Diamond Beach

Breidamerkursandur beside the Jokulsarlon outlet is the beach where ice that has drifted out of the lagoon and into the sea gets pushed back onto the shore by waves and tide, so blocks of glacier ice - some the size of a car, most much smaller - sit on black volcanic sand until they melt. Because glacial ice is dense and largely free of bubbles, sunlight passes through it and the pieces read as clear or blue rather than white. What is on the beach changes daily and sometimes hourly: after a still spell there can be almost nothing, and after a big calving and the right tide it can be covered.

What you actually see

• Glacier ice on black sand - washed back in from the sea.
• Ice that light passes through - dense and bubble-free, so clear or blue.
• Daily variation - the beach can be covered or nearly empty.
• The lagoon outlet beside it - where the ice comes from.

When to go

Year round; conditions change constantly and cannot be predicted. An hour.

Honest expectations

Sneaker waves here are dangerous and have swept people off; standing on floating ice near the water has killed. There is no guarantee of ice on any given day. The car park is charged and busy. Wind chill on this beach is severe.

Nearby

Jokulsarlon is across the road; Fjallsarlon is ten kilometres west.