Garður, Iceland

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Grindavík, 27 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: KEF (KEF), 10 km.

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About Garður

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces NE (30°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (210°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 300 m out (1 in 28). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 5°C in January, 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). No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Grindavík, 27 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: KEF (KEF), 10 km.

Water about 9°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 10 h 45 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. ORD to KEF, direct. About 8 flights a week that month.
See flights ORD → KEF · Skyscanner from about £315 returnAd
Getting there. 30 min from the airport to Garður.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Grindavík, 27 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: KEF (KEF), 10 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Garður · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Garður · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Garður on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

Garður does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Garður, each day
Day	Scorefor Expert	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	51, good	9 ft12 scrumbling	2,158kJ	wind from the south, 39 knots, offshore	9°C
Mon 19Oct	59, good	14 ft10 ssoft	3,706kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 17 knots, offshore	8°C
Tue 20Oct	61, good	10 ft9 ssoft	1,385kJ	wind from the south, 13 knots, offshore	6°C
Wed 21Oct	27, poor	6 ft9 scrumbling	501kJ	wind from the east-south-east, 8 knots	6°C
Thu 22Oct	21, too small	4 ft9 scrumbling	265kJ	wind from the west-south-west, 8 knots, offshore	6°C
Fri 23Oct	27, too small	5 ft9 scrumbling	284kJ	wind from the south, 7 knots, offshore	6°C
Sat 24Oct	13, too small	5 ft7 smushy	208kJ	wind from the east-south-east, 10 knots	4°C
Sun 25Oct	1, too small	2 ft7 smushy	26kJ	wind from the north, 14 knots	5°C
Mon 26Oct	12, too small	3 ft9 scrumbling	98kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 4 knots	5°C
Tue 27Oct	2, too small	2 ft8 smushy	66kJ	wind from the north-north-east, 15 knots	6°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Direct flight ORD to KEF, then 30 min by road. About 10h 45 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Garður
Best 07:00 to 10:00 local time: 10 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Garður
Best 07:00 to 10:00 local time: 6 ft at 9 s, wind 8 kn (15 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 4 ft at best.
Fri 23 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 5 ft at best.
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 22 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Direct flight ORD to KEF, then 30 min by road. About 10h 45 door to door

Rough cost

About £585–£1,140 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
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	£315–£650
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Taxi	airport and back, shared	£15–£30
Food	7 days eating out	£155–£290
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£65–£105
Total		£585–£1,140

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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