Vik

Vik is Iceland’s southernmost village, a cluster of houses beneath Reynisfjall mountain, and it serves as the gateway to one of the most dramatic coastlines on Earth. Reynisfjara beach is all black volcanic sand, hexagonal basalt columns stacked like an organ, and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks standing offshore like frozen trolls — which, according to Icelandic legend, is exactly what they are. The waves here are powerful and unpredictable; people have been swept away. Respect the ocean.

The village itself is small — a church on a hill, a wool shop, a few restaurants — but the surrounding landscape is vast. The Myrdalsjokull ice cap looms behind town, hiding the Katla volcano beneath its glacier. The drive along the south coast in either direction passes waterfalls, glacier tongues, and moss-covered lava fields that look like another planet. Vik is not a destination where you linger indoors.

When to go: June through August for the most accessible weather and puffin colonies on the Dyrholaey cliffs nearby. Winter brings dramatic storms and possible northern lights. The black beach is powerful in any season. Always check wave conditions before approaching the waterline.