winter waterfalls

We wrote a short list of places we consider the most beautiful winter places in South Iceland.

South Iceland is undoubtedly the most touristy region, but for a reason. There are plenty of amazingly beautiful places, with most of them being well accessible also in winter. The aim of this article is not to list all of the beautiful places. We rather want to show you how some of our most favorite places in Iceland look like in winter. You can then decide for yourself, whether you want to visit a specific place or not, or whether you want to visit the place in summer or in winter, or at both times.

This post is part of our Winter Iceland articles series:

• East Iceland – best winter places
• North Iceland – best winter places
• Snæfellsnes – best winter places
• Winter Icelandic Itinerary
• All you need to know about Iceland in Winter
• How to see Northern Lights in Iceland
• Best Winter tours in Iceland

Reykjadalur hot river valley

Reykjadalur in winter is accessible during good weather and with proper winter hiking gear, see below.

Hike to Reykjadalur hot river is a very easy hike in summer. In winter it’s still easy, but snow and ice complicate it a little bit. I admit we had underestimated hiking Reykjadalur in winter, because we used just regular hiking shoes. And that was a mistake. Definitely bring at least little spikes for your shoes. Hiking trails to Reykjadalur in winter are all icy and slippery and thus may be even dangerous if you fall.

Apart from the icy and slippery trails, hiking to Reykjadalur in winter is a nice and pleasant hike, with a hot river in the end as a reward. A winter hike to Reykjadalur is especially beautiful on a nice sunny day. In case of strong winds and/or stronger rain/snow, we don’t recommend doing the hike, nor any other hike longer than just a few minutes.

Discounts for the Best Icelandic Car Rentals and Tour Operators for our readers

It took us roughly 3-4 hours to complete a winter Reykjadalur hot river hike, which is naturally considerably longer compared to summer. We’ve already explained in our Iceland in Winter – What you need to know article that you should prepare for considerably longer and tougher hikes in winter compared to summer.

Here is a short video of our Reykjadalur hike in winter.

Kerid crater

Kerid crater in winter is a nice short stop, though we think it’s nicer in summer.

Hrunalaug hot spring

Hrunalaug in winter is probably are most favorite winter hot spring in Iceland. Most of the time it’s easy to get to Hrunalaug by car even in winter and the surroundings of winter Hrunalaug are simply amazing! Moreover, there are usually considerably less visitors compared to summer. Water in Hrunalaug is pleasantly hot also in winter, which is not always the case with Icelandic hot springs in winter. We write more about Hrunalaug in our List of all Hot Springs in Iceland.

Here is a short video of our Hrunalaug visit in winter.

Seljalandsfoss waterfall

Seljalandsfoss in winter is touristy as well, but for a good reason. In spite of tourists, Seljalandsfoss is one of our favorite Icelandic waterfalls in winter. Pretty often, a rainbow appears over winter Seljalandsfoss and the waterfall itself is simply picturesque in winter.

Here is a short video of our Seljalandsfoss visit in winter.

Gljúfrabúi waterfall

If you are visiting Seljalandsfoss, definitely go see also Gljúfrabúi in winter, a “hidden” waterfall just a few minutes of walk from Seljalandsfoss. Gljúfrabúi in winter is easily accessible and comparably, if not more, beautiful compared to summer.

Here is a short video of our Gljúfrabúi visit in winter.

Nauthuságil waterfall

Nauthuságil waterfall in winter is unfortunately not accessible for most of the time, due to snow.

Nauthuságil waterfall is in our opinion one of the most amazing Icelandic waterfalls in summer. Especially if you include in the ranking also a little adventurous hike to reach Nauthuságil. That being said, we tried to visit Nauthuságil also in winter, but it wasn’t possible. Nauthuságil in winter is inaccessible, once the first real snow settles down. The gorge leading to Nauthuságil is just full of snow and impassable.

Read How we fit all of these into a 2-week itinerary.

