Beaches

Hvalnes is a small peninsula with a black pebble beach stretching for a few kilometers. Sitting on its tip is a picturesque old, yellow lighthouse and an old turf farm with the same name as Hvalnes.  The beach stretches for a few kilometers and would make a nice walk, or you can hang out on the beach and enjoy the view. It is an excellent location for bird watching and photography.  

The coastline between the rivers Þjórsá and Ölfusá (25 km/15 mi) forms the outskirt of the great Þjórsárhraun lava field. Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri provide easy access to the coastline as well as a path between the two villages where you can see the Atlantic Ocean and marvel at the fact the South Pole is directly to the south. This spot has a great view of both the ocean and mountains. Information signs can be found in both villages as well as an observation platform in Stokkseyri.

Reynisfjall is a 340 m high tuff mountain arising out of a volcanic eruption from under a glacier in the penultimate Ice Age, near the village of Vik.  Alternating in an irregular manner are layers of tuff, pillow lava and columnar basalt veins and loops.  Reynisdrangar stacks are a collection of 66 m high rock pillars that rise out of the sea and are of the same geological formation as Reynisfjall. On Reynisfjöru beach, very beautiful basalt formations in the south part of the mountain can be seen, and there you will find an exceedingly beautiful cave called Hálsanefshellir.  The waves here are deceiving and have caused the death of a number of visitors in recent years, even in the best of weather. Please take great care and keep a good distance from the sea.

Fellsfjara is a black-sand beach next to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, within Vatnajökull National Park. Ice from the glacial lagoon is carried by the river towards the sea, then washed back onto the beach by the tides. The scattered ice pieces across the black sand make the area a popular spot for photography, especially when the light reflects through the ice. Conditions change with the tide, weather, and season, so the amount and position of ice on the beach vary. The name Breiðamerkursandur refers to the large glacial outwash plain south of the glacier Breiðamerkurjökull. Fellsfjara refers to the coastline itself. The place has been nicknamed The Diamond Beach by international visitors. Visitors should take care near the shoreline. Never climb onto the ice, stay away from ice close to the sea, and always keep watch for waves, which can come in unexpectedly.