Iceland South Coast
This is the classic Iceland itinerary, in winter. Following the ring road south from Reykjavik, and eastward along the coast, we’ll photograph the famous waterfalls, horses, basalt towers, lava fields, glacial lagoon and ice beach, and we’ll take a private tour into the ice caves under Iceland’s largest glacier. Oh, and we’ll be aurora hunting every night. Even if you have been there before, there is always something new and unexpected in the volcanic wonderland known as Iceland.
Tour Details
March 11-20, 2023 — Completed
This is a 9-night, 10-day tour. Including travel days, it’s 10 nights and 11 days. Your adventure begins with an overnight flight on Friday, March 10, and ends with your flight home on the afternoon of Monday, March 20.
$7,995 for singles, $13,495 for two sharing a room. Register below.
Skill level
Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting RAW in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
Group size
9, with 2 instructors — 5:1 ratio
Tour Leaders
Registration
This event has passed. Thanks for your interest!
| • Deposit of $1,995 is required to reserve a single spot on the tour. |
| • Deposit of $3,495 is required to reserve spots for a couple. |
| • Balance of $6,000 (single) or $9,000 (couple) is due on December 11, 2022. —>Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request isDecember 10, 2022 (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • See "Ticket Info" further below for what is and is not included with your ticket. |
The Iceland South Coast Experience
Itinerary
Day 1: Reykjavik. Arrive on a morning flight, then rest up or explore the compact downtown on foot. You could have a traditional Icelandic breakfast at Cafe Loki, which is right next to Hallgrimskirkja, or enjoy a continental breakfast at the Sandholt Bakery on Laugavegur, the main shopping street. Down by the harbor, you could also visit the famous Icelandic Phallological Museum, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography and Harpa Concert Hall. Our first official meeting will be for dinner. We’ll meet in the hotel lobby and walk to one of Reykjavik's best restaurants.
Days 2-3: We’ll begin our journey south and east from the capital to Vik, our base for two nights. Along the way, we’ll stop at two of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, as well as an American military plane wreck on the beach. While here we’ll explore Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara. These include the famous black sand beach, basalt columns, and various sea stacks and arches.
Days 4-7: We’ll travel a good distance across a desolate area of lava flows and glacial rivers before arriving at Vatnajokull National Park and the star attractions of Skaftafell, Svartifoss, Dverghamrar, Dwarf Rocks, Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón glacial lagoons, the ice beach, and an ice cave. There’s lots to see in this area!
Days 8-9: We’ll begin our long journey back across the south coast to Hveragerði, our base for the last two days and nights so we can explore the Golden Circle area with sites such as Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir geothermal area. Our hotel is along a river north of town, with its own hot springs where we can relax in hot water and an outstanding hotel restaurant where we will dine.
Day 10: We travel homeward, but not before one or two last special stops on the way to Keflavik Airport for our afternoon flights home.
What You Should Know
Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting RAW in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
Night photography experience is helpful, but not necessary. Even folks with extensive experience shooting at night will find this tour challenging, stimulating and inspiring.
If you would like to attend this tour but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-tour tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-tour reads.
What You Will Learn
We hope to push you to step outside your comfort zone—to test the limits of what you and your camera can do. You’ll go home after the tour with a body of both day and nighttime images made in a variety of environments and conditions. Instruction on photographing the aurora borealis will be offered, along with one-on-one field guidance as requested.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
photographing the aurora borealis
making successful photographs in difficult conditions (weather, ice)
and more …
As this is a photo tour rather than a workshop, the emphasis is on getting participants to great locations with great light, and making sure that everyone has the trip of a lifetime. We figure that you don’t travel to Iceland very often, and you wouldn’t want to spend your time in a classroom. As with most of our international tours, we will not be offering formal lessons or image reviews, but rather assistance as needed in the field. We’ll be photographing day and night.
That said, we do encourage you to think about and set goals for the trip.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GAIN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
great images?
lasting memories?
a break from the work-a-day stresses?
learn some new photography skills?
see and photograph the aurora borealis?
all of the above?
