Port Arnarstapi
Port Arnarstapi is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland — about 193 km from Reykjavik and reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
A beautiful viewpoint in Arnarstapi village.
As a photography stop, Port Arnarstapi is a landscape in West Iceland, roughly 193 km from Reykjavik, reached by a drive to the trailhead and a short walk in (footwear and weather check). Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Landscape map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Port Arnarstapi is one waypoint of many — you can load all 62 landscape viewpoints before you leave signal.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
A working summer harbour on Snæfellsnes with a coast of natural rock formations beside it — the Gatklettur arch and the rifts Hundagjá, Miðgjá and Músagjá. An old horse trail runs from here to Hellnar in about an hour.
- The coast
- Natural rock formations including the Gatklettur cliff and the rifts Hundagjá, Miðgjá and Músagjá
- The path to Hellnar
- An old horse trail, now about a one-hour walk across the Hellnahraun lava and along the beach; its western coast is a nature preserve
- Harbour
- Still busy in summer with fishing and recreational boats; docks renovated in 2002
- Nearby
- Rauðfeldsgjá, Dritvík, Bjarnarfoss and Lóndrangar all lie along this stretch
The rifts are the thing to plan around: narrow clefts cut into the cliff mean the sea is framed by rock from above rather than seen across, and that only works when the swell is running. An hour of coastal path to Hellnar also turns this from a car-park stop into a walk with the arch, the rifts and the lava field on one line.
SourcesArnarstapi — Wikipedia
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (64.770, -23.619). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- 21.6 h of daylight in June and the sun barely sets, dipping only 1.9° below the horizon — effectively continuous golden light through the small hours.
- Winter
- December: only 3.8 h of daylight (11:34–15:25), but the sun never climbs above 2° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Port Arnarstapi is a landscape in West Iceland, Iceland, approximately 193 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Landscape map.
The recommended season for Port Arnarstapi is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive/Hike access. Bring weather-appropriate footwear and check conditions before setting out. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Port Arnarstapi can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.