Iceland Six Days Five Nights Travelogue: Exploring the Magnificent Black Sand Beach and Waterfalls of Southern VIK (Part 1)

Iceland 6-Day 5-Night Trip Guide - Guide to Iceland Local Tours

I'm setting off on March 22 for a two-day trip to southern Iceland. This time in Iceland, I have three big goals: the Northern Lights, the blue ice cave, and the glacier lagoon — the latter two are both in the south. While researching, I kept reading that if the weather is too bad, the blue ice cave might not be accessible, so leading up to the two-day trip I've been feeling anxious the whole time, wondering whether I'll end up achieving none of my big goals in Iceland this time… I boarded the tour bus at 8:40. This time the tour guide was a young guy in his 20s named SIDI (later he introduced himself as Iceland's youngest tour guide). I kept looking out the window, because I was wondering whether I'd end up in the same group today as the Hong Kong girl who posted earlier. Originally our itinerary was in sync yesterday, but it turned out we were assigned to different local groups, so up until now the two of us have only been chatting in a Line group chat — we still hadn't met in person! Finally, someone behind me spoke up with a Hong Kong accent: "Are you Dong Kui? On this Iceland trip, we came together from four different places — MOMO from Hong Kong, BOBO from Macau, Lumos, a Taiwanese living in the UK, and me, a Taiwanese living in Vietnam. Four travel lovers from four different corners of the world, meeting up in a far-flung country like Iceland! The first stop on our southern route was Seljalandsfoss, the waterfall curtain cave. Actually, this spot has two waterfalls — the other one is called Gljúfrabúi. The weather was pretty good today, though still a bit cloudy…

Getting off from the parking lot, you'll first arrive at Gljúfrabúi, which some call the "hidden waterfall." It's tucked away within a rock crevice, and to see it in full you'd need to wade through the water to get inside. But since I hadn't specifically prepared for that, I could only catch a glimpse of it without getting myself wet.

The second waterfall is Water Curtain Cave Falls, named for the cave behind the waterfall that you can walk into. The wind was very strong that day, and the falling water scattered wildly in the breeze.

While my travel companion and I were debating whether to rush in, we ran into yesterday's aurora buddies. In the end, it was me, Lumos, and one of the aurora buddies who broke into the cave behind the waterfall together. We got soaked! But seeing a view like this, it was worth it! My down jacket got wet and my socks were a bit damp, but Lumos's gear was in even worse shape than mine — I really admire him for pushing through the rest of that day's itinerary! Meanwhile, the aurora buddies had clearly come prepared with waterproof jackets, boots, and quick-dry pants! We made it through the challenge!

Our second stop was Skógafoss (Rainbow Waterfall). You can hike a trail up to the top to admire the view, or stand right at the bottom to feel the sheer power of the falling water.

As people who want to see everything, we didn't hesitate to climb up first. The view from the observation deck above is quite different from looking down at Golden Falls — I felt the view from above Rainbow Falls was just so-so.

Looking back down below, thankfully the rainbow was still there — the Rainbow Falls truly lives up to its name.

Our third stop was Reynisfjara, the black sand beach in the south. Besides the black sand formed by eroded basalt, the towering and unique basalt columns nearby are also one of the highlights.

The tour guide here specifically reminded us that because the waves are very strong, we must stay far away from the shore, as it's said that every year several tourists are unfortunately swept into the sea and lose their lives. The pitch-black sand paired with pale blue seawater — that unique coastal color scheme belonging to Iceland.

Next, we headed to the small town of Vik next to the black sand beach. This small town is also a place where independent travelers often stop and stay. In this tiny town, almost everything is related to tourism, such as hotels, day-tour travel agencies, and so on.

The famous church in Vik village

The fourth stop is the Eldhraun lava field, formed by a volcanic eruption between 1783 and 1984. This volcano not only destroyed the homes and farms of the surrounding residents, but the toxic gases released after the eruption caused even further damage. It wasn't just Iceland that suffered — the massive amount of volcanic ash produced by the eruption at the time even affected food production in Britain and France, and some say this eruption was the spark that ignited the French Revolution. Now, the 565 square kilometers of lava produced back then has been covered layer upon layer with moss, forming an interesting landscape. There's a short trail that lets you experience walking on top of the volcanic lava.

Today's final stop is Hofskirkja Church, one of only 6 remaining turf churches in Iceland, and the last old church built in this traditional turf style.