The instructors will be available for one-on-one guidance in the field. We’ll be glad to review your images with you during quieter moments, but there won’t be formal group image-review sessions.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Ticket Info
Included:
nine nights in single or shared accommodations
all transportation in Iceland in a comfortable all-wheel-drive Sprinter van, except FlyBus transfer from the airport to Reykjavik
breakfasts and dinners from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last day
Not Included:
international flights to and from Reykjavik
transfer from the airport to Reykjavik
breakfast on the first day, and all lunches
alcohol
Travel
You are responsible for your airfare to and from Reykjavik (KEF). Except for your airport transfer to Reykjavik, all transportation in-country is included, and will be in a roomy 15-passenger Sprinter all-wheel-drive van with high clearance and studded tires.
Lodging & Food
The tour will be based in four different tourist-class hotels along the south coast and in Reykjavik. In general, Icelandic hotels are clean, stylish and comfortable. In Reykjavik, we will stay at a lovely boutique hotel with a wonderful art collection.
The trip is inclusive of breakfasts and dinners, beginning with a special welcome dinner on the first evening through breakfast on the last day. We will eat well, with breakfast at our hotel each morning, and dinner in our hotel or at a restaurant each night.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 30s F, lows in the 20s.
Expect temperatures just above or near freezing day and night, although temps occasionally dip into the 20s, and there is always the possibility of a winter storm. One of our recent groups experienced the Full Monty of an Icelandic winter storm, and it was intense. Ferocious wind and blowing snow can make getting around impossible. At times like these, we’ll work on and share our images, or visit museums or other cultural attractions.
Recommended Attire
The best way to prepare is to bring lots of layers, including waterproof and windproof outerwear: boots, jacket, pants and at least two pairs of gloves, preferably at least one pair of flip-top mittens, two hats and lots of hand warmers.
If you are not sure-footed (or even if you are), please consider a pair of crampons or Yaktrax for walking over ice and snow. They will be available for the ice cave if you don’t have your own.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this tour is Moderate-Active. (See more about our classifications.)
We’ll be traversing a wide variety of terrain including sand, mud, snow and ice. Guided glacier hiking, and the ice caves in particular, can prove challenging for those with limited mobility. However, these activities are optional, and most people will manage just fine with proper clothing and footwear. Crampons will be provided for the ice cave.
Note: To ensure the safety of individuals and the group, the tour leaders may use their discretion to limit an attendee from engaging in a rigorous activity on-site should that person’s physical health or ability be in question. If you are unsure about your ability to meet the physical demands of this tour, we will be happy to discuss your concerns one-on-one before you register. You are also, of course, welcome to attend a tour and sit out any physical activity that makes you uncomfortable. In such cases, we can provide you with ideas for alternative shoot locations for that time.
Additional Info
Please read our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops and tours.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
An amazing place, an amazing people ...
“The landscape is truly shaped by fire and equally so by ice.”
We tried to run this tour in 2018, but the weather didn’t cooperate. Fortunately for us, we had an incredibly creative and flexible group of travelers with us. We struggled through the first three days of wind and rain and ice, and with six or seven more of the same predicted, were not sure of what else to do. Our crafty group thought outside of the box––make that outside of the rain—and asked if we would consider taking them to the north instead of continuing along the south coast.
Just like that, we threw caution and our pre-paid reservations to the wind and did a completely different tour, to an area we didn’t know very well. The plan was brilliant. The weather up north was better, and a good time was had by all. (Such a good time, in fact, that we’re offering an Iceland North Coast trip a month after this one. But that’s a different story.)
This adventure along the south coast is where I cut my Icelandic chops, and follows the path I took on my own first trip.
Iceland is such a fascinating place—an island nation of 330,000 people just outside of the Arctic Circle, with a vibrant culture, rich traditions and history, but with a very cosmopolitan and forward-thinking population. They are multilingual, highly educated, and fun-loving, and they have a bunch of funny characters in their otherwise normal looking alphabet.
They generate all of their own electricity and heating with geothermal and hydroelectric power, and they even grow tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers year-round in geothermal-powered greenhouses. They produce some fine music and television shows. They are making good progress with their craft beer too.
Then, there is the landscape. It is truly shaped by fire (Iceland is one of the most volcanically active places in the world) and equally so by ice (the island rests between 64 and 66 degrees north latitude). It’s a photographer’s and nature lover’s dream in any season.
Throw in some crazy-colored lights in the sky every now and again, and it’s hard to find someone who isn’t captivated by this unique but accessible country.
