Rauðisandur beach

About the place

Discover the beach at Rauðisandur, literally ‘the red sand beach’ in Icelandic, a magnificent stretch of sand located in a very isolated area of the Western Fjords. Unlike most of Iceland's beaches, which are generally black, those in the Western Fjords region are often golden, as volcanism is no longer active in this area.

Rauðisandur beach stretches for about 10 km, from the bird-watching cliffs of Látrabjarg in the west to the mountainside of Skorarhlíð in the east. The beach can be reached from the car park at Saurbæjarkirkja church, but you have to cross a shallow but often very wide river.