On the way to the hotel, we passed by the glacial lagoon we're planning to visit tomorrow — it was absolutely magnificent, and just seeing it from a distance already got us so excited. We arrived at around 6 o'clock at Hotel Smyrlabjörg, the three-star hotel for this two-day trip to the south. The surroundings were extremely desolate, and this hotel was the only building around.

The room was very spacious, the most comfortable place we've stayed in these past few days. Our guide reminded us that since several tour groups would be staying here today, if we wanted to have dinner at the hotel we should head over early, so we simply dropped off our luggage and went straight to check in at the restaurant. Given my personality, I'd normally never choose to eat dinner at a hotel — it could easily be both disappointing and expensive — but firstly, our guide strongly recommended it the whole way here, and secondly, there weren't really any other options nearby, and finally, we had planned to put our entire budget into dinner anyway, so without thinking too much about it, we just went for it! Both my travel companion and I chose the lamb chops, and we each also ordered an appetizer, and I additionally ordered a glass of red wine.

It turned out we weren't tricked by the tour guide after all - the dishes were all really high quality, and we finally got to eat Icelandic lamb chops~ So tender, and without too strong a mutton smell. Cheers! Fingers crossed we get to see the Northern Lights tonight!

We drank and chatted at the restaurant, feeling like a group of old friends who'd known each other for a long time, until the staff started tidying up and the restaurant was about to close, so we left.At that moment, Lumos volunteered to take the night watch, and we agreed to set an alarm for 3 a.m. (because the app showed the clouds would clear up a bit more by then). The alarm rang, and I woke up with a start. I looked at Lumos, who just shook his head — it seemed like there was no hope for tonight. We decided to go back to our own rooms to rest. Lying in bed, I deliberately left the curtains open, gazing out the window, hoping so much to see that green light that would make everyone gasp in amazement. I drifted in and out of sleep, and suddenly heard: mission continued!? The mission continues? I woke up with a start, and looking out the window it was still pitch dark. I picked up my phone to check, and suddenly noticed that the Hella observation station, also in the south, could see the aurora. I immediately woke Lumos up and rushed outside the hotel. 4:50, the sky was still dark, and the clouds above had cleared. Suddenly I noticed something that looked like the Milky Way, or maybe clouds. I gasped: "Is this it?" I quickly set my phone to a 10-second shutter and aimed it to shoot!

It's really the aurora! I was truly moved in that moment, even though the Kp index was under 2 at the time, we still got to see the aurora!!

My favorite photo is this one—I originally thought it looked like an angel, but my family thought it looked more like a phoenix~

The aurora feast lasted 30-40 minutes, and it wasn't until the sun peeked out and lit up the sky that it gradually faded from view. My body was exhausted, but my heart was completely fulfilled! Explore more of this magical six-day, five-night journey through Iceland! 👉 【Iceland 6-Day Highlights Self-Guided Travel Guide】Itinerary Planning × Local Group Tour Experience × Cost Estimate Understand the overall itinerary and plan your dream trip to Iceland! 👉 Iceland Six Days Five Nights Travel Diary: The Starting Point of the Journey and a Rocky First Day Arriving in Iceland, strolling through Reykjavik 👉 Iceland 6D5N Travel Diary: Snæfellsnes Peninsula One-Day Tour Guide & Hidden Gem Exploration Explore Iceland's enchanting peninsula and capture its magnificent natural landscapes. 👉 Iceland 6D5N Travel Diary: Golden Circle One-Day Tour Classic Sights & Itinerary Guide Feel the breathtaking charm of Iceland's classic attractions and gain memories that will last a lifetime. 👉 Iceland 6D5N Travel Diary: Exploring the South's Magnificent VIK Black Sand Beach & Waterfall Tour (Part 1) Step into the mysterious world of VIK and feel the natural beauty of the south. 👉 Iceland 6-Day 5-Night Travelogue: Blue Ice Cave Wonders and a Night of Northern Lights – Southern Adventure (Part 2) Experience the blue ice cave expedition firsthand and capture the dazzling spectacle of the aurora in the northern lands. 👉 Iceland 6-Day 5-Night Travelogue: Helicopter Volcano Sightseeing Experience, Overlooking the Magnificent Lava Land Fly over Iceland's volcanic landscape and enjoy a truly one-of-a-kind adventure.