Ten empty kilometres
You may have the whole beach to yourself and a handful of others.
A sand beach running some ten kilometres along the southern Westfjords, coloured red-gold — a striking exception in a country whose beaches are black volcanic sand. The colour comes from the sand not being crushed basalt but the broken remains of seashells, so it shifts between red, gold and pink according to the light and the tide. The name means literally red sand, and the colour genuinely changes through the day. The place is nearly empty. The Westfjords are by a wide margin Iceland's least visited region: the roads are winding and long, distances are deceptive and services sparse. Anyone who reaches here finds ten kilometres of beach and perhaps a handful of other people on it. Behind the beach lie a shallow lagoon and marshes that draw migrating birds, and in front the ocean opens towards Greenland. Decisive practical points: the road down to the beach is gravel, very steep and sharply switchbacked, unsuited to small cars or hesitant drivers, and closed in winter. The water is extremely cold with strong currents — swimming is not safe.
You may have the whole beach to yourself and a handful of others.
Red, gold and pink according to the sun and the tide.
A shallow lagoon behind the beach draws migrating birds.
Southern Westfjords, Iceland
Yes. The descent to the beach is gravel, narrow and very steep with sharp switchbacks, and some drivers find it frightening. A small car may manage in dry weather, but rental terms often forbid gravel roads. In rain it becomes slippery. If you are not comfortable with that kind of driving, skip it — it is not worth the risk.
If you have five days or more in Iceland and are driving yourself, yes — it is the one region still genuinely free of crowds, with the Látrabjarg bird cliffs and the Dynjandi waterfall. But distances deceive: the roads wind around every fjord, and a hundred kilometres can take three hours. Do not force it into a tight schedule.
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