South Iceland

Suðurland is where Iceland concentrates its postcard sights within easy reach of Reykjavík, which is why nearly every first trip touches it. The Golden Circle loops through Þingvellir National Park — a UNESCO site where you walk in the rift between the North American and Eurasian plates — the Geysir field where Strokkur erupts every few minutes, and the two-tier Gullfoss waterfall. East along the Ring Road, the south coast lines up Seljalandsfoss (you can walk behind it), 60-metre Skógafoss with its Folk Museum at Skógar, and Reynisfjara, the black beach with basalt columns and dangerous sneaker waves near the village of Vík. Two hours further sits Jökulsárlón, where icebergs from Breiðamerkurjökull drift in a lagoon and wash up on the adjacent Diamond Beach. Distances are real — Vík is about 190 km from Reykjavík, Jökulsárlón nearly 380 — so the coast is better as an overnight than a single day.