We will be driving along the South Coast in late November (yes, November...it's the only time I can do this trip) and we are hoping to stay somewhere along the South Coast route instead of backtracking all the way back to Reykjavik at the end of the day. Does anyone have any recommendations for a town/hotel/stay along the South Coast?
Thanks.
Julie
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
675 posts
How many days will you have? How far do you think you would like to drive?
How much experience do you have in driving in snow and ice on narrow, winding roads?
Posted by
Snohomish, WA
2027 posts
I’m c you are talking about the area between Jokulsarlon and Reykjavik, I would suggest Vik. We did this on a past trip in late October and loved the location
Posted by
Hill Country
53 posts
Just returned from Iceland 4 days ago. Vik is my recommendation. It has a fair number of hotels. Understand that the majority of Icelanders live in the region around Reykjavik so the area you are visiting will not have an abundance of hotels as does Reykjavik, but Vik has choices without the need to backtrack to Reykjavik. We were on a guided tour from Reykjavik so I do not have any hotel recommendations as we did not need one.
Posted by
WI
350 posts
As others have mentioned, Vik would be an excellent option. Selfoss is a good option too, a little larger than Vik (but still a small town). Closer to Reykjavik than Vik but still a good jumping off point for many of the South Coast sites. We stayed in Hvolsvöllur which is also a very good option, but less of a "town" than either Selfoss or Vik (we stayed in an AirBnb in the Hvolsvöllur area and that worked well).
Posted by
Chicago
277 posts
Another option is Hveragerði; although it may be a bit too close to Reykjavik to
avoid a lot of the backtracking. The Hotel Ork is large but very nice and modern.
Bonus - the local pool/hot water spring complex is just up the road. I got a room
in the new wing (as of 2019) and it was really nice.
I stayed at the Puffin in Vik; spartan but clean, reasonably priced and decent
breakfast. The Hotel Vik is much more sleek and modern, most likely with
prices to match.
Hotel Hvolsvollur is a bit shabby on the outside but perfectly fine inside.
There are lots of individual places along the Ring Road; guesthouses more than
hotels, but some a bit off the main road. As previously noted, late November
might be dicey weatherwise. The Ring Road is 2 lane, elevated (think ditches on
either side), and for the most part no guard rails. I would be very careful about
driving in bad weather and it gets dark pretty early in late November.
Note that you really need to plan your route and distance given the time of year
you plan to go. With all the stops one might make, getting to Vik before it gets
dark might be a stretch. If you plan to go farther east to Skaftafell or Jokulsarlon,
you might want 2 nights on the way back to Reykjavik, although you might be able
to work in the Golden Circle as well.