How to Get to the Solheimasandur Plane Crash Hike in Iceland and Is It Worth It?- The Solheimasandur Plane Wreck, or also known as the DC3 Plane Crash, in the south coast of Iceland is an iconic site for tourists to hike to while visiting Iceland. This crash happened in 1973 near the town of Vik, all survived. The remains of the plane still stands on private land today, and has been a spot photographers and tourist trek to in all seasons. This article will tell you all you need to know about the Solheimasandur Plane Crash Hike, where to stay, how long, how hard, information about the crash, tips, and answering my personal opinions of if the hike is worth it.

Stats

Length: 7 km (4.3 miles) round trip

Time: 1-2 hours (depending on how long you stay there)

Difficulty: Easy

Elevation Gain: Minimal- 30 meters (98 feet)

Trailhead: Solheimasander Plane Crash Parking Lot

Overview

About The Plane Crash

When To Go

Where To Stay

How Hard Is The Hike?

The Route

Tips For The Hike

Is It Worth It?

What To Bring

Other Hikes In The Area That You Might Like

Other Articles You May Be Interested In

About The Plane Crash

The plane crash happened on November 21, 1973. This plane was a US DC3 plane. Many stories are not clear on why the plane crashed, some accounts say it was due to human error, a mechanical failure, the plane running out of fuel, a storm or possibly a mix of all of those scenarios.

The pilots flying the cargo cargo all survived, but because the plane from the crash site was on the sand near the ocean, almost 2.5 miles from the nearest road the US Navy decided to strip the plane of everything of value and leave the remains. For years the empty plane was used as a storage by the farmer whose land it had crashed on. Now it is a tourism site off the main Ring Road 1 in Iceland.

*Read more about the plane crash in this Guide to the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck.

When To Go

The best time to set out on a hike in Iceland is always in the summer months. The daylight hours are sometimes 23 hours long, so you will have plenty of time to complete the hike. With summer you will have the best chance for good weather as well, but still come prepared as even in the summer it can get cold and windy.

If looking to go in the winter you may need to be constantly checking the weather forecast for that perfect window to go. It could be a very cold and wet hike in the winter if you don’t go during the warmest part of the day, and possibly very dangerous as well. There have been a few deaths at this site in winter months due to poor planning and pop up storms. Unexpected storms do happen a lot in Iceland.

Another thing you want to prepare for in the winter is the short daylight hours, depending on when you do you could have a short 4 hour window of daylight in the winter months. Check out the Time and Dates site for when sunrise and sunset will happen in Iceland when you go.

It is best to go with an experienced guide if planning to make the hike in the winter months.

Where To Stay

The town of Vik, Iceland would be the closest town to stay in, about a 20 minute drive to the Solheimasander Plane Crash Parking Lot.

We stayed at Arhus Campsite the night before in our GoCampers campervan. We then spent the morning visiting Seljalandsfoss, hiking the Skoga River, Sólheimajökulll Glacier before hiking to the Solheimasander Plane Crash. After the hike we even hit up Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara Beach and Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon before pulling in very late at night at Skaftafell Camping for the night. You can read about our itinerary on my page 9 Days in Iceland in the Summer Schedule.

How Hard Is The Hike?

The hike itself is not very hard or difficult. The path is made up of mostly packed gravel and sand. The sand does get softer as you get closer to the plane crash site. What makes this hike difficult is the non changing scenery and surface. You really do not get close to any landscapes or the plane until right upon the site. When I don’t have much to look at during a hike, the hike always seems harder mentally, as there is not much to distract yourself with.

The vast flat landscape can pick up some wind which can help or make the hike harder depending on what direction you are walking in.

The Route

Parking

There is a decent size parking lot right off of Ring Road 1 to park your vehicle for this hike. At one point off road vehicles were allowed to drive up to the site but not any more. All cars are prohibited past this point in the parking lot. Please read the sign for warnings and how to be prepared for the hike before heading out as this is a private property. You can find the parking lot on this Google Map Link, it is right across from the Sólheimajökulll Glacier.

Start

After parking the path will start right off of the lot. There were pretty many people around when we started the hike so we followed behind them. The trail’s path is made up of compacted gravel and sand. It is quite the easy walk as you just follow this path along towards the ocean.

I will say this path is rather boring. I love a hike with changing scenery, and this stays pretty flat with sights only in the far distance.

You will walk most of this hike without seeing the plane in sight until the very end. If it weren’t for seeing people return on the same path I would have thought we took the wrong pathway.

At The Plane

Once at the site you can walk around the plane, get inside of it and take some pictures. We even saw some visitors walking down to the beach from the crash site as well.

Many people don’t spend a lot of time here, so if looking to get a shot without a lot of people around then just wait a few minutes, as waves of people came and went.

Since visiting the plane site has posted some new rules at the parking lot. They do ask that you do not climb on the plane. However, there is now a sign from the owner of the land stating that climbing on the plane is not allowed, and this should be respected.

Tips For The Hike

Bring plenty of water as this hike is long.

Pay attention to the weather forecast, with no covering and being close to the ocean this could be a dangerous place if caught in a storm.

Wear layers, the hike is colder as the wind really does pick up off of the ocean and comes in fast through the flat landscape.

Is It Worth It?

This was a cool sight to see in Iceland. But you do need to consider your personal enjoyments when choosing to do this hike or not. We actually did not plan to do this hike when mapping out our itinerary, but found ourselves with some extra time towards the end of our day and decided to go for it. I am glad we got to see this famous site. But if tight on time I think there are more majestic sites to see in Iceland that are nearby the Solheimasandur Plane Crash Site.

What To Bring

As I mentioned before, make sure you bring water, snacks, and wear layers. If you want to get a feel for what I wore while in Iceland in the summer check out my Summer Packing List for Iceland.