What to do in Vík in South Iceland

Vík is a village on the south coast of Iceland, it is the southernmost village surrounded by beautiful mountains and glacier on one side and the beautiful black sand beach and the Atlantic ocean on the other side.

Vík started to build up early last century it was a central point for the farmers both to the west and east, for commerce and business. Meaning that people were coming there for doing business, farmers selling sheep, wool and other products and buying what they needed for they daily lives. As business was growing people started coming to Vík for work and to settle down there.  Early last century the ship Skaftfellingur started to stop by in Vík, making it more easy for people to transport products to and from the area, meaning more work and more people moving to Vík.

Today we can still see some old houses in Vík from this time. But for the past ten years Vík has been building up to be the center for tourism in South Iceland, because of the location it is the perfect place to stay for people visiting the south part of Iceland. There are endless possibilities for seeing waterfalls, glaciers, black sand beaches, mountains and basically the best of what Icelandic nature has to offer.

It is good to spend few days in Vík or nearby Vik and do some sightseeing as well as some fun and exciting activities. The area is known for snowmobiling on glaciers, glacier walks and Ice climbing and ATV tours or horseback riding on the black sand beach. Vík and surrounding area is also a great place to go paragliding or race on a Super jeep up to the mountains, ziplining or visiting ice caves.

Vík has also good selection of restaurants so everyone should find something they like. There is a shopping center in Vík with a big Ice Wear store, good grocery store and bakery. Vík has also a pharmacy and medical clinic.

Traveling to Vík

The best way to visit Vík is by a rental car. It is only about 3.5 hour drive from the airport in Keflavík to Vík and about 3 hours from the capital city Reykjavik. Road conditions are usually good during summer and you should have no problem driving to Vík, but during winter you have to be prepared for ice or snow on the road and always check road conditions before heading out. Read more about driving in Iceland.

If you are not comfortable driving yourself don’t worry we offer some bus tours and super jeeps tours to the South coast from Reykjavik. 

What to do and see nearby Vík

When arriving to Vík and the surrounding area you will find a lot of things to do and see. The region offers a lot of interesting sights as well as hiking trails. You can easily spend few days there exploring.

The region offers sights like, Dyrhólaey, Reynisdrangar sea cliffs, Reynisfjara black sand beach, Sólheimajökull glacier, Mýrdalsjökull ice cap, the plain wreck at Sólheimasandur, Hjörleifshöfði, Kötlujökull glacier, Þakgil gorge, Loftsalahellir cave and many other places. It’s also possible to hike to the top of the mountain Hatta or Reynisfjall mountain and from there you can have the most amazing view over Vík and surrounding area.

For activities you can do Snowmobile tours, Super jeep tours, Paragliding, Zipline, ATV tours, Ice cave tours and horseback riding tours.

Drone fly near Vík

The region around Vík is also the perfect place if you like to shoot some amazing footage on you drone. Although many places you visit have a lot of people around, you can always find time and space for your drone, it is good to focus on mornings or evenings when there is less people around and you also get more beautiful light.

Accommodation in and around Vík in South Iceland

Being the heart of south Iceland Vík offers many possibilities for accommodation. From hotel to guest house or from homestay to a nice cabin in the nature. You can also rent apartment or have a good night sleep in a hostel.

Below you find a list of accommodations in and around Vík.

Sólheimahjáleiga Guesthouse
Address: Sólheimahjáleiga, 871 Vík
Coordinates: 63° 29.409' -19° 19.233'
From Skógar: 10 km
From Vík: 24 km

Sólheimahjáleiga is a guesthouse accommodation on a sheep farm near the Glacier Sólheimahjökull and Mýrdalsjökull. The location is good with view to the glacier and over the black sand area Sólheimasandur. Sólheimahjáleiga is only about 3 km from the parking for the airplane wreck on Sólheimasandur so the perfect place if you like to see this famous tourist sight where Justin Bieber was rolling on his skateboard. The glacier tour company Arcanum and Icelandic Mountain guides are located next to Sólheimahjáleiga. And for culture you can visit the Museum in Skógar.

The Accommodation type is guesthouse, a part of it is recently renovated in old cozy style. The surrounding is nice and clean.

Eystri Sólheimar guesthouse
Address: Eystri-Sólheimar, 871 Vík
Coordinates: 63° 29.470' -19° 16.949'
From Skógar: 10 km
From Vík: 24 km

Eystri-Sólheimar are located between Skógar and Vík, next to the mountain Pétursey to the south and the Glacier Mýrdalsjökull and the mighty Volcano Katla to the north. The location is peaceful and a bit remote though it is only located about 1,5 km from the main road. The guesthouse Eysti-Sólheimar are only open during summer. Nearby attractions are the famous airplane wreck on Sólheimasandur black sand area and not far from there is the Glacier Sólheimajökull.

The Accommodation type is guesthouse, with shared bathrooms, kitchen and showers. The house is an big old farmhouse.

Vestri-Pétursey
Address: Vestari-Pétursey, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 27.676' -19° 16.121'
From Skógar: 15 km
From Vík: 20 km

Vestar-Pétursey is a farm located between Skógafoss waterfall and the village Vík. Vestari-Pétursey is a carrot breeding farm as well as being a great place for tourists to stay on their way along the South coast of Iceland. Behind the farm is the lonely mountain Pétursey (Peters Island) and the only mountain on your way from Reykjavík that is located on the south part of the mainroad. Vestari Pétursey is a great location for staying if you like to explore waterfalls and glaciers. It is only about 10 min drive to Sólheimajökull glacier and the great waterfalls Skógafoss and Kvernufoss are only about 15 min drive. And if you like to check out the famous airplane wreck on Sólheimasandur then you are in the right place.

