WorldIceland › Reykjavík › Grótta

Grótta 67.4

#2543 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇮🇸 Iceland · Reykjavík · near Reykjavík

Very consistent, no off season, thick rubber.

Works all yearIntermediate
Grótta, Iceland
Photo: Michal Gorski · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score67.4 /100
Surfable days83% of the year
Clean days22% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell30% period 11 s+
Typical size1.1 m 3.6 ft median
Water9°C a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood

Best time to surf Grótta

The best time to surf Grótta is February, March, December. The season runs Feb to Feb. In February the water sits around 8°C, so pack a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood, and the typical wave is 1.9 m. The nearest airport is REK (5 km) and the nearest town is Reykjavík (5 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan90%30%2.0 m8°C6/5
Feb91%65%1.9 m8°C6/5
Mar93%36%1.6 m7°C6/5
Apr87%27%1.0 m7°C6/5
May73%14%0.9 m8°C6/5
Jun80%4%0.8 m10°C5/4
Jul63%1%0.7 m11°C5/4
Aug64%2%0.7 m12°C5/4
Sep93%12%1.1 m11°C5/4
Oct91%15%1.2 m10°C6/5
Nov87%27%1.4 m8°C6/5
Dec86%35%1.3 m8°C6/5

What is under Grótta

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 18 m.

Depth 8 km out18 m
Depth 4 km out14 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 67.4

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
15.8
Best days 22.4%
14.3
Clean days 18.4%
10.0
Consistency 10.2%
10.0
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.0
Access 4.1%
4.1

The detail

Faces 305° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 75% of days. Mean peak period 10.1 s. Days over 3 m: 7%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.6 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 52%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 64.164, -22.024 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,610/ month
typically €2,300 – €2,920
Rent, one bedroom€1,370
Groceries€546
Eating out€316
Getting around€184
Phone + internet€195
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€5,090/ month
typically €4,480 – €5,710
Somewhere to stay€3,010
Eating out€1,070
Car, transfers, fuel€690
Data + extras€328
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 15% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Iceland (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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