Vík
Iceland's southernmost village, set between a black basalt beach and an ice cap that hides the volcano Katla, with sea stacks off the shore that folklore says were trolls caught by the dawn.
- Arrival
- Keflavík International · KEF
- To the village
- About 180 km from Reykjavík by road
- Private jets
- Keflavík, open round the clock
- Best time
- June to August
The city
Under Mýrdalsjökull.
Vík í Mýrdal is the southernmost village in Iceland and the largest settlement for some seventy kilometres around. Directly behind it rises the ice cap of Mýrdalsjökull, beneath which lies Katla; the volcano has not erupted since 1918, and the church on the hill above the houses is the building expected to stand if its meltwater ever comes down.
Close by, the beach of Reynisfjara runs black below cliffs where puffins nest, with the basalt stacks of Reynisdrangar standing off the shore. This is one of the wettest corners of Iceland, so come in summer, when the days are long, the mountain roads are open and the light lasts well into the night.
- Reynisfjara Black basalt sand under bird cliffs, with a memorial to the seamen lost on this coast.
- Reynisdrangar Basalt sea stacks left behind by an older cliff line, trolls turned to stone in the old stories.
- Vík church On the hill above the village, the refuge everyone would run to in a Katla flood.
Arriving
Along the south coast.
There is no airport for jets near Vík. Aircraft land at Keflavík International, on the Reykjanes peninsula, and the journey continues by road along the south coast, some 180 kilometres beyond Reykjavík.
- Dublin 2 h 05
- London 2 h 35
- Zurich 3 h 30
- Doha 8 h 45 long-range jet
- San Francisco 9 h 15 long-range jet
When to go
June to August.
Vík is very wet, with more than two metres of rain a year and no month under 135 mm. June to August bring highs of 11 to 13 °C and about twenty hours of daylight in June. Winter afternoons hover around 4 °C, and October is the wettest month.
- 4° J 203
- 4° F 179
- 4° M 185
- 7° A 156
- 9° M 138
- 11° J 172
- 13° J 152
- 13° A 211
- 10° S 214
- 7° O 242
- 5° N 195
- 4° D 206
Where to stay
Below the glacier.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Where to book in Vík.
The MICHELIN Guide has no table near Vík. Berg is the upscale hotel restaurant picked by Guide to Iceland.
- Berg Guide to Iceland, upscale dining Modern Icelandic $$$$ Hótel Vík í Mýrdal, Vík
Elsewhere in Iceland
More reasons to come.
- Reykjavík The church of Hallgrímskirkja, the old harbour and the Harpa concert hall.
- Blue Lagoon Milky-blue geothermal water, close to Keflavík airport.
- Þingvellir The old parliament plain, first stop on the Golden Circle with Geysir and Gullfoss.
- Akureyri The capital of the north, for whales and Lake Mývatn.
Flying to Vík?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.