AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Breiðavík is a sweeping crescent of pale golden sand on the Látrabjarg Peninsula in Iceland's far Westfjords — one of the few beaches in the country where the sand glows light enough to look almost tropical in bright weather. Roughly three kilometres long and flanked by low sea cliffs, the bay opens onto Atlantic water that shifts to a startling turquoise in calm conditions. The remoteness is part of the magic: most days you will share this enormous beach with no one but seabirds.↗↗↗
The small settlement that gives the beach its name sits at the head of the bay, marked by a weatherboard church and a cluster of houses. Just a few kilometres around the corner lie the world-famous Látrabjarg bird cliffs, making Breiðavík an ideal base — or rest stop — for anyone chasing the spectacle of millions of nesting puffins in summer.↗↗↗
What Makes It Special
Iceland's coastline is famously dark — black volcanic sands dominate from Vík to Djúpalónssandur. Breiðavík is the exception. Its sand is a warm gold, ground fine by glacial rivers and scattered across the bay floor by centuries of wave action. In good summer light, the colour combined with the aquamarine shallows creates an ambience that feels startlingly tropical for a place at 65° North. Even more remarkable, the wind has carried grains of this sand all the way to the mountaintops flanking either end of the bay — a sight that seems almost impossible until you crunch it underfoot on a coastal ridge.
