Súgandiseyjarviti Lighthouse
The orange harbor light on a basalt island above Stykkishólmur — the quintessential Snæfellsnes lighthouse stop. Súgandiseyjarviti sits on Súgandisey island at the mouth of Stykkishólmur harbor on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, about 173 km north of Reykjavík. The squat orange-and-white tower has guided ferries to the Westfjords since 1948, and the short walk out to it crosses a basalt-column causeway with the harbor on one side and Breiðafjörður bay on the other.
Overview
Súgandisey Island Lighthouse was installed there in 1948 as a sealing lighthouse to Stykkisholm harbor
The orange harbor light on a basalt island above Stykkishólmur — the quintessential Snæfellsnes lighthouse stop.
Súgandiseyjarviti sits on Súgandisey island at the mouth of Stykkishólmur harbor on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, about 173 km north of Reykjavík. The squat orange-and-white tower has guided ferries to the Westfjords since 1948, and the short walk out to it crosses a basalt-column causeway with the harbor on one side and Breiðafjörður bay on the other.
For photographers the appeal is the combination: a saturated red-orange tower against a dark basalt cap, the white houses of Stykkishólmur as a foreground from the cliff edge, and on a clear day the snow-streaked profile of Snæfellsjökull volcano on the southern horizon. It is a fifteen-minute walk-up, not a hike, which makes it a high-yield stop on any Snæfellsnes loop.
Best time to shoot
Blue hour either side of the day; long shoulder-season light from late August through October and again in March.
- Summer: midsummer sun stays high — wait for the 22:00–01:00 window when the light goes soft and the orange tower glows against deep blue water.
- Autumn and early spring: the low sun rakes across the basalt columns and lights the lighthouse from the side rather than overhead.
- Winter: short daylight, but the harbor ice and snow on the basalt give a far more graphic frame than summer.
- Aurora: KP 3+ clear nights work — the island gives a 360-degree foreground option with the lighthouse, the harbor, or Snæfellsjökull as anchors.
Gear
- Lens
- 24–70 mm covers most compositions; 70–200 mm compresses Snæfellsjökull behind the tower from the cliff edge
- Tripod
- Useful at blue hour and for any long-exposure work on the harbor side
- Filter
- Polarizer to saturate the orange tower and cut harbor reflections; ND for daylight long exposures
- Protection
- Wind layer plus a lens cloth — sea spray reaches the top in heavy weather
Difficulty
Easy — short walk on a basalt causeway and a stepped climb to the lighthouse
Exposed cliff edges near the lighthouse; keep back in high winds.
Parking & access
Free public parking at Stykkishólmur harbor. 5-minute flat walk to the foot of the island, then a 5-minute climb to the lighthouse.
- No services on the island; everything is in town a 2-minute walk away.
- Causeway is exposed — bring a wind layer year-round.
- Stairs and an unfenced cliff edge: not stroller-friendly, manageable for most walkers.
Shoot the lighthouse from the Stykkishólmur church (Stykkishólmskirkja) side of the harbor at blue hour: the tower reads small but iconic, the harbor lights frame it, and the columnar basalt grounds the foreground better than the closer angle does.
Questions & answers
On Súgandisey island at the entrance to Stykkishólmur harbor, on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. From Reykjavík it is about a 2-hour drive via Route 54 and the Stykkishólmur road.
Park at Stykkishólmur harbor and walk: a short flat causeway connects the island to the mainland, then a stepped path climbs the basalt cap to the lighthouse. The full out-and-back takes 25–40 minutes including time to shoot.
Late evening blue hour in summer (around 23:00), or any clear shoulder-season afternoon when the sun is low enough to side-light the orange tower. Winter and aurora nights also work — the harbor is sheltered enough that you can shoot in weather that would close the cape lighthouses.
Súgandisey cliff itself for harbor and Breiðafjörður overlooks, Kirkjufellsfoss thirty minutes west on the Snæfellsnes coast road, and Búðakirkja about an hour south on the peninsula. All three pair naturally with the lighthouse on a single Snæfellsnes loop.