Húsavík, Iceland

Photo spot in Húsavík

Húsavíkurviti, the lighthouse on the headland

A small orange-capped lighthouse on the cliff north of town, looking out over Skjálfandi bay with the whole mountain wall opposite.

About Húsavíkurviti, the lighthouse on the headland

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A kilometre or so north of the harbour, the coast rises into the Húsavíkurhöfði headland and a compact lighthouse sits on the cliff, white with an orange lantern. It is a short drive or a twenty-minute walk from town, and the moment you are up there the buildings drop away: cliff, grass, sea, and the long snow-marked ridge of Kinnarfjöll across the bay.

It gives a Húsavík session its wide, quiet frame. Put the couple on the grass with the lighthouse beside or behind them and Skjálfandi filling the rest; go tighter and the white tower with its orange top is a clean graphic subject against sky in any weather. The headland faces roughly west and north-west over the bay, so this is where the evening light lands last — in June that is a sun that grazes the horizon around midnight, and in December it is a long, slow blue hour that starts in mid-afternoon.

This is also the aurora spot for the town: dark enough once you are away from the streetlights, with an open northern horizon over the water and somewhere to park. Whales are sometimes visible in the bay from up here in summer, which is a bonus rather than something to promise.

Practical and safety: the ground is rough grass and gravel, uneven but walkable, and the track up can be rutted — check conditions in winter, when it may be snowed in. The cliff edge is unfenced and undercut in places, with a serious drop to the sea: keep several metres back, especially in wind, and treat the edge as off limits for posing. The wind out here is stronger than in the sheltered town, and there is nothing to hide behind — plan for it with hair, veils and light stands.

Best time to shoot

Late evening in summer, when the last light lands here; blue hour in midwinter

Tips

Keep several metres back from the unfenced, undercut cliff edge — never pose on it. Open northern horizon makes this the town's aurora spot.

Ready to book?

Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Húsavíkurviti, the lighthouse on the headland — free of charge.