travel westfjords
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Hornstrandir: A Westfjords Adventure On The Trail Of The Arctic Fox
We’re about an hour out of Ísafjörður harbour when the horizon suddenly tilts. As our tiny, crowded passenger boat passes out of the sheltered fjord, we’re beset by the high waves of the North Atlantic and thrown violently from side to side.…
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The Secret Greenhouse: A Hidden Bathing Paradise At Heydalur
It’s approaching midnight when we turn down Route 633 towards Heydalur. The rough dirt road traces the coastline