Diamond Beach
About the place
Diamond Beach is the strip of black volcanic sand at Breiðamerkursandur where icebergs end their journey. Ice calves from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, drifts across the Jökulsárlón lagoon and out to sea, then washes back onto the dark sand and glints until the next tide takes it. The beach lies beside the Ring Road in south Iceland and is free to visit, though how much ice you find shifts with the tide, season and weather. Go at low tide, keep back from the surf, and pair it with the lagoon across the road.
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Articles about this place
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Iceland's black sand beaches go far beyond Reynisfjara: this list picks twelve, each doing something the others don't. From a plane wreck on volcanic grit to a seal colony on golden sand, with honest distance-from-water guidance for each.
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Route 1 in a week, counter-clockwise: which stops fit each day, how long you'll actually drive, and where to sleep from Vík to Akureyri.