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Reynisfjara is a black sand beach on the Atlantic coast of Iceland, and around it you find the sea stacks of Reynisdrangar, the rock arch of Dyrhólaey and the village of Vík í Mýrdal. Many trips along the South Coast from Reykjavík come this far, after the waterfalls of Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss or a hike on a glacier.
Reynisfjara is a stretch of coast whose beach is black sand made of basalt, open to the Atlantic Ocean. It belongs to Mýrdalshreppur, a municipality in the Southern Region of Iceland. On the tours you walk on the dark sand under columns of basalt and look out to Reynisdrangar, rock stacks rising from the sea just offshore at Vík í Mýrdal. The private day tour below also points out the basalt columns of the Reynisfjall mountain.
The waves here are powerful and unpredictable and can rush far up the sand with no warning. The guides tell you how far back to stand, and on every trip the advice is the same: keep well away from the waterline and never turn your back on the sea.
Dyrhólaey is a headland in Mýrdalshreppur, pierced by a natural arch of rock. It has been protected since 1978, over about 147 hectares, and a lighthouse stands on it, called Dyrhólaeyjarviti in Icelandic. Of the trips below, the longest stops at Dyrhólaey on its South Coast day, before Reynisfjara and Vík.
Vík í Mýrdal is a village in the municipality of Mýrdalshreppur, and its church, Víkurkirkja, is a Lutheran church. The whole municipality covers 749 square kilometres and, according to Statistics Iceland, had 965 inhabitants in 2025. The Mýrdalsjökull glacier, also in the Southern Region, belongs to this landscape too: Sólheimajökull, where some of the trips below go hiking on the ice, is one of its parts.
From Reykjavík, the small-group day trip along the South Coast stops at Seljalandsfoss, where a path leads behind the falls, at Skógafoss and at the edge of Sólheimajökull, then spends time at Reynisfjara and in Vík, with a view of Reynisdrangar; it is rated easy overall. The private day on the Golden Circle and the South Coast picks you up at your hotel in the capital area, visits Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss, then Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi and Skógafoss, and finishes at Reynisfjara.
Two trips add a hike on the ice of Sólheimajökull. The small-group glacier hike and South Coast day hands out a harness, crampons, a helmet and an ice pick, stops at both waterfalls and ends on the black sand. The private glacier hike covers a similar route with crampons, an ice axe and a helmet supplied. Both are rated easy, and no earlier glacier experience is needed.
For an ice cave, two private super jeep tours head for the Katla glacier. The private ice cave tour from Reykjavík passes through Vík, stops at Reynisfjara and the headland of Hjörleifshöfði, then drives off road across the black sands of Mýrdalssandur to the ice, where the guide team assesses the cave on the day before anyone goes in. The super jeep tour of the South Coast visits the Katla ice cave below the Kötlujökull outlet and ends at Reynisfjara. Both supply crampons and helmets and are rated moderate. Finally, the three-day private tour joins the Golden Circle, a coastal day with Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara and Vík, and a last day at Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón.
Every trip that passes through here is also listed on the Southern Region of Iceland destination page. The beach itself has its own Reynisfjara destination page with more trips to the black sand.
They are strong, they come without warning and they can reach high up the beach. Stay well back from the water and follow what your guide tells you.
Yes. Most trips on this page go there and back in one day, with waterfalls and often a glacier on the way.
No. The guides give out the equipment and show you how to use it before you set foot on the ice.
Sources: Wikidata (CC0).
