Rauðisandur beach

Red Sand beach, Iceland
Photo: © Fyletto

Rauðisandur beach
Photo: © Johann Dréo

Rauðisandur or Red Sand beach is a huge expanse of sand in the remote Westfjords region of Iceland. Unlike many of this volcanic island's beaches Rauðisandur has what we might consider normal coloured sand - most beaches here have black sand. This is probably where the name comes from as the sand does have a reddish hue to it in certain lights. However, it is also possible it is a historical reference to one of the area's early settlers, Ármóður the Red.

Anyway, back to the beach. Whilst not quite endless, at 10km (6 miles) it certainly feels that way when there is not a single other soul on the beach. Rauðisandur is not a beach for normal beach activities such as sun bathing, snorkelling and all that stuff. It is a place in which to be awe inspired by the immense scale of the breath-taking scenery. Huge cliffs, carved by the elements, rise up from the beach and the ever changing sands vary in colour from white to black with yellows and reds thrown in for good measure.

It is somewhat of an adventure to get to Rauðisandur and we'd recommend using someone else's car as the roads are more like tracks. The drive is pretty hairy in places too with steep drops and not much in the way of barriers. Still, once you get here parking isn't an issue!
A pleasant surprise is that there is a small cafe here, but not a lot else, which is exactly why people come here.

More Westfjords beaches in Iceland

Rauðisandur beach Weather Info

5 Day Rauðisandur beach UV Index

A UV Index reading of 3 or more means some precautions should be taken. For more information visit our guide to the UV Index.

Temperature Averages

Average Water Temp

Rauðisandur beach tide times & sea state

Sat 24/08 »

Surf report for Sat 24/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
6:00	2ft	9s			2mph
12:00	2ft	9s			4mph
18:00	2ft	9s			11mph

Tide times
High 1:41am (1.36m)
Low 8:06am (0.17m)
High 2:40pm (1.49m)
Low 8:59pm (0.29m)

Daylight
First light	04:41
Sunrise	05:44
Sunset	21:33
Dark	22:36

Sun 25/08 »

Surf report for Sun 25/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
6:00	3ft	8s			5mph
12:00	3ft	8s			16mph
18:00	6ft	7s			26mph

Tide times
High 3:01am (1.39m)
Low 9:17am (0.07m)
High 3:49pm (1.67m)
Low 10:08pm (0.12m)

Daylight
First light	04:45
Sunrise	05:47
Sunset	21:29
Dark	22:31

Mon 26/08 »

Surf report for Mon 26/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
6:00	7ft	11s			14mph
12:00	9ft	11s			13mph
18:00	9ft	12s			10mph

Tide times
High 4:08am (1.52m)
Low 10:17am (-0.11m)
High 4:44pm (1.91m)
Low 11:02pm (-0.11m)

Daylight
First light	04:49
Sunrise	05:50
Sunset	21:25
Dark	22:26

Tue 27/08 »

Surf report for Tue 27/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
6:00	7ft	11s			7mph
12:00	6ft	10s			8mph
18:00	5ft	10s			9mph

Tide times
High 5:02am (1.71m)
Low 11:08am (-0.32m)
High 5:31pm (2.17m)
Low 11:49pm (-0.35m)

Daylight
First light	04:53
Sunrise	05:54
Sunset	21:21
Dark	22:22

Wed 28/08 »

Surf report for Wed 28/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
6:00	3ft	9s			9mph
12:00	3ft	8s			11mph
18:00	3ft	8s			14mph

Tide times
High 5:49am (1.92m)
Low 11:54am (-0.54m)
High 6:15pm (2.40m)

Daylight
First light	04:57
Sunrise	05:57
Sunset	21:18
Dark	22:17

Thu 29/08 »

Surf report for Thu 29/08

	Swell	Period	Swell direction	Wind direction	Wind speed
	Swell			Wind
9:00	3ft	7s			14mph
21:00	4ft	6s			19mph

Tide times
Low 12:32am (-0.57m)
High 6:34am (2.11m)
Low 12:38pm (-0.71m)
High 6:57pm (2.57m)

Daylight
First light	05:01
Sunrise	06:00
Sunset	21:14
Dark	22:13

Today's weather

9 °C
(48 °F)

Light air, 2.9 km/h from SW

Sea temperature

9.2°C / 48.5°F

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