Stokksnes (Vestrahorn)

63.6209° N, 19.9864° W

Welcome to one of the most scenic and mind blowing beaches in Iceland. This location is the most perfect way to start your East Coast tour with it’s stunning and endless black sand beach, sand dunes all around and Vestrahorn mountain in the background. Vestrahorn mountain’s highest peak reaches up to 454 meters (1490 ft) and it’s scenic from literally every angle and impossible to get a bad shot unless it’s low hanging clouds or a white-out. This peninsula called Stokksnes peninsula has also a pretty interesting history being one of the country’s first settlements in the 9th century. This beach was also an important base for the British army in WWII. Around 10 minute walk from the coffee shop there is a Viking village that was built in 2010 for an Icelandic movie that was sadly never filmed, but it’s a perfect location to unleash your inner Viking!

Good to know: The beach at Stokksnes is private, and has a small entrance fee, which allows the landowner to keep up the maintenance of the road. The owner also allows you to rent a horse to photograph with the black beach and stunning mountain in the background.

How to get there: Stokksnes is fairly easy to find. Following the main road A1 a few kilometers from Höfn, you’ll have to make a right turn into a gravel road. There’s a board with a sign, before you reach the tunnel that will tell you to turn into Stokksnes. After that you simply follow the gravel road until you get to an area with a small cafeteria. There’s a small fee to enter the area or around 800 ISK. You can either park the car by the cafeteria or drive it further into the area. Just don’t drive on the beach, follow the road to a parking spot not so far away.

Tours in the area: