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.  

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.

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.

Next to Jökulsárlón is a less-known attraction within Vatnajökull National Park named -Fellsfjara (Eystri-Fellsfjara on the eastern side of the river and Vestri-Fellsfjara on the western side), which are fields of sand that get strewn with chunks of glacial ice, carried along the river Jökulsá á Breiðamerkursandi, towards the sea and then sent back upon the sands by the tides. The diamond-like pieces of glaciers create a mesmerizing atmosphere in the close mist that often visits the beach. These glistening ice diamonds create an even more spectacular vision in the winter months when the sun comes out and bathes the beach in magical lighting, which reflects off the ice. Waiting around in the darkness for the rising of the sun will be well worth the wait, despite the cold of the Icelandic winter night.   A word of warning: never crawl up on the icebergs and don't choose the ones close to the sea. The photographer must always keep his/her eyes on the sea, or the waves might unexpectedly come in and carry you out to sea.