Reynisfjara is one of Iceland’s most famous tourist attractions. Along the Icelandic coast, it’s also one of its most dangerous! The area has seen an uptick in visitors in recent history, with some tourists getting too close to the waves for their own good. This beautiful Icelandic black sand beach is a great place to visit, so long as you respect its dangers.
The Icelandic black sand beach, Reynisfjara, was originally created by volcanic eruptions and lave flows thousands of years ago and now sits on the boundaries between lava fields and the ocean. It’s a popular stop along any Icelandic coastline tour because it offers incredible photo opportunities. However, this site can be deadly if you don’t know what you are doing, which is why Icelandic Coast Guard patrols keep a close eye on the waves and winds to make sure this attraction isn’t too popular.
1. What are Some of the Most Popular Black Sand Beaches Around the World?
2. How is Reynisfjara Different from Other Black Sand Beaches?
3. What do the Icelandic Coast Guard Patrols do?
4. Are there any Icelandic Coastline Tours?
What are Some of the Most Popular Black Sand Beaches Around the World?
Black sand beaches are some of the most popular tourist attractions around the world. While Icelandic black sand beaches, like Reynisfjara, is one of the most well-known, there are several other destinations that offer similar experiences.
Here is a short list of black sand beaches:
USA – One of Hawaii’s black sand beaches, known as Punalu’u, is known for its black lava rock and rough waves. It’s located in the Ka’u district on the Big Island. This is just one of the black sand beaches in Hawaii that has been used in many popular movies and television series, such as, “Jurassic Park 3”.
USA – The Makole’a black sand beach, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, is black and beautiful and almost looks like the black sand you’d find in a volcanic desert. The black sand here gets its color from black basalt rock and black lava fragments. Makole’a is the largest black sand beach in Hawaii. The black sand covers a mile-long stretch of land and this black sand beach is also popular for black sand sledding and black sand sliding!
New Zealand – Golden Bay is a black sand beach on the South Island near Takaka. Called black sand because of its black basalt rocks, this black sand beach is the longest black sand beach in New Zealand and is also the site of several natural hot pools.
Iceland – Aside from Reynisfjara, there are also many other Icelandic black sand beaches. One of the best is called, Jokulsa a Stokksnes, on Iceland’s southeast coast.
Italy – There’s an Italian black sand beach, known as, Ficogrande, and it’s located in Sicily. This black sand beach also has an interesting landscape of cliffs that end with the ocean. Ficogrande is divided into two beaches, Pozzillo, and Acquacalda. Pozzillo is black and white while Acquacalda is black and red. It’s actually quite fascinating! It’s definitely worth a visit.
How is Reynisfjara Different from Other Black Sand Beaches?
Reynisfjara is different than other black sand beaches due, in part, to its length. It stretches 250 meters inland, but most black sand beaches typically only come up to 100 meters inland.
This black sand beach is also different because of its origins. Many black sand beaches are created from iron oxide, but Reynisfjara was created by volcanic eruptions. This black sand beach is strikingly beautiful because waves crashing on the rocks creates unique formations of black shards of basaltic glass.
This black sand beach is also very dangerous due to the lack of waves ramps for bathers and natural currents that can be hazardous.
So long as you don’t climb black sand dunes, swim on a black sand beach during a storm, or touch black shards of glass you should be fine. It’s not recommended that people walk just anywhere on this black sand beach either.
Reynisfjara black sand beach is Iceland’s most black sand beaches and one of its most beautiful black sand beaches. People should be careful when visiting this black sand beach, but if they do so than the Icelandic black sand beach landscape will be all the more beautiful.
What do the Icelandic Coast Guard Patrols do?
The primary job of the Icelandic Coast Guard Patrol, is to ensure the safety of Icelandic waters. They work closely with police, rescue teams, hospitals and other support services to provide the best possible care for people in need.
To contact them, you can call 112 or visit their website (https://www.lhg.is/english/).
If you find yourself in danger on black sand beaches, such as Reynisfjara, it’s best to immediately get yourself out of the water and contact emergency services.
They are there to help.
Are there any Icelandic Coastline Tours?
There are Icelandic Coastline Tours available for black sand beaches, glaciers, waterfalls and lava fields. The black sand beaches are amongst the most popular sites in Iceland.
To find these tours, visit the Iceland Excursions website (https://www.re.is/).
Another resource you can use to locate some Islandic tours, is: https://www.viator.com/Reykjavik/d905-ttd
Final Thoughts…
Iceland is home to some magnificent creations of Earth. If you’re wanting a vacation to an exotic destination complete with the iconic, Icelandic black sand beaches, then look no further! In this post, you’ve learned about what black sand beaches are, where some of them are located, more information about Reynisfjara, in particular, and why you might want to visit it.
You also learned about how to find Icelandic tours and how to contact the best resource for safety, during your trip. Hopefully you won’t need them, but it’s great to have that information, just in case.
With that being said, I believe we can wrap this up. If you’d like more information about Iceland, travel guidelines and restrictions, etc., then please visit: https://visiticeland.com/
Thank you.
I’ll see you on the next one.
