Víkurfjara Black Sand Beach — Attraction in Iceland

I didn’t expect a beach to feel this otherworldly. Víkurfjara caught me off guard in the best way. Quiet, vast, and wrapped in a moody kind of beauty that makes you stop and take notice. Mist hung low over towering cliffs covered in lush, electric green moss. The whole scene felt ancient and untouched, like we had wandered into a dream.

We arrived early and had the beach almost to ourselves. There’s a small parking area just steps from the sand, and the path down was smooth enough even with a stroller. From the moment we stepped onto the beach, everything… slowed down. The air was damp and cool. The only sound was the steady crash of the waves, deep and rhythmic, almost like the sea was breathing.

My son spent ages writing his name in the sand and collecting black stones, carefully choosing the ones he thought were “the coolest.” These are the moments that make a trip really stay with you ☺️.

One of the locals warned us not to go near the water, and it made sense. The waves here are intense 🌊. They are no joke. You can feel the history in them - the struggle of people who once had to face this coastline just to survive.

And just as we were leaving, a rainbow appeared over the little church on the hill. It felt like something out of a storybook 🌈⛪️.

Víkurfjara isn’t the kind of beach where you lay out towels and unpack snacks. It’s a place you move through slowly, noticing details, tuning into your senses, and letting the silence do some of the talking. It stays with you long...

Very beautiful location! But you will not see the basalt columns here.

Those giant rock-columb formations are also at Black Sand beach, but in a different spot (West from here, on the other side of the giant cliff). To get there, you have to head West on the main road, and it has seperate (payed) parking. You cannot even walk from this side of the cliff because it's all rocks and cliffs between the two locations with nowhere to walk, just the ocean waves splashing against the rocks.

What you can see from here is the 4 jagged rock cliffs in the water in the distance to your left, the epic dark brown/black - and green (if you come in the summer) - gigantic cliff stretching all the way to the shore (you can actually go up to it), and in the distance, opposite of the sea, the quant, white little church with the red roof that you see in some of the photos.

There's a free parking lot just West from here along the coast (about a 2 min walking distance in the direction of the giant cliff).

You might also be able to see seals and puffins here. We caught a glimpse of both in the distance, and saw lots of puffins flying overhead. If you want to ensure a better view, I suggest bringing binoculars....

Beautiful fine black sand as compared to the rocks and pebbles at Reynisfjara Beach. The rocks protruding from the waters tell a legend of a troll which converted a king’s son and crew or ship that sailed into the shore, into these huge pillars of rock. There are black sand lava trails to explore. I walked back and forth on different lava sand trails, seems like the coolest trail to go on. I even met a friendly Icelandic cat. Just cat and me on a trail, and it felt like we had a moment to ourselves. You can also do the Vik Culture Walk (see photo of map) up to the church about 45 minutes. I think it’s about 15 different stops along the way. Easily you can spend 3 hours walking and getting lost in nature, looking at wild flowers, listening to the ocean sounds of waves crashing from strong currents or being in awe while you tread each step of the way on this beautiful black lava sand. When you head to the parking lot, you can shop for some discounted icemart souvenirs, find fruits or vegetables, or snacks at kronnan, that’s a supermarket or gobble some good food including lamp soup, chicken pasta, chicken curry, at...