The famous Icelandic Black Beach

 

If you’ve read the About Us section, you know that we are a couple who is constantly planning their next travel destination. Or more truthfully, it is my wife who is in charge of making all the plans, while I enjoy the spontaneity and surprise of new places. When you do not have a lot of time at a new destination, some amount of planning is essential and I thank my wife for lending some structure to our trips so we can make the most of our limited time. The reason I’m giving this peek into our dynamic is because of how I reacted when I first heard that we would be driving to a ‘Black Beach’ the next day. When I think of a must visit beach, the image in my mind is that of fine white sand, turquoise blue water, snorkeling, etc. I love beach time – my favorite one thus far has been Grace Bay in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos. It is rightly considered one of the best beaches in the world. So my immediate response was “Black What?” and “Why in winter?”, followed by an even quicker response from the wife to “Do the Google!”. She was not kidding; on Iceland’s Southern Coast is Reynisfjara Beach that had formed centuries ago when flowing lava made its way to the ocean and instantly cooled down. Iceland has many black beaches but Reynisfjara is considered to be one of the best. It is located near a small village named Vík í Mýrdal, commonly referred to as Vik.

We had decided to do a day trip from Reykjavik to Reynisfjara. There are many rental car companies available in Reykjavik, but we booked our rental car through Priceline as it usually has the best rates and you can easily pay in your local currency. The village of Vik is about 112 Miles (180 KM) from Reykjavik. Once you leave Reykjavik, you won’t find too much traffic on the road. Maybe because it was too cold for people to be flocking to the beach. The 2 ½ hours drive is smooth and lends some beautiful views. It was snowing for a little while during our drive, but it was amazing to see that nothing was sticking to the roads while we had this beautiful snowfall around us. That will never happen during our snowy commutes in the United States! On the way to Reynisfjara, you will pass two famous waterfalls – Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. I would definitely suggest you make a stop at these waterfalls. At both falls, you can make your way behind the waterfall for some fantastic views. Skogafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland and on sunny days you can easily spot a rainbow.

We finally made our way to the beach in about 4 hours with all the stops. There is a huge parking lot with free parking and there is no entrance fee to the beach. Also, right on the beach is a nice café if you want to grab a cappuccino, a quick bite to eat, connect to Wi-Fi or to use the restrooms. There is a small path from the café that makes its way to the beach; depending on the time of the year you visit, it can be brutally cold so make sure you bundle up and cover your ears and face.

One usually expects a beach to have sand, but the Reynisfjara Black Beach is covered with black shiny pebbles of various sizes. This is not a typical beach you may be used to where you take off your flip flops and start walking along the shoreline, so do wear proper footwear (sneakers or boots). By now you must have guessed it; you don’t need any swim wear!

You will see towering stone structures and caves formed from volcanic lava. Do not attempt to climb these cliffs and enter the caves during or close to high tide as the surf can be extremely powerful and deadly. Even during low tide be careful and watch out for “sneaker waves” as they can sweep you right into the strong current of the icy cold ocean.

It’s hard to miss the two basalt cliffs known as Reynisdrangar. Upon asking the locals about how these two cliffs were formed, they referred to them as the two trolls. The story is that many ages ago, the trolls found a three-masted ship stuck at sea and they tried to pull the ship out. As they were pulling the ship out, the sun began to rise and it turned the trolls to these stone cliffs for eternity. We were not surprised to hear a non-scientific explanation since fantasy folklore is extremely popular in Iceland! I’ve heard similar lores about the Northern Lights. By the way… these two trolls have made their way from stories to movies; they have featured in quite a few Hollywood and Bollywood movies now.

We hardly lasted for ten minutes at the beach as it was extremely cold and we were under prepared. We soon started our drive back to Reykjavik as we had plans to visit the Blue Lagoon the next day. You can opt to spend the night at Vik – it’s a small village with about 300-400 residents so do your research regarding accommodation.

Here are some tips –

• Make sure your car if filled up with gas when you leave Reykjavik as there is just one gas station along the drive
• Carry some snacks for the road with you as it is not easy to spot a rest area with a convenience store on the way
• Wear sturdy shoes and carry an extra pair in case the ones you are wearing get wet
• Bundle up and carry your ear muffs, scarf, gloves, cap etc as it can be brutally cold in winter
• Carry an extra pair of clothing in case you get wet at the waterfalls or at the black beach
• And again – No Swimming Allowed!

Hope you will enjoy your trip to the Reynisfjara Black Beach!