The Ultimate Guide to Snaefellsnes Peninsula, West Iceland
Snaefellsnes Peninsula is not on Iceland's iconic ring road. It isn't a very big area but there is so much to see and do!
From mountains to climb, gorges to walk through, waterfalls to admire, and craters to walk up, Snaefellsnes Peninsula is not something to miss
How to get to Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Snaefellsnes Peninsula is only an hour and a half drive from Reykjavik (the capital!). It’s basically the sticky out part in the west (the smaller one, not the western fjords). You can get to Snaefellsnes Peninsula by driving on route 1 until you reach the Hvalfjordu tunnel just after Grundarhverfi
It cuts off driving around the fjord and you can drive under it instead. It used to cost but since September 2018 it is now free, added bonus.
You can drive around the fjord if you wish for added views of surrounding Iceland, but it will add approximately 45 minutes to an hour to your journey, whereas the tunnel only takes 7 minutes
You can continue on route 1 until Borgarnes where you split onto route 54. This becomes the main road in Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Things to Do in Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Landbrotalaug Pool
What3Words: ///ballgame.lodged.derailed
GPS: 64.832215, -22.318514
Landbrotalaug is a free naturally heated pool near an abandoned farm. It is pretty easy to get to from the main road. The pool used to be found by either knowing its there, or instructions, but it is labelled on google maps now!
The pool can get pretty busy and since it isn’t very big you might have to wait for others to finish. There aren’t any changing facilities, so come prepared! We, on the other hand, did not do this, so we got changed in the car when we got there
There is 1 larger pool and 1 smaller pool. The larger pool may only fit 4-6 people in at one time therefore is pretty small. If you’re wanting more peaceful experience try and go early early morning or pretty late at night if travelling in the summer. Take advantage of the light summer nights!
Gerduberg Cliffs
Gerduberg is a natural heritage site and is home to beautiful basalt cliffs. They reach up to 14 metres high and at their widest are 1.5 metres
They create great geometric patterns together and here you can see how dynamic the Icelandic landscape can be.
Budir Church
Budir is a small hamlet in Budahraun lava fields in Stadarsveit. One of the most noticeable buildings is an old black church. It was built in 1848 and reconstructed in 1987
There is nothing surrounding the church and an opportunity for minimalist photography as there is nothing but mountains.
Before you turn onto route 574 there is a small turning towards Budir for road 578. The small road continues to the end where you will see the small church
Raudfeldsgja Gorge
Raudfeldsgja gorge is near the Snaefellsjokull national park. By following route 54 clockwise, you'll reach road 574 just before travelling north. There aren’t many other roads so should be easy to spot
Once driving on 574, the gorge will appear on the right-hand side after driving for around 10 minutes. There is a car park at the bottom and will be easy to spot.
The gorge itself is really beautiful and the fact you can walk up to it and walk inside of it is quite thrilling! In the winter months the whole gorge is full of ice, but once summer arrives, the ice starts to melt and you can walk through areas of the gorge
Inside the gorge – due to the dripping ice, it gives the illusion that it is raining so wear a protective coat if you don’t want to get too wet
It can get quite slippy inside the gorge and if you try to walk further into the gorge it can get quite narrow too so be careful with your footing
Londranger Basalt Cliffs
Further along from Raudfeldsgja gorge on route 574 is Londranger. Once parked, you can walk across a large open space of lava fields towards the coast. From afar there looks like there are pointy skyscrapers but they are in fact rock formations!
There are 2 sea stacks with the tallest being 75 metres tall. It's good to bird watch from around here as there are so many different birds, including puffins and fulmars.
You can’t fly drones here due to the wildlife but also there are signs to stipulate to not. Please be courteous of others and the wildlife
Vatnshellir Cave
Vatnshellir cave is again only a few more minutes down the road from Londranger. You can take a 45 minute guided tour of the cave which is 8000 years old! It is thought to have been created by volcanic eruptions from a nearby crater. Once it erupted and began to cool, the surface cooled by the lava drained out from underneath creating the cave.
Driving Up to Snaefellsjokull
By driving up F570, you can drive up to near the top of the mountain. You can only really drive on F roads with a 4x4 due to the uneven terrain and the chance of the road being thin with big potholes. We only happened to notice the road by chance and a sign for Snaefellsjokull, which we couldn’t resist.
It probably took us around 30-40 minutes to drive up and was rather exciting. We got so far when we started to see snow even though it was the height of summer
We drove as far as we could get before the road ended and you would need a much larger vehicle to continue, but it was great!
It was is remote at the top and there was no one else there, it also feels very prehistoric
Djupalonssandur Beach
Fancy a little walk on the beach? Djupalonssandur is a black beach just off route 574. The beach features a 1948 shipwreck too
When driving clockwise on route 574 there is a small road after the Vatnshellir cave on the left-hand side taking you down towards the beach.
