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Grindavik Lighthouse
Surf spot · Iceland
Is it worth the trip?
30Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Wed 4: 9 ft swell at 8 s
Mon 2 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 9 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 982kJ
- Wind
- SSE 24 kn
- Temp
- 9°C
Tue 3 · 26 out of 100
- Swell
- 13 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 2,578kJ
- Wind
- SW 13 kn
- Temp
- 10°C
Wed 4 · 48 out of 100
- Swell
- 9 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 1,118kJ
- Wind
- S 9 kn
- Temp
- 8°C
Thu 5 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 346kJ
- Wind
- W 14 kn
- Temp
- 9°C
Fri 6 · 42 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 390kJ
- Wind
- SSW 7 kn
- Temp
- 8°C
Sat 7 · 5 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 140kJ
- Wind
- SSW 23 kn
- Temp
- 9°C
Sun 8 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 12 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 1,797kJ
- Wind
- WSW 24 kn
- Temp
- 6°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 128, poor
- Mon 220, poor
- Tue 326, poor
- Wed 448, fair
- Thu 518, too small
- Fri 642, poor
- Sat 75, too small
- Sun 820, poor
- Mon 944, too small
- Tue 1019, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Stakes swell from the S
- Offshore: Nwind from the land
- Expertwho it suits
- Works 4–20 ftof swell
- Water 8 °C5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves
Full forecast
every day, every number
Grindavik Lighthouse does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Expert | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 28, poor | 7 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 447kJ | wind from the south, 12 knots | 9°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 20, poor | 9 ft8 smushy9 ft at break (est.) | 982kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 24 knots | 9°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 26, poor | 13 ft9 smushy13 ft at break (est.) | 2,578kJ | wind from the south-west, 13 knots | 10°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 48, fair | 9 ft8 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,118kJ | wind from the south, 9 knots | 8°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 18, too small | 5 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 346kJ | wind from the west, 14 knots | 9°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 42, poor | 6 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 390kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 7 knots | 8°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 5, too small | 4 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 140kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 23 knots | 9°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 20, poor | 12 ft9 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,797kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 24 knots | 6°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 44, too small | 5 ft8 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 346kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 11 knots, offshore | 2°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 19, too small | 5 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 191kJ | wind from the east, 6 knots | 2°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 02:49 −1.0 mHigh 09:19 +1.1 mLow 15:50 −0.9 mHigh 21:55 +0.7 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 04:04 −0.8 mHigh 10:39 +1.0 mLow 17:15 −0.8 mHigh 23:28 +0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 05:34 −0.8 mHigh 12:07 +0.9 mLow 18:38 −0.9 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for expert surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Grindavik Lighthouse on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
4 places
- Grindavik Antenas 2.5 km away
- Sandvik 16 km away
- Evan's Reef 17.8 km away
- Hafnir 18.4 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Grindavik Lighthouse
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces S (172°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (352°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits expert surfers. It works in 4–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 17). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 6°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 12°C in August, its warmest (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves). The town to stay in is Grindavík, 2.8 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.
Water about 8°C: 5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$904–US$1,690 each
about US$904–US$1,690 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to KEF, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bag | about US$355–US$737 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$40–US$74 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$201–US$328 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$221–US$415 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$87–US$141 |
| Total | about US$904–US$1,690 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
5 min by car · 13 places to stay
About Grindavík its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Reykjanesb R on Booking.com
37 min by car · 31 places to stay
Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 10h 55m
About 10h 55m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → KEF, direct, then 40 min by road
Flights ORD → KEF on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.