Southern
Iceland Regional Information
 South Iceland puts
you right in
touch with the delights of nature and
culture, right on Reykjavik's doorstep.
In less than an hour you're in the heart of
completely different worlds - though you could
easily spend weeks exploring them. The
whole Southern region is easy for travelling on a wide
range of tours as well as by car.
Rugged, moss-grown lava fields greet visitors
on arrival at
Keflavík Airport and spread right across the
southwestern Reykjanes peninsula. Geothermal activity is also very much in
evidence, in natural hot springs such as Krýsuvík
and especially at the Blue Lagoon spa, one of Iceland's
top visitor destinations.
South Iceland offers a variety of day tours
from the capital too, and its "Golden
Circle" is a must see for sightseers.
its centerpiece is Ţingvellir national park, also known as
Iceland's national shrine for
its unique historical role.
Other highlights include the mighty Golden Falls, and the
geothermal fields of Geysir which have given the
world the word "geyser" to describe
spouting springs, plus views of active volcano Mt.
Hekla.
Off the south coast, the
Westman Islands are reachable by ferry (3 hours)
or plane (20 minutes by propjet from
Reykjavík, only 6 minutes by small plane from the
south coast). Ideal for either a day-trip or a
longer stay, Vestmannaeyjar is a particular
favourite with bird watchers. Charming villages on
the south coast include Stokkseyri and Eyrarbakki
with their beautifully preserved old houses, and Vík,
the base for cruises through the Dyrhólaey cliff.
History and heritage are everywhere, spanning the whole range from the
Saga Age farm at Stöng and the Njál´s Saga
Exhibition Centre at Hvolsvöllur, to the old bishop's
seat of Skálholt and the regional folk
museum at Skógar.
At the region's eastern boundary, the Lakagígar
crater series inland from Kirkjubćjarklaustur
deserves an admiring but respectful look - it
produced the largest lava flow ever witnessed in
historical times anywhere in the world, during the
Skaftá eruption of 1783.
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