Surfing in Iceland is a real experience. Combine volcanic reefs and epic point breaks with almost ceaseless Atlantic swell and you get a picture of what’s on offer. Also remember that this is one of the great frontiers of European surfing. No one has discovered Iceland’s full potential.
An introduction to surfing in Iceland
Iceland – just a mention of the name is enough to get your breath misting in the air and the water freezing on those chest hairs. This island nation sits way up in the northern part of the North Atlantic, where icebergs command the bays and blizzards are possible well into the summer months. There’s a mega 4,000 miles of coastline on offer to wave hunters, all of which gets smashed by regular storm swells from the east, the west, the north, and the south.
Almost everyone agrees that the stand-out surf region in Iceland is the Reykjanes Peninsula. That’s also known as the Southern Peninsula because it juts out from the southwestern edge of the country. Entirely volcanic from tip to toe, the headland has bays of black sand that get refracting waves for beginners but also gnarly basalt reefs that are pros only. You can get to most in just 30 minutes from the capital of Reykjavík.
That’s really just a taster of what’s on offer when it comes to surfing in Iceland, though. As with a great many other adventure pursuits – hiking, skiing, wild camping – this is a true frontier. We’ve heard great things about empty bays of wild mountains and peeling rights over on the sides of Snæfellsjökull Volcano and loads more untrodden surf in eastern Iceland. We’ll leave that neatly under the radar.
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This is just one part of our ultimate guide to surfing in Europe
Surfing in Iceland at a glance
The good:
- Exhilarating cold-water surfing
- Totally empty waves
- Friendly local surf community
The bad:
- The water is cold
- Breaks are hard to access without your own car
- Not very beginner-friendly
What will I find in this guide to surfing in Iceland?
The top surf spots in Iceland
As we’ve said, Iceland is a true untrodden gem for surfers. There are potential spots all around the country, facing all compass directions. That implies a ridiculous consistency if you’re willing to work for it, not to mention surfs up beyond the Arctic Circle. By far the most famous surfing is around the Reykjanes Peninsula near the capital. It’s not only accessible stuff (especially compared to some locations here) but has options for beginners and experts alike. Let’s delve in…
Gardur
One of the few north-facing beaches on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Gardur demands a lot of power in the sets for them to wrap through and into the fingers of reef that jut out under the lighthouse here. If they work, they’ll be big, frothing lefts that mellow out as they peel past the rocks and into the more sheltered bay. S is offshore here, so the spot offers a different option on warmer winds.
Sandvik
Sandvik is one of the best-known and most consistent surf spots in Iceland. The westerly orientation means that the beach – which is a jaw-dropping run of over 1,000 meters of black-diamond sand – gets almost continuous swell. That will oscillate between unruly storm swell in the winter months to long-period groundswells from a SW direction when the Gulf Stream allows. Naturally, the latter is better but there can be decently powerful summer windswells to get stuck into in between.
Sandvik is the beginner hub of Iceland for the summer months. Smaller sets in the 2-4 foot range come in here to offer lots of whitewash and mush for the learners. Plus, it’s one of the rare locations that breaks over sand and now jagged volcanic reef, so there’s that!
Grindavik
A machine of a right that churns out long, fast shoulders off a very shallow – like, toe-touching sorta’ shallow – reef, Grindavik breaks on the rocks to the west of the harbor of the town of the same name. It’s for experienced surfers only and reigns as one of the most challenging waves on the Reykjanes.
Thorli
The beach that links the Reykjanes Peninsula to the coast of southern Iceland is a wide, upside-down C of a bay that gets hit by any N or NW swell. We’ve heard stories of people catching long rights off the jetty at the western edge of the beach. However, that’s not the money spot. The real jewel are the A-frame peaks that form up on the shallow cobblestone beds near the rivermouth in the east. They’ll work a charm when there’s a cold winter N wind blowing and look dreamy for surf photographers with the wild mountains rising like a phalanx of giants behind. Sometimes hollow and made easy because there’s a very clear paddle channel. Cold water in that comes straight down from the glaciers so be sure to pack the rubber.
Is the surf in Iceland difficult?
We’d rate Iceland as an upper-intermediate surf destination. There are two reasons for that. Firstly, the volcanic nature of the country means that many of the breaks here are over pretty shallow basalt reef. Anyone who’s ever surfed that will tell you that it’s not the most forgiving platform, with less give to it than coral and the potential to get pretty darn sharp. Secondly, Iceland’s peak season brings heavy swells and very cold water. The combo of overheads in the North Atlantic and 5-mil of rubber minimum can crank the challenge here to all new and dizzying heights.
If you’re considering coming as a beginner, our advice would be stick to summer and choose only the easier spots (AKA – limit yourself to the sandy beach break down in Sandvik).
When to surf in Iceland?
Overall, we’d say that the transition seasons of spring and fall offer the best surf conditions in Iceland. They tend to have the calmer winds and relatively consistent Atlantic gulf swells from the west, along with N winds from the Arctic that can be offshore along the whole south coast and the popular Reykjanes Peninsula.
Lots of guides will say that winter is the most consistent time. That’s technically true, but ask yourself if you fancy doing battle with 25-foot bombs that have gathered nothing but unadulterated ocean power since forming off the Canadian coast. There are weeks in winter when Iceland is a blown out mess and there’s nothing to be surfed. We actually even prefer the summer because it gets cleaner and brings better waves into the more exposed bays close to Reykjavík.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
