Iceland Road Trip: Day 5 - Stokksnes and Black Sand Beaches.
This was the last day of our travels east, the furtherest we would explore the South coast of Iceland. Each day we had seen so many amazing natural sites and we were hoping today wouldn't disappoint before we had the sad task of driving back to the start.
Our final destination before we headed back towards Reykjavik was Stokksnes which is about a 30 minute drive from Hofn.
Stokksnes is the location of one of the first settlements in Iceland by the Norwegians.
We wandered along the rocks of the coast line, watching the huge waves crashing along the rocks. No seal spotting today however the main point of interest here for us is the huge mountain Vestrahorn.
We drove back along the coast towards Vik which is quite a drive so prepare yourself for car games.
After a pit stop for a hot dog and supplies, we made our way towards Reynisfjara, the black sand beach. This is also where you will find Reynisdrangar rock formations, similar to those we saw in Dverghamrar.
The weather was absolutely wild. The wind was so strong I couldn't even look towards the rocks as sand would whip your face. The waves are huge and are quite dangerous here with locals calling them "sneaker" waves as they sneak up on you. There is a cave which offers some solace however needless to say, we didn't stay on the beach long.
Nearby this beach is Dyrholaey Arch. There is a gravel, winding road full of pot holes up towards the look-out point and light-house. We managed to quickly walk around before realising that we should probably get back to the car and to our hotel to shield us from the incoming weather front fast approaching from the ocean.
We made it to Guesthouse Steig just before the snow storm hit the area. The rooms were fantastic and again, you will be greeted by dogs on this farm stay.
20 minutes later the sun was out and it was blue skies again. Iceland, you truly know how to keep us on our toes.
This is the fifth post of a six part series for my road trip along the South coast of Iceland. The others can be found below:
Day One - Reykjavik and the Golden Circle
Day Two - Glacier Hiking and Hot Pools
Day Three - Planes, Canyons and Dwarfs
For ideas on how to plan for a road trip in Iceland, read this post.
You can fly from London to Reykjavik relatively cheap if you book far enough in advance. Look on Skyscanner or Kayak to compare prices.
A lot of the places we stayed at were booked through Booking.com as they seem to have the most availability when I went to look. Book in advance so you don't miss out as Iceland is super popular!
