Vestrahorn Beach

Located in the Stokksnes Peninsula, Vestrahorn Beach – also called Stokksness Beach – is a popular, beautiful, and remote curve-shaped black sand beach with nearby oceanfront mountains and sand dunes.  This beach is located on the southeast coast of Iceland.  At high tide, the ocean water sometimes forms a lagoon near this beach named Kirkjusandur. 

Lonely Planet listed this beach as one of the best beaches in Iceland in 2023, and it is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Vestrahorn Beach does not have lifeguards or any other amenities except a few nearby hiking trails – in addition, there is a cafe near the beach that offers a restroom for its customers.

Vestrahorn Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, picnicking, hiking, fishing, tidepooling, and wildlife watching. 

Water activities are extremely unsafe at Stokksnes Beach Iceland because the water has strong currents and dangerous waves – we also recommend being careful while standing close to the shore because sneaker waves are known to pull people into the ocean.  

If you like hiking, there are three hiking trails at this Vestrahorn Mountain Iceland Beach named “Red,” “Blue,” and “Yellow” that you can use to explore the beach and its surrounding areas.  

If you like taking pictures with excellent views, this beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the northern Atlantic Ocean, the nearby mountains of Vestrahorn and Brunnhorn, and the southeastern Icelandic shoreline, particularly at sunrise – we recommend using a wide-angle lens to take photographs here.  There is a 20-meter-tall lighthouse adjacent to the beach named the Stokksnes Lighthouse – this lighthouse was originally built in 1922, and it is also popular with photographers.   

You can visit Vestrahorn Beach on clear nights to see the beautiful Aurora Borealis – also called Northern Lights – in the sky above.  You can see Northern Lights here in winter, autumn, and spring.  In addition, you can also see a nearby old NATO radar station from this beach.

If you like birdwatching, you can see many local and migrant birds around Vestrahorn Beach.

Vestrahorn Beach does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities, so please plan accordingly.

Getting to Vestrahorn Beach is easy – the main entrance for this beach is located at the Viking Cafe & Guesthouse, which is easily accessible from the nearby town of Hofn through a highway named Route 1.  This gravel road highway is a national highway and is also called the Ring Road. 

There are multiple parking lots near the beach.  Once you park here, you can easily walk to the beach’s northern part.  Please note that the entrance to the beach is located on private land, and you need to pay an entrance fee of 1,000 Icelandic Krona to use it. 

We recommend checking local weather reports before visiting this beach because the weather here can get cloudy.

The area around this beach – including the nearby Vestrahorn Mountain – has been featured in a variety of films including the 2007 Matthew Vaughn film Stardust and the 2015 Indian Bollywood film Dilwale.  In addition, the beach here has black sand because of the black color of the igneous rocks here – these rocks are naturally broken down into black sand by wind and water and then deposited here. 

In addition, the nearby mountains of Mt. Vestrahorn Iceland and Brunnhorn have also been collectively nicknamed “Batman Mountain” because they collectively resemble the mask used by the comic book hero Batman.

There are many attractions near Vestrahorn Beach within a 25-minute-drive.  Vestrahorn Mountain Iceland is a 454-meters-tall mountain that is partially made up of the igneous Gabbro rock and it is between 8 and 11 million years old – you can have a fun hiking and rock climbing experience here.  In addition, this mountain is also a popular photography site.  The Viking Village Film Set is a replica of a Medieval Viking village that was built in 2009 as a potential movie set – this village has interesting wooden houses, interesting carvings, and a replica of a Viking ship.  Skutafoss is a beautiful waterfall that is a popular photography site – in addition, there is a cave near this waterfall that visitors can explore.  The Red Chair is an interesting public artwork that features a large red chair – this public offers some excellent Instagram-worthy photos.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Hofn is a waterfront town that has a viewpoint that offers excellent Instagram-worthy views of the Southeastern Icelandic shoreline.  In addition, this town also has a museum displaying cultural and historic artifacts – this town also hosts a fun lobster festival in summer.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Vestrahorn Beach within a 25-minute-drive.  Viking Cafe & Guesthouse is a hotel and restaurant that offers a variety of excellent snacks including Icelandic waffles, panini sandwiches, and pastries, along with refreshing beverages.  Ishusid Pizzeria is known for serving excellent pizza, and it also offers a variety of other dishes including soups, salads, and breadsticks.  Pakkhus Restaurant is a restaurant that offers delicious local gourmet dishes for lunch and dinner including tuna steak, lamb, barbecued duck, and horse tenderloin.  Kaffi Hornid is known for serving outstanding seafood dishes and it also offers a variety of other dishes including pizzas, sandwiches, chicken salads, and lamb chops.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Hafnarbudin offers many excellent local fast food dishes with an innovative twist including hot dogs, sandwiches, fish-and-chips, and lobster baguettes, along with a variety of refreshing beverages. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Vestrahorn Beach Iceland, there are many great nearby moderately priced options within a 25-minute drive.  Aurora Cabins Iceland offers accommodation in beautiful cabins – the cabins here have porches and grills and they offer amazing views of the rugged southeastern Icelandic coastline.  Viking Cafe & Guesthouse is a guesthouse that offers many amenities including a restaurant and a gift shop – in addition it also has a campsite that offers accommodation to RVs.  Höfn - Berjaya Iceland Hotels is another great hotel that offers many amenities including a bar, complimentary breakfast, a lounge, and outdoor sitting areas.  Another great hotel is Old Airline Guest House that offers many amenities including a common living room and a garden.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, Hofn Inn Guesthouse offers complimentary breakfast and it also offers excellent views of the southeastern Iceland shoreline.