The place

The South Coast, Slowly

The south coast can be driven in two days if the point is to arrive somewhere. This trip takes eight, with the extra time spent on the detours everyone else skips: the highland track into Landmannalaugar, a night at the foot of Vatnajokull, glacier walks scheduled around weather rather than a fixed itinerary. It suits people comfortable with cold, changeable conditions and long light in summer or short, dramatic light in winter.

How it runs

Two 4x4 minibuses carry a maximum of ten travellers and two guides, one of whom is a certified glacier guide. The route runs Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon and back through the highlands, but daily stops flex around the forecast and, in the shoulder seasons, the aurora. Accommodation is a mix of small hotels and guesthouses, never the same chain twice.

What you do

• —Sunrise at Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon before the tour buses arrive
• —Guided ice-cap walk on Vatnajokull with crampons
• —Highland track into the rhyolite hills at Landmannalaugar
• —Basalt columns and black sand at Reynisfjara, walked at low tide
• —Aurora watch on clear nights, September to March