Reynisfjara, the black beach

Reynisfjara faces the open Atlantic with nothing between it and Antarctica, and every so often a wave runs far up the sand with no warning, much further than the ones before it. They are called sneaker waves and they have pulled people off the beach and out to sea. People have died here, including a child in the summer of 2025.

The rule is simple and it applies on calm days too. Stay at least thirty metres from the water, never turn your back on it, and keep children in your hand, not just in your sight. There is a warning light by the path down to the beach: green, yellow or red. Since 2025 a red light means the way to the columns and the cave is closed, and that is not a suggestion.

The cliff at the west end is Garðar, a wall of hexagonal basalt columns that people climb on for photographs. Next to it is Hálsanefshellir, a cave in the same rock. Out to sea stand Reynisdrangar, three stacks of rock that in the story were trolls caught by the sunrise while dragging a ship ashore.

In summer puffins nest in the cliff above the beach and you can watch them from the sand without going near the water. In winter the light is low all day and the beach is at its most dramatic. Either way, an hour is enough.

Drive east on Route 1 for about half an hour and turn right onto road 215 just before Vík. It ends at the beach car park. Parking is paid, around ISK 1,000 for a few hours, and the signs on site are the authority on the current rate.

Vík is ten minutes further east if you want lunch, and Dyrhólaey, the rock arch with the lighthouse, is on the way back. The weather at the coast is often different from ours under the mountains, so ask us in the morning.