Across the road from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon is Breiðamerkursandur, or what is more commonly known as ‘Diamond Beach’. Diamond Beach is a black sand beach which is covered with beautiful icebergs which glisten in the sun, sparkelling like diamonds and gemstones! It’s a magical place to visit and definitely worth the short trip across the road from the lagoon.
The icebergs that float in Jökulsárlón have broken off from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier and eventually float down the lagoon to the sea where they wash up on the beach.
It’s an incredibly picturesque location with the sharp juxtaposition of the white and blue icebergs on the pitch black sand of the beach.
You’ll be able to see plenty of icebergs washed up on the sand, as well as others which are still bobbing away at sea and those which the tides are in the process of bringing in.
Coming from Australia it is incredibly surreal to see ice floating in the water!
There’s plenty of opportunities for photo ops, just be sensible – there have been tourists injured over the years from climbing on icebergs and being taken out to sea by rogue waves. This is incredible irresponsible and has often resulted in local tour guides having to rescue tourists. From my understanding Iceland was in the process of bringing in steep fines for this kind of behaviour whilst we were over there and I think it is definitely important that they do. No-one should have to risk their lives because of the stupidity of others.
Diamond Beach is a picture-perfect location, it is so stunning that it almost doesn’t feel real! I couldn’t get enough of the stunning blues and whites of the ice and it is definitely a place we’ll never forget!
We visited on our eight night roadtrip through Iceland with our trusty SADcars Suzuki! If you’re visiting in winter, we highly recommend a 4×4 and we recommend that you don’t do the 6+ hour trip from Reyjkavik in one day. We stayed at the nearby Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon which was fantastic and we’ll be writing all about it soon.
Daylight hours are also at a premium in winter so you’ll want to be making the most of sightseeing during this time so plan your day accordingly around the light!
Where are the most beautiful places you’ve visited on your travels?
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