20 Photos That Will Inspire You To Travel To Southern Iceland

 

If I were to use one word to describe Southern Iceland it would be breathtaking. Within the first hour of my arrival I fell completely in love with this gorgeous country. Out of all of the places I have ever traveled to I can honestly say that Iceland is the first place that I would consider a move to; it’s that wonderful! There were many moments during my visit that left me completely in awe of the beauty around me and I loved getting to explore this magnificent place with my daughters. It’s hard to describe just how amazing it is so, I thought I would show you a little bit of why Iceland will forever have a piece of my heart:

Reykjavik

The colorful buildings, great restaurants, unique shops, and the grand centerpiece of this charming City, Hallgrímskirkja Church, make Reykjavik a “must see” when visiting Iceland. Put on your most comfortable walking shoes and grab a jacket because you’re either walking uphill or downhill in the wind; the only level streets are near the water.

 

Hallgrímskirkja Church

 

Waterfalls

Iceland has some of the most magnificent waterfalls. I highly recommend taking an organized tour in order to see them since you’ll be able to bypass some of the crowds at the entryways. Gullfoss Waterfall was my favorite. You can hear the waterfall before you even see it and can actually feel the enormous power of the waterfall as you are walking the area around it.

Gullfoss Waterfall

Skógafoss Waterfall 

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

 

Þingvellir National Park

Take the Viator Tour HERE

Southern Iceland Countryside

Take the Viator Tour HERE

Black Sand Beach

Black Sand Beach in Vik, Iceland is also a “must see” when visiting Iceland. The structures you see in the distance in the photo below are the Reynisdranger basalt sea stacks. The folk tale about them is that they’re 3 trolls that were caught by sunlight and turned to stone. And now they will forever be trolls to me.

Take the Viator Tour HERE

Blue Lagoon ( Geothermal Spa)

The warm water in the Blue Lagoon is rich in minerals like sulfur and silica. Bathing in the water is said to have a healing effect on the body. I visited early in the day before it got too crowded and was able to enjoy a few hours soaking up the beautiful surroundings while relaxing in the water. It’s cold getting in and out of the Lagoon but it’s worth every freezing second!

Take the Viator Tour HERE

The Northern Lights

This was the one and only good shot I was able to capture of the Northern Lights. The Lights are really unpredictable and I waited for hours with my tour group to catch a glimpse of them. You need to have patience, clear skies, and a tri-pod… and even then there are no guarantees that the Lights will give you a good show. If anything is worth waiting for though, I’d say the Northern Lights are at the top of the list!

Take the Viator Tour HERE

During my stay in Southern Iceland I booked all of my tours with Viator Travel. The tours were reasonably priced, organized, the meeting locations were easy to get to (some even picked up right at the hotel we were staying at) and the tour guides were fantastic. (I’ve put the links to the tours I took below the photos).

I can’t wait to plan our next trip there to see what the rest of this beautiful country has to offer and I’ll be sure to share our next family adventure right here on Mom On The Map!

 

***A version of this post originally appeared on She’s On The Go***

**All photos are property of the publisher and may not be used without consent**