Reykjavik: South Coast Plane Wreck Tour with Chinese Guide

GYG

Reykjavik: South Coast Plane Wreck Tour with Chinese Guide

★ 5.0(1 reviews)

• Duration per the operator: 10 hours

from $166

See dates, price and what is included at the operator

A ten-hour day along the south coast, guided in Chinese

This tour takes you from Reykjavik down the south coast in a full day that runs about ten hours. The route reaches Vík í Mýrdal, the village that sits beneath the cliffs at the southernmost point of Iceland’s mainland, and it stops along the way at the wreck of a plane that has lain on the black sand since it crash-landed there decades ago. The guide speaks Chinese, and the tour is built around that language, so if you are travelling with a Mandarin-speaking group or prefer to hear the stories of the coast in Chinese, this is one of the few south coast options that works that way. The day is long, and the driving time adds up, so it suits someone who wants to see a spread of the coast rather than linger at any one stop. It is not a tour for anyone who needs wheelchair access, as the operator states that clearly.

Photographs from the operator Magic Iceland Travel. They show the listing, not your day.

What the price covers and what it does not

The entry price starts at 166 USD, which puts this among the cheaper full-day south coast tours in its category. Only about one in nine tours in the group costs less. What that price buys you includes food, which is unusual for this kind of day. Only 14 other south coast tours in the same group of 81 list food as part of the deal, so you are not left to find your own lunch stop. The guiding is live, and it is in Chinese. The price does not appear to cover anything beyond the food and the guiding, and no official amounts are listed for anything added on the day. The places on the route do not charge admission or parking, so there is no gate fee to budget for. What you pay at booking is what the day costs, apart from anything you choose to buy for yourself along the way.

A perfect score with almost nothing behind it

The rating shows 5.0 out of 5, but that score comes from a single review. One person’s experience is not enough to tell you much about how the tour runs on a regular basis. In the category of 81 south coast tours, this one ranks 47th by the number of reviews, which puts it in the lower half of the group for evidence. The score itself is the highest possible, but with only one vote behind it, it carries little weight. What is more useful is the price rank: ninth cheapest in the group, and the fact that food is included. Those two details tell you more about what to expect than the rating does. If you are weighing this against other south coast tours, the thin review count is the honest caveat, and the lack of any stated English guiding is the practical one.

When the daylight and the weather cooperate

The south coast run is a ten-hour day, which means you are out from mid-morning until early evening. Reykjavik’s temperatures stay above freezing from April through October, with highs climbing from 7 degrees in April to 15 degrees in July and staying around 14 in August. The winter months of December, January and February hold highs near 3 degrees and lows around minus 2, which is cold enough to make a long day in the open demanding. The plane wreck sits on an exposed beach, and the wind there does not read the thermometer. The best months for this tour are May through September, when the highs sit between 10 and 15 degrees and the daylight lasts long enough that a ten-hour day does not end in darkness. In the depths of winter, the short daylight means much of the tour happens in low light, and the cold makes the long stops harder to enjoy.

What to expect at the stops

The tour is a guided day, so you travel with someone who knows the route. The plane wreck is the kind of place that has no staff and no building, just a walk across the sand to where the fuselage rests. The weather on the south coast changes quickly, and the guide makes the call on how long you stay at each place. Rain and wind are common, and the sand at the beach is loose, so sturdy footwear matters more than anything else. The village of Vík í Mýrdal has services and shelter, which gives you a break in the middle of the day. The tour does not state any opening hours for the stops, because there are none to state. The day runs on the guide’s schedule, and the stops happen when the group reaches them.

Who this tour fits and who should look elsewhere

This tour is for travellers who want a south coast day but need or prefer the guiding in Chinese. If that is your situation, this is the clear choice among the comparable options, none of which state a Chinese-speaking guide. It is also a good fit if you want a cheaper full-day option and do not mind that the food is included rather than leaving you to choose your own lunch. If you do not need Chinese guiding, the other south coast tours in the same range give you more evidence to go on. The South Coast Waterfalls, Black Sand and Glacier Tour runs the same ten hours, costs from 132 USD, and has a 4.8 rating from over 12,000 reviews. The Full-Day South Coast, Black Beach and Waterfalls Tour is similar at 131 USD with a 4.6 from over 1,800. Those two give you a much thicker base of experience to judge from. The Glacier Hike, Waterfall and Black Sand Beach tour is longer at 11 hours and more expensive at 188 USD, but it adds a glacier walk. The longest option, at 14.5 hours and 230 USD, reaches Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón. If you want the Chinese guide, take this one. If not, the larger review counts elsewhere tell you more about what you are buying.

GYG

Reykjavik: South Coast Plane Wreck Tour with Chinese Guide

Dates, remaining places and the current version of what is included are at the operator. This page reflects the state of the catalogue, not the state of this morning.

from $166

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