Grótta Lighthouse

Gróttuviti, Seltjarnarnes

An aurora spot beyond the city lights, on a tidal island

⚠ Island closed 1 May–15 Jul

Hours

Always open (island reachable only at low tide; closed 1 May–15 July)

Address

Grótta, 170 Seltjarnarnes

At the very western tip of Reykjavík, a small island with a white lighthouse sticks out into the sea. A sandbar path appears only at low tide, and when the water comes back in, the island is cut off again. It's only 10 minutes by car from town but dark enough that people who skipped the aurora tour take a taxi here and stare at the sky. On the shore there's Kvika, a tiny geothermal footbath, and on cold nights people sit with their feet in warm water waiting for the lights. By day it's a coastal walk with views to Mount Esja and, on clear days, the Snæfellsjökull glacier.