Skógafoss waterfall

Skógafoss in winter is well accessible and totally worth the visit. Skógafoss definitely belongs to the most beautiful winter waterfalls in Iceland. We stopped at Skógafoss on a day with strong winds and clear skies. We were lucky to see the rainbow at Skógafoss, which occurs quite often on a sunny day, so be sure to go and see it too.

There are stairs leading above Skógafoss, which are very slippery when covered with snow. Many visitors were struggling when climbing up and down the stairs. Some of them even wore sneakers and jeans – totally inappropriate shoes and clothes for Iceland – see section of our article How to dress properly for Iceland in winter. These stairs are another example of a place where shoe spikes come pretty handy.

Here is a short video of our Skógafoss visit in winter.

Waterfall way

One of the most beautiful parts of the legendary Fimmvörðuháls hike (summer only) is called the waterfall way and begins exactly at Skógafoss. Is it possible to hike the waterfall way in winter? Yes, it is, on a nice day and with proper winter clothes and shoe spikes. The waterfall way in winter is accessible for visitors but much harder to visit compared to an easy summer hike.

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We attempted to hike the waterfall way in February on a partially sunny day with some strong winds and we didn’t succeed. The wind was simply too strong making the hike too dangerous. We decided to stop and turn back after the first few hundreds if meters, because at times we felt like falling and not moving at all due to the strong wind. Additionally, we also made a mistake of not bringing shoe spikes, which made the waterfall way in winter impossible to pass.

Here is a short video of our Waterfall Way hike in winter.

Kvernufoss waterfall

Kvernufoss in winter is well accessible and we highly recommend a visit! Kvernufoss undoubtedly belongs to the most amazing winter waterfalls in Iceland. We were lucky enough to be alone at Kvernufoss and enjoyed Kvernufoss in winter actually even more than in summer! A roundtrip took us roughly 45 minutes.

Here is a short video of our Kvernufoss visit in winter.

Dyrhólaey

Dyrhólaey cliffs are easily accessible in winter and make for a nice winter stop in the south.

Reynisfjara beach

Reynisfjara beach, or the black beach in winter is also easily accessible in winter. Please take special care about the unexpected waves there, which may be deadly. Stay only where you see the dry ground.

Reynisdrangar beach

Reynisdrangar cliffs in Vik are a beautiful stop during a winter trip in Iceland. We were lucky to witness a horse photo-shoot during sunset at Reynisdrangar, one of the most picturesque moments in the area.

Here is a short video of our Reynisdrangar visit in winter.

Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon

Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon in winter is easily accessible to visitors. Although we prefer a lush green “summer” look of Icelandic canyons compared to a winter white one, Fjaðrárgljúfur is undoubtedly nice also in winter.

Here is a short video of our Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon visit in winter.

Svartifoss waterfall

Svartifoss waterfall in winter is easily accessible to visitors and totally worth stopping by. Svartifoss proudly belongs to the list of the top places to see in Iceland in winter. A hike to Svartifoss in winter will take you slightly longer due to snow, but on a nice day is very beautiful and pretty different compared to a summer one. A roundtrip took us roughly 75 minutes.

Here is a short video of our Svartifoss waterfall visit in winter.

Svínafellsjökull glacier

Want to hike to a glacier in Iceland without a guided tour? There are a few possibilities to actually do this. Just remember, you should never walk ON the glacier without the guide, because you can die easily. But, you can still hike close enough to glacier to see the glacier and admire it.

Important: How to choose the best car for Iceland?

One of the best spots to see a glacier in winter in Iceland is Svínafellsjökull glacier. Svínafellsjökull is located very close to the ring road, thus it doesn’t take much time to get there, whether by walking or by car. There’s a road leading pretty close to the Svínafellsjökull glacier, but this road is usually covered by snow. We were able to drive roughly into the half of the road with Dacia Duster. Then the snow started to be thicker and wetter, so we rather decided to park our car on the side of the road and continue by walking.

