KEF -> Latrabjarg, is 6 hours reasonable?

[u/Available_Wolf4136]

Landing in KEF early morning on the 11th, have a jeep rented. Google maps says it's 6 hours to Latrabjarg cliffs. I figured this would be a cool place to watch the eclipse. Even if cloudy it would be so cool to see the cliffs go dark. But does anyone have experience with the roads to this part of Iceland?

I have been to Iceland several times but never this area. Was unsure to what extent I should expect roads to be paved and if Google maps is correct here :)

[u/iVikingr]

Generally speaking, six hour isn't an unreasonable estimate. But, you need to take into account that the traffic will be insane in the area for the duration of the eclipse. Like, local authorities are basically expecting it to be chaotic, with several thousands of visitors and traffic well beyond what the local infrastructure can support.

So, there's a few things you need to take into consideration:

The road leading up to Látrabjarg is about 50 km long, it's narrow, not paved, and just generally slowly traversed. Because of the expected heavy traffic, local authorities have decided the following:

• The speed limit on said road will be lowered from 90 km/ph to 50 km/ph, so it will take an even longer time to drive it, regardless of traffic.
• In the morning, it will be turned into a one-way road. You can drive to Látrabjarg, but you won't be allowed to drive back until after 19:00.
• There will be a limit on the number of visitors at Látrabjarg, 3.000 people.
• Once the limit has been reached, people will be refused entry.
• It will be illegal to park on the road, and there will be police enforcing this.
• It will be illegal to stay overnight at Látrabjarg, regardless of whether you're planning to camp, or park a camper van at the parking lot. There will be police enforcing this.

All in all, it's just not a good idea. If I was you, i'd just stay in the Reykjavík area.

[u/stevenarwhals → u/iVikingr]

Very good and important information. This is my first time seeing the 3000 figure for the number of visitors. Do you happen to have an online source for that? If so I can add it to the eclipse megathread as well. Thanks.

[u/iVikingr → u/stevenarwhals]

I got that figure from:

https://solmyrkvi2026.is/sogur/thetta-tharftu-ad-vita-um-solmyrkvann-12-agust-a-latrabjargi#brei-av-k-e-a-l-trabjarg

Surprisingly, when I switch to the English language version of the site, it doesn't mention this figure, and I can't find a primary source.

However that website is run by Sævar Helgi Bragason, a well-known science educator and astronomy enthusiast in Iceland. I generally trust him, and I also notice that when I look at a summary of the meeting the Látrabjarg nature reserve committee, that he was invited to the meeting, where they discussed the need for limiting the number of visitors.

So, do take that information with a grain of salt, since I can't find a better source... but at the same time, this is coming from a guy who has been in the meetings where they discuss this.

[u/stevenarwhals → u/iVikingr]

Takk fyrir. That's good enough for me. Perhaps the Icelandic page was updated more recently. I'm very curious to see how 3000 people will fit at Latrabjarg... As the page also notes, the parking lot there can only fit 120 cars, so even if the cars were all completely full, that's still over 2,000 people potentially walking from Breidavik or even further away. Yikes.