Ytri Tunga — Attraction in undefined

If you travel on Road 54 towards the Snæfellsnes's peninsula western tip, about halfway through, to your left, you'll go by the unremarkable, were it not for the sings (and useful google map pointers!) Ytri Tunga beach, apparently one of the most reliable places in Iceland to see, well, seals.

The approach to the beach and the well-placed parking lot are of the fairly non-descript, utilitarian gravel that many of Iceland's roads are made of. Walking past them though, and one's treated to a wide view of the ocean's expanse (which I'm only describing in hyperbole because, by then, we'd only seen land-locked sites in Iceland and this was, so to speak, a breath of fresh, salty air), fairly narrow, but pretty, beach, filled with algae and pebbles, with rocks jutting out of the beach line and into the sea, providing sanctuary for the seals who come here to bask in the sun.

We were lucky enough for several of them to come out and pose for us today, and for somebody who's never seen a seal from that close before, it was quite the exciting experience.

The place, being so easily accessible on the main road that circles the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, is well worth the visit for anybody passing through, but especially for animal lovers. Do remember to respect the very clear instructions concerning behaviour written right at the...

Tuesday 16 September 2024.

Only come if the weather is good. We came on 16 Sept 2024, it was only drizzling, but because you have to trek about 200 metres across some big rocks to see the seals, it is very slippery. Make sure you have correct footwear. Not suitable if mobility is a problem. We managed to see seals but they were not in the mood to pose for us, they were just lying on their backs and chilling. If you look carefully you might see one just poke it's head out of the water to take a breath whilst diving, it's easy to mistake it for a small black rock.

Car park was in good condition but you need to pay 700 ISK flat rate. There are cameras that scan your number plate as you enter so you have to pay even if you go into the car park turn around and leave right away. There is a machine you can pay using your card, you can also pay by scanning a QR code presumably via a website. There are no toilets or other facilities here, which is cheeky since they are charging for parking, toilets should be provided...

$7.08 USD. Just got shook down again for parking! We were only turning around but saw the cameras flash so we paid to turn around. We also were robbed our first day here when we stopped at the airport to run inside. I called first and was told where to park. My husband and daughter were waiting in the area that said 5 min parking. It’s a small airport and he moved the car forward once in case I went over the 5 minutes. I didn’t go over the 5 minutes but within 3 hours I am charged $31.00 USD for parking! We never went in the parking lot! Omg…. tourist traps everywhere. 3$ to pee….freezing cold wind/rain. I feel stupid for coming here. This place reminds me of Denali National Park-hours on a old school bus just to arrive at a bunch of rocks at a visitor’s center take a picture climb back on the same old school bus and travel 4 hours back to the entry (you can’t drive most of the way its by bus only). ...