The Perfect 4 Day Iceland Itinerary

Iceland: known as the land of fire and ice is like a complete other world. Endless lava fields, glaciers, grass covered mountains and black sand beaches cover just some of Iceland’s landscape. This trip was unforgettable. We packed all of what we could in 4 days, hitting all the top spots in South and Southwest Iceland!

Here’s how you can do it too:

Day 1:

Board your overnight flight and wake up in Reykjavík! I personally hate flying but the 6hr flight to Reykjavík seemed to fly by (no pun intended 😉)! We arrived in the early morning and had the full day to check some things off our list! From the airport we traveled 20 minutes to the infamous Blue Lagoon! Now there has been some controversy on weather or not the Blue Lagoon is worth the hype and I can tell you with 100% confidence that YES IT IS. No, you don’t have to shower naked in front of strangers. No, it’s not so packed that you can’t move. No, it’s not like a tiny space with blue milky water. It’s definitely worth the entry fee but skip the luxury one and stick to the basic which includes a towel, first drink, silica mask and of course entrance to the lagoon. You can stay as long as you want once you’re in but we only stayed a couple of hours... you get REAL hot after a while! This was the perfect way to kick off our stay, relaxing in the milky blue waters after a long flight. The other great thing is you can book transportation with your ticket from the airport and then after you’re done at the lagoon it can take you to downtown Reykjavík. We stayed in an Airbnb on the outskirts of downtown and we walked everywhere! Instead of going out for every meal, we opted to grocery shop and use our kitchen. Iceland is known for being one of the most expensive countries in Europe and you can definitely see that when you eat out. The first night we hit the hay early, for we knew our next two days would be jam packed with bus tours.

Day 2: Golden Circle Tour

The Golden Circle tour was probably my favorite day we had in Iceland. We got to see so many natural wonders and famous sites including the Kerid Crater, Geyser, Þillinger National Park, and Gullfoss waterfall. We booked both our tours with the app Get Your Guide and the bus company was called BusTravel Iceland. We felt both our tours were reasonably priced and high quality. Both buses were clean and the tour guides were knowledgeable. The first stop was Kerid Crater, probably one of my favorite stops of the day. The lake at the bottom of the crater was this incredible color and the depth was just amazing.

Next we stopped at a beautiful waterfall on a farm. Never got the name of it but our tour guide said it was his favorite stop on the golden circle. The best part though is the water is drinkable! Almost every flowing body of water in Iceland is safe to drink. This is something that I found extremely amazing and filled up my hydroflask any chance I got. Let me tell you, this water freak would fly back to Iceland just for a bottle of that waterfall water 😂.

With our bellies full of crisp clean water we made our way to the biggest waterfall in Iceland: Gullfoss! These falls are massive! There is a nice path and overlook that lets you get pretty close to the falls... some people walked down the steps and were basically on top of them but our tour guide advised against it since you can’t get a great angle for photos!

Next we headed to the Geysir Park! The area has a few little restaurants and a shop for souvenirs across the street which is where we had our lunch break. The Geysir blows every 5-8 minutes but you never know when it will go off until you see this massive bubble and then BOOM! she blows! Around the large active geysir there are little baby ones that bubble but don’t erupt. With the massive amount of geothermal heat underneath us, this area was a lot warmer than the others, so dress in layers (a lesson I learned the hard way)! We stopped by a small farm to pet some Icelandic horses before heading to Þingvellir National Park.

Þingvellir National Park was an unexpected highlight of the tour... none of us had really an idea what to expect from this place and we were all pleasantly surprised! We went for a little walk around the park to admire the rock formations and the view before heading back to Reykjavik!

Day 3: Southern Iceland Tour

The next morning we would embark on our longest day tour to Southern Iceland... a day full of waterfalls and black sand beaches! It was about a two hour drive to our first stop but scenery was so beautiful the entire way. Our tour guide was also great during this longer drive, he told us stories and myths about the country! Our first stop is the famous waterfall called Skógafoss! This wide waterfall was so beautiful!

After the waterfall, we made our way to Iceland's southern town, Vík. Its a small charming town known for its black sand beaches and amazing rock formations. The ocean in the area is extreamly unpredictable so we couldn't get too close to the water but it was amazing to touch and feel the rocky black sand and hear some ocean waves for a bit!

Our last stop of the day was at yet another amazing waterfall: Seljalandsfoss! This waterfall is unique because you can actually walk behind it! You would get pretty soaked but, amazing none the less. I'm pretty happy with this shot that some friendly strangers got for me! After picking up some souvenirs we made the trek back to downtown.

Day 4: Perlan Museum & Downtown Reykjavík

Our last day came so fast and we started our day at the Perlan museum! This is a super cool museum all about Iceland's natural history and wonders. I'd definitely recommend the aurora presentation and visiting the ice cave. Both are so unique! The highlight for sure though was the observation deck that gives you the best view of all of downtown.

It was a short walk to downtown where there are so many amazingly cute coffee, ice cream and boutique shops! We walked the streets and down by the water before grabbing dinner across from the famous Hallgrimskirkja church. A highlight was the rye bread ice cream, which sounds weird but it was actually delicious. We walked back to our place to relax before our early morning flight home.

Our trip was short and sweet. We had done all that we wanted in the four days that we had, and we felt that if we were to have stayed longer we would have had to move places, so for us this was perfect timing. Sometimes just four days in a country is enough to get just a taste. I would definitely recommend visiting Iceland in the summer; the temperatures were mild, places weren't too crowded, and cost of stay was low. Iceland has a reputation of being so expensive but I thought that for the amount we spent, it was so so worth it. I'll be back someday to visit new parts of the country or take a trip around the ring road.

As always, thanks for reading! & until next time,

Meg