Accommodation type is summerhouse with private bathroom, shower and kitchen

Guesthouse Steig
Address: Steig, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 27.336' -19° 10.759'
From Skógar: 19 km
From Vík: 17 km

Steig Guesthouse is located next to the Glacier Mýrdalsjökull and the volcano Katla. There is a nice view over to the south coast and the Mountain Pétursey and the black sand area Sólheimasandur, where you can find the famous DC-3 airplane wreck. The next town is Vík where you can find a lot of restaurants and there are many great hiking trail in this area, like Dyrhólaey where you have good possibility to see some Puffins flying around during summer.

Accommodation type is guesthouse with private bathrooms and showers.

Guesthouse Vellir
Address: Vellir, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 27.563' -19° 15.738'
From Skógar: 15 km
From Vík: 20 km

Guesthouse Vellir is located next to the Mountain Pétursey, the lonely mountain. To the south is the coastline and there is a short drive to many of the most known sights like Skógafoss waterfall, Sólheimajökull glacier, Dyrhólaey and the Black sand area Sólheimasandur nearby as well. The surrounding is peaceful and beautiful.

Accommodation type is guesthouse with private bathrooms and showers.

Hvoll Cottages
Address: Suðurhvoli, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 25.755' -19° 13.877'
From Skógar: 22 km
From Vík: 16 km

Hvoll in Mýrdalur region is located between the well known town Vík and the small village Skógar, in Skógar you will find the 62 m high waterfall Skógafoss, as well as one of the best museum we have in Iceland the Skógar Museum. Skógar also holds one of the most popular waterfall in Iceland the waterfall Kvernufoss, the waterfall is not as big as it´s neighbour Skógafoss but it has one of the most beautiful surrounding there is.
Hvoll is close to the coastline so it is easy to walk down to the beach form the Cottages and enjoy a beautiful view along the coastline to Dyrhólaey to the east and Mýrdalsjökull and the volcano Katla to the north.

Accommodation type is Cottages with private bathroom and kitchen facilities.

Grand Guesthouse Garðakot
Address: Garðakot, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 25.122' -19° 10.147'
From Skógar: 22 km
From Vík: 14 km

Grand Guesthouse Garðakot is located next to the 120 m high promontory Dyrhólaey. The location is nearby the coastline and a great place to have a walk to the black sand beach, the cave Loftsalahellir is also in walking distance from Garðakot Grand Guesthouse. From the cave you will have a nice view to Dyrhólaey and the sealake Dyrhólaós, the mountain Reynisfjall and the sea cliffs Reynisdrangar and Reynisfjara. The guesthouse is close to Vík where you can find a good selection of restaurants.

Accommodation type is Guesthouse, it is recently renovated with rooms with private bathrooms and rooms with shared bathrooms. It has a cozy atmosphere surrounded by beautiful nature.

Farmhouse Lodge Skeiðflöt
Address: Skeiðflöt, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 26.248' -19° 11.397'
From Skógar: 19 km
From Vík: 14 km

Skeiðföt guesthouse is located nearby the main road nearby Dyrhólaey promontory. It is a central location for seeing many of the main tourist sights in South Iceland. There is a short drive during summer to go to Dyrhólaey to try to see the beautiful bird Puffin. The place has open view to the South toward the coastline.

The Lodge has nice rooms and living spaces in modern style

Hvammból Guesthouse
Address: Hvammból, 871 Vík
Coordinates: 63° 26.075' -19° 10.550'
From Skógar: 20 km
From Vík: 12 km

Hvammból Guesthouse is located nearby the town Vík in South Iceland. From there you have a nice view to the south and south east towards Dyrhólaey. It is only about 10 min drive to Vík and the region has many nice places to visit like waterfalls, glaciers, black sand beaches and volcanoes. There is also a lot of fun activities nearby like snowmobile tours, glacier walk tours, zip line, paragliding and so on. So the perfect place to enjoy nature and do so actives

Accommodation type is studio apartments with private bathroom with shower and kitchen. Each apartment as private entrance and a small porch.

Volcano Hotel
Address: Ketilsstaðaskóli, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 26.208' -19° 09.813'
From Skógar: 21km
From Vík: 12 km

Volcano Hotel is located nearby the famous volcano Katla that is located underneath the glacier Mýrdalsjökull. The hotel is surrounded with green hills and it is not so far from the coastline and the famous black sand beach Reynisfjara. The location is good if you like to visit Skógafoss waterfall, Sólheimajökul glacier, Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjall mountain and do some short hiking tours. There is also a wide selection of activities nearby like glacier walks, snowmobile, ATV, Super Jeep tours and more.

The Accommodation type is hotel with nice rooms in modern style with private bathrooms.

Hótel Dyrhólaey
Address: Brekkur, 871 Vík
Coordinates:63° 26.901' -19° 08.531'
From Skógar: 23 km
From Vík: 11 km

Hótel Dyrhólaey is located in the region Mýrdalur nearby the town Vík and the Glacier Mýrdalsjökull. From the hotel you have a beautiful view over the Mýrdalur area and to Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara.

The Accommodation type is hotel with nice restaurant and good location

Skammidalur
Address: Skammadal 2, 871 Vík
Coordinates: 63° 27.079' -19° 06.064'
From Skógar: 25 km
From Vík: 8 km

Skammidalur is located nearby Vík on a farm, nearby Vík and Skógar. The location has a open view to the south over the sea lake Dyrhólaós and Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara. To there north is the mountain area and it is a great place to do a short evening hike to get the most out of the view and to get to know the Icelandic countryside at the same time.

The Accommodation type is guesthouse with shared kitchen and bathroom, rooms are with sink.