Official travel guide to South Iceland

LTG European Awards 2018: Outdoor activity destination of the year: South Iceland

How to get there and around

Activities, interesting places, restaurants and much more

Hotels and camping places and everything between

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Eldgja canyon

Between Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Landmannalaugar, the eruptive fissure Eldgjá is to be found. Eldgjá is a 40 km long eruptive fissure, 600 meters wide in many places, and up to 200 meters deep, formed in a gigantic eruption in 934. From Eldgjá, extensive streams of lava have flowed through Landbrot and Meðalland, reaching sea at Alviðruhamrar in Álftaver. The lava-field is believed to cover 700 km², which makes it one of the vastest lava-fields on earth since the last ice age. Eldgjá is believed to belong to the same crater system as Katla. Eldgjá is a unique natural phenomenon and is listed as natural remnants.

Eldgja canyon

Eldgja canyon

GPS Points N63° 53' 41.987" W18° 45' 13.925"

Postal code

880

Road number

223

Travel directory for Eldgja canyon

The official travel index of Iceland

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South Iceland

Towns & Villages

The south of Iceland has several towns and villages, each with its own style, charm and points of interest. Selfoss is the largest town and has a variety of shops, services, many restaurants and fast food places. Most towns are close to the main route, making them accessible and enjoyable.

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Visit South Iceland
Fjölheimar við Tryggvagarð
800 Selfoss, ICELAND
info(at)south.is
Phone: 00 354 560 2050
South Iceland Tourist Information
Sunnumörk 2
810 Hveragerði
tourinfo(at)hveragerdi.is
Phone: 00 354 483 4601

Safe travel in Iceland

To make travel in Iceland safer - for your safe return
Safetravel.is is run by ICE-SAR and is part of a bigger project, simply named Safetravel. In that project a number of companies, public institutions and individuals join hands and the goal is to lower the rate of accidents in travel and tourism in Iceland.

The 112 Iceland app can be used for two things, both for added safety on your Iceland trip.
First of all you can call for help by pressing the red Emergency button. Your location will be sent by text message to the 112 response center. Remember that even though your phone shows no signal there is a possibility that you can send text message.

The green Check In button is for you to leave your location with us so if something happens we have more information to work with. Only the 5 last locations are stored and we recommend you use this – don’t worry – you are not disturbing anyone – except for our big computer who wants to be disturbed.

On Safetravel.is you can find extensive amount of information which can help you plan your travel to and around Iceland in more safe and secure way.

Local time and weather

Aurora forecast

When to see the Northern Lights in Iceland?
The best time is between 21:00-03:00 although they can often be seen early evening or during the night. The official Northern Lights season in Iceland is from October till March. The more activity the more likely it is that you will see the northern lights but that is not all. There is never a guarantee of spotting the northern lights, but northern lights forecast by vedur.is are good. Clear skies are necessary, when we have clear skies in Iceland It is usually cold. So be sure to wear the right clothing.
Northern Lights Forecast
The Icelandic Met Office does Northern Lights Forecast which is good to use.
Visit the Icelandic Met Office www.vedur.is, for more info.

Driving in Iceland

Always check the road conditions
The weather is not the same in different regions of Iceland. Here below are good websites to use when travelling in Iceland in winter. Vedur.is is the official website for weather in Iceland. But it doesn’t always give the right picture road.is, the website for the Icelandic Road Administration, is the best website to use if you use it right.If you are unsure then you can call 1777 and ask for the conditions (open 06:30-22:00) or 1778 an automatic telephone service open all day.

Driving in Iceland can be tricky - but if you listen carefully to Elfis you should be fine.

Vakinn

Vakinn is the official quality and environmental certification run by the Icelandic Tourist Board. The aim of Vakinn is to strengthen quality, safety and environmental awareness within Icelandic tourism and support and promote social responsibility of tourist service providers

Vakinn certification is a confirmation that companies operate in a professional and responsible manner, with quality and environmental focus.

Only tourism businesses that maintain high standards in all aspects of business practices and meet Vakinn´s comprehensive assessment criteria have earned the right to carry the Vakinn logo.

Certified companies are listed on our website vakinn.is