10 Great Places to Elope in Iceland – A Local Photographer’s Guide

Iceland has an endless amount of incredible and photogenic locations, some of them are world famous while others are still hidden gems or too remote to reach on your own. In this post I’m going to mention some of the best places to elope in Iceland. Please note that I will be listing only well-known and popular locations here as I need to keep the hidden gems for my clients that are looking a more private experience on their wedding day 🙂

Each of this places would also work as a wedding venue for an intimate wedding if you plan on inviting guests.

1. Skogafoss Waterfall

This waterfall is so famous and you’ve probably already seen hundreds of photos of it. The waterfall is truly photogenic and something that has to be experienced! It’s very easily accessible, however, sometimes the area gets flooded during very heavy rains/melting season making it hard to take photos in front of it.

Information:

1. Location: South Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 2 hours one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months. There’s a lot of water and spray in the spring and the waterfall can have a muddy colour if a lot of snow is melting
5. Activities: Hike to other nearby waterfalls from there

2. Diamond Beach

Diamond beach is a truly unique black sand beach in Iceland because it’s often filled with ice chunks. it is truly one of the best place to elope in Iceland! So how does it work and why are the ice chunks there? It’s actually a very interesting natural process! Icebergs float into the ocean at low tide from the nearby Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, then the waves break them down and push smaller ice chunks onto this black sand beach. And the result is nothing short of spectacular! The ice chunks shine like diamonds on the black sand, hence the name.

Something to keep in mind with this beach is that you never know what to expect there, meaning that there’s always only a 50% chance that there will be any ice at the beach. Sometimes the beach has no ice at all and then it’s just a regular black sand beach. So if you plan to elope here, you always need to have a plan B in case there’s no ice.

1. Location: Southeast Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 5 hours one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around whenever there’s ice, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months
5. Activities: Kayaking around icebergs in the nearby glacier lagoon and hiking around the lagoon

3. Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Right next to Diamond Beach there is this spectacular and gigantic lagoon with large icebergs. The lagoon is usually beautiful all year around with lots of icebergs many of which are a big as buildings. However, it happens rarely that there are less icebergs in the lagoon and that it’s almost empty. So it’s important to have a plan B for this location as well (that you won’t need 90% of the time).

1. Location: Southeast Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 5 hours one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around whenever there’s ice, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months
5. Activities: Kayaking around icebergs in the nearby glacier lagoon and hiking around the lagoon

4. Lupine Fields

In June Iceland becomes a paradise with endless purple lupine fields everywhere. You can see largest fields in the South, Southeast and the West. It’s truly spectacular and something that has to be experienced!

1. Location: Many places in Iceland, as your photographer I will guide you to the best ones
2. Distance from Reykjavik: there are even some gorgeous fields near Reykjavik (a 10-minute drive)
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot in many places
4. Best time to visit: It varies a bit every year depending on the weather, the flowers peak sometime in mid June. Sometimes there are already some out in the end of May and usually some left in the beginning of July.

5. Kirkjufell Mountain

The most photographed mountain in Iceland and for a good reason! Kirkjufell’s iconic shape is something out of a fantasy and it looks truly amazing on photos with people as well!

1. Location: West Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 2 hours 30 min one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months
5. Activities: You can hike around the lake next to the mountain and you can even hike the mountain itself (the second part of this hike is quite hard and exposed though) for gorgeous views

6. Vestrahorn / Stokksnes

Vestrahorn is by far one of the best places to elope in Iceland and you should definitely look into it. This place is out of this world beautiful and one of my favourite ones in Iceland! You cannot imagine how gigantic the area actually is until you’re there and you get to see it for yourself.

This place offers so many different composition options – with the waves, dunes, mountains and reflections.

1. Location: Southeast Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 6 hours one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around whenever there’s ice, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months
5. Activities: You can spend a whole day there exploring the area, walking on the beach, checking out some cliffs nearby and even a Viking Village

7. Reynisfjara Beach

This world famous beach is also known as just Black Sand Beach. It’s truly one of a kind and offers endless compositions and opportunities for photography. What makes it very special are the basalt columns right next to the water that are amazing for photos and can be climbed. In addition, there are lots of beautiful rock textures on the mountain and two caves. And of course, the two gorgeous sea stacks in the ocean that are also amazing for photos!

Something to keep in mind is that the basalt columns are not always accessible as they can be in the water during high tide, especially if the wind comes from the ocean. Sometimes the beach is also closed due to dangerous waves.

1. Location: South Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 2 hours 30 minutes one way
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months.
5. Activities: Go for a long walk at the beach

8. Ice Caves

Ice caves in Iceland are some of the most beautiful and accessible in the world. New caves get formed every summer and then they freeze and are ready to be visited, usually from October till April. You never know what the ice caves will look like next season, so it’s always exciting to discover new ones!

There is one exception though – Katla ice cave. This cave is usually open during the whole year and it’s constantly changing as well. So this is why I tell my clients that they most likely can visit an ice cave even if they elope in the summer.

Visiting any ice cave for your elopement requires a private tour and a professional guide who will provide you with the necessary equipment and make sure that we are safe.

For me personally ice caves are some of the most incredible things you can see in Iceland, I can definitely recommend you to consider them!

1. Location: South and Southeast Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: Katla ice cave – around 3 hours 15 minutes one way (including private tour). Ice caves in the Southeast – around 6 hours one way (including private tour)
3. Accessibility: Katla ice cave – around 15 min walk from the parking. Caves in the Southeast – sometimes the caves are close to the parking and other times you have to hike on the glacier.
4. Best time to visit: Katla is usually open the whole year while the ice caves in the Southeast are usually open from October till April

9. Búðakirkja (Black Church)

Búðakirkja is in the top 3 most famous and loved churches in Iceland. There’s something about this lonely church standing alone next to a lava field and the ocean with stunning views in all directions.

Lots of my couples have loved the simple Icelandic look of the church and have chosen it as one of the locations to visit on their elopement day and several of my couples even decided to get married in there! If you’d like to get married inside this cozy church you can rent it for 1 to 3 hours (starting at around USD $360).

Like I mentioned, the surroundings of the church are really beautiful as well and we can easily spend a couple of hours shooting there!

1. Location: West Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: Around 2 hours 20 min
3. Accessibility: Right next to the parking lot
4. Best time to visit: It’s beautiful all year around, but May-September offer more comfortable weather than other months.
5. Activities: Hiking

10. On a glacier!

Glaciers in Iceland are some of the most easily accessible in the world and it’s possible to book a glacier hike all year round! For a glacier elopement you would need to book a private tour with a glacier guide who will provide you all the necessary gear. It’s an unforgettable experience to walk on a glacier and making your elopement this adventurous and stunning is something you will never regret!

1. Location: South and Southeast Iceland
2. Distance from Reykjavik: 2 hours one way until the parking lot/meeting point in the South or a bit more than 4 hours one way until the parking lot/meeting point in the Southeast
3. Accessibility: A private glacier hike can be entirely tailored to you and can be made as adventurous or easy as you would like.
4. Best time to visit: All year round!

Like I mentioned, these are some of the best places to elope in Iceland among the most popular and beautiful locations! If you’re looking for hidden gems, I can definitely help you with that and you’re always welcome to reach out to me with any questions! You can also check out my article on how to elope in Iceland with a lot of information for your next steps and definitely check out my 4 Most Common Iceland Elopement Mistakes article so you’re set from the beginning.

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