Why go and see glaciers in Iceland in winter rather than in summer? The trick is, glacier colors are much much more beautiful in winter, compared to summer. Due to cold and ice, glaciers will shine with azure blue colors in winter, making them an amazing target for all photographers.

Here is a short video of our Svínafellsjökull visit in winter.

Diamond beach

Jökulsárlón lagoon

Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón are great winter stops. As I explain above, glaciers and ice look even more impressive in winter with their unbelievably blue colors. We recommend a short stop at these, usually rather touristy places, anyway.

Ice Cave and Glacier Hike

Seeing an ice cave in winter is one of the most beautiful things you can experience in Iceland. Ice Cave tour combined with a glacier hike was undoubtedly our favorite winter tour in Iceland. We decided to do a Crystal Blue Ice cave tour combined with a Glacier hike and we were absolutely happy with the choice. A glacier suitable for hiking is actually right next to ice caves, so it makes perfect sense to combine these tours into one day full of amazing Icelandic adventure.

A PROMO CODE EPICICELAND will get you a 5% discount with Local Guide of Vatnajökull, (in our opinion) the best Ice Cave and Glacier tour company.

We can highly recommend Local Guide of Vatnajökull as a top-notch tour provider for Ice cave tours, Glacier hike tours and combo tours. They have amazing guides and even more amazing tours! The tours are fairly easy, even the full-day combo tour, and everyone, at least slightly fit should be totally able to make it.

We started our full day combo tour in Jökulsárlón, where we were picked up by an Icelandic monster super jeep. The super jeep drove with us close to an ice cave and glacier area. There we got off the jeep and headed towards glacier with our guide. A guide chose carefully the path so that we were the only group there, away from any crowds. The glacier hike led to a hidden fairy-tale like part of the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where you can’t get in any other way than by hiking the glacier.

After the picnic at the glacier lagoon we continued towards ice caves. Yes, ice caves, not just one ice cave! We started with a “hidden” dark blue ice cave, where we were again the only visitors. Then we continued towards an amazingly beautiful ice tunnel, hidden unbelievably under the ground. At that moment it started snowing, which actually made the entire experience even more magical.

Finally, we headed to the most famous, most beautiful, but unfortunately also the most crowded, crystal blue ice cave. This is the ice cave where everyone goes, because colors of this ice cave are simply the most impressive with out-of-this world crystal blue tones. A typical ice cave tours would take you only to this ice cave, that’s why we strongly recommend to take a combo ice cave + glacier tour. This way you can visit not only popular crystal blue ice cave, but also much more remote glacier lagoon and smaller ice caves and ice tunnels.

Here is a short video of our Ice Cave visit and Glacier Hike in winter.

Super Jeep tour

Is it possible to go for a super jeep tour in winter? Of course, it is! And it actually makes perfect sense! Why? Well, in summer, if you rent a right car and have enough experience, you can drive to almost all amazing remote places in the highlands yourself. However, in winter, forget about driving to highlands. Everywhere is snow, often several meters/feet deep, and it’s simply too dangerous to drive to highlands alone, regardless of the car. Even Icelandic monster trucks not always make it in winter!

A PROMO CODE EPICICELAND10 will get you a 10% discount with Midgard Adventure, (in our opinion) the best small-group Super Jeep tour company.

Where to go for a super jeep tour from Reykjavik or in the south? The most beautiful winter super jeep tours in Icelandic highlands are definitely Thórsmörk valley and Eyjafjallajökull glacier volcano. Which one to choose if you can go only for one? Well, we rather recommend a Thórsmörk winter super jeep tour. Thórsmörk has slightly more versatile landscapes in winter, so if we had to choose just one, it would be Thórsmörk.

There are several super jeep tour providers and we researched all of them. In our opinion the best value-to-price super jeep tour company is called Midgard Adventure. They are actually a small family company and they give their full hearts into their tours. They also operate small groups (usually max 10-14 people). That’s why we decided to partner with Midgard Adventure and we can offer our readers a 10% discount on all their tours with the discount code: EPICICELAND10

Videos of South Iceland in Winter

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