note, I was very angry with our boat ride guide. I photographed a seal with a plastic thing stuck on its mouth and nose. I told her so that they could try to do something about it. And she told me that it is probably it’s moustache (which clearly was not, because it was a white ring all around its nose and was clearly something in plastic). She also told me that there are no plastic in the lagoon, but unfortunately the day we were there was a bottle and a plastic bag floating in the glacier lagoon. She really did not care of that poor seal and what I had to tell her. If she doesn’t care about the wildlife living in the glacier she works at, she should not work there. So shame on you! Thank you to our driver for such a great tour, we loved it!
Avoid Gray Line as a tour provider for South Coast tour
Victoria_L, Aug 2022
Long day spent with a guide who had little to no interaction with the 19 passengers aboard the mini bus. After the full day tour I don’t remember him even introducing himself. He was an older native Icelander who would have had some interesting information to share about native life but unfortunately did not communicate anything of interest. 14 hours hitting only a few highlights and a lot of just riding. The best part of the tour was the Glacier Lagoon but even that was unorganized obtaining boat tour tickets once we arrived even though he took our information to call in ahead of time. Avoid Gray Line for this tour. I would stick to the larger coach tours.
The trip of a life time we missed
Janet_H, Jul 2022
We were really looking forward to this trip. We waited 1.5 hours at designated bus stop but somehow missed the driver for the excursion. It would have been helpful if the driver stepped out of the vehicle and announced our names for pick up. We were told the driver marked us as no show. We were really disappointed, but fortunately we were able to salvage the day by picking up another trip. This was our only chance to do the tour we signed up for.l. Boomer!
The Peninsula really stuck out!
PHILLIPM_P, Jun 2022
The climb up the crater was like nothing I had seen before, amazing. The black beach with the rock formations and beautiful black pebbles was stunning. I'd put it up there with the diamond beach from another tour. I actually found it even more awesome. And a little surprise, at the restaurant where we stopped for dinner, the lamb goulash was soooo good. And our guide was a real gentleman.
Excellent experience....
Varun_D, Jun 2022
Excellent experience. Very well conducted! Full marks. The whole family was comfortable and enjoyed… kids to grandpa.
Avoid if you could.
Anand_P, Jun 2022
The Gray Line driver kept pushing us at every stop as if they were in a hurry to get back in less than 12 hours. 20 mins at any waterfall is not enough as the hike to and return from the waterfall itself could take up to 30 mins. Jokurlsarlon sightseeing and walk around the Diamond Beach needs solid 2 hours. These guys barely stopped 90 mins. The restroom inside the bus was non-functional.
Long time in a car. Short time with the glacier
Patrick_D, Jun 2022
The trip was 11 hours in a mini bus. Then short stops at gas stations. And the glacier. It was a site to see. But definitely not worth a whole day driving in a car. Specially if your pressed for time to see Iceland.
Amazing!!!!
Shelley_E, May 2022
The tour was amazing! So much beauty and history. Our guide Swan was fantastic, friendly and informative. Absolutely loved the tour, highly recommend!!
Excellent tour. Long but...
Sujay_S, Apr 2022
Excellent tour. Long but an amazing experience. A lovely day we had. Special thanks to Brandon and Magnus for their help and guidance. Amazing
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