Soxhall Crater
Soxholl crater is by the road on route 574. It's on the most western side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and has its own car park. Iceland is full of naturally formed craters due to the formation of boiling hot water underneath the earth
Once it erupted it would leave a crater behind.
You can park at the bottom of the crater and walk up around 100 steps or more to the top. You can then peer down into the huge crater and see the surrounding area from above
Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss
Surely, when researching anything to do with Iceland you have definitely seen one of the most iconic images. The image is Kirjufellsfoss in the foreground and Kirkjufell in the background, and there is a road travelling in between.
Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss are on the north part of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula on route 54. If you continue travelling clockwise on the route you will reach the car park on your right-hand side
When driving up to Kirkjufell we had no idea we hd arrived there because it looks pretty different from the road and not the iconic shape you’re used to. It has its own car park which can get rather busy with tourists but we got a space fine.
There are barriers at different parts at different times to try and preserve the environment from human erosion, so please abide by the rules
We were really disappointed to see some people go under the barrier and take photos closer to the waterfall section, and once one person does it, it encourages others to do it too
If we continue going under barriers, climbing on things we’re not meant to, and not abiding by the rules then environments like this won’t exist in the future.
Best Ways to Explore Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Tours
There are so many tours from Reykjavik which drive you there, around all the big attractions and drive you back to the capital. This is a good choice if you're not a very confident driver, especially in foreign countries.
I'm also British, and we drive on the left. Whereas in Iceland they drive on the right.
If you're wanting to book a tour, there are lots of different options! We always book our tours through Viator. Similar to Trip Advisor and a sister company, but they are the cheapest around for any tours across the world
We personally, don’t usually do many tours, we prefer to drive and explore ourselves at our own speed
Renting Your Own Car
Although booking a tour can be good. We personally prefer to drive it ourselves, explore as little or as much as possible, and it's often cheaper!
By booking a tour it's usually per person, whereas a car can be split between many people. To hire a car for a day is around 12130ISK-14000ISK which is basically £70-80 per day. If you divide this between 4 of you that's only £15-20 each. So much cheaper than booking a trip
Staying in Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Hotels
Hotels can be the most obvious option for staying anywhere. We personally prefer Airbnbs but there are so many great hotels across Iceland
Arnarstapi Hotel: Arnarstapi is in Hellnar, which is in the south portion of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. They have a range of rooms which also come with a sea view!
Hotel Budir: Hotel Budir is really near Budir church. They have great reviews for their food and drinks, views, and only a short walk to the beach and birdlife
Kast Guesthouse: Kast guesthouse is only a short drive from Grundarfjordur and Olafsvik in the north portion of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. They only have 16 modern rooms but have wifi and access to a swimming pool and views of the surrounding mountains out the windows
Hostels
Hostels are usually a much cheaper way to sleep inside (rather than camping)
The best hostel in Snaefellsnes Peninsula is Grundarfjordu Hostel. They have 30 rooms and if you have a car, Olafsvik is only a 30-minute drive. They do both twin rooms, 4 beds and an apartments. A good way to save money whilst travelling
Campsites
There are numerous campsites in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. When Ed and I travelled to Iceland we had a camping card. Across 28 days for up to 2 adults and 4 children, we could camp in any of the 30+ campsites across Iceland for only 159euros/£144/$184.
There are campsites all over Iceland that accept a camping card. You have to 333ISK on top for tax, but this is only £1.90/$2.45. When you buy the camping card you receive a little booklet of all the campsites that accept the card.
You can buy them online (best option) or at 10-11 or post office. We bought ours before we went for ease
When we were queueing to book into a campsite in Vik, we overheard it was $40 for 1 night at that campsite as it was usually a busy campsite. Which I think is pretty expensive! Much easier to save money with the camping card!
You used to be able to wild camp in Iceland but since tourism has increased so much, that is no longer the case and has been for multiple years now. You don't have to pre-pay for campsites in Iceland, you just turn up
But obviously, in busier times they could be full. We, however, never had an issue in the height of summer.
Campsites usually close the beginning of September due to the change in weather and the darker days.
Not every campsite takes a camping card if you have one, so check first!
Campsites in Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Airbnb
We always love staying in Airbnbs. They're a type of home from home and often really well priced for what you get. In Iceland, they are some of the most remote Airbnbs and probably some of the best experiences you're going to get around
Some of the best chances to see the Northern Lights too!
Snaefellsnes Peninsula isn't often included in a normal road trip around Iceland, or often missed off from day trips from Reykjavik. It is probably the only area of Iceland where there is so much to do and such a small drive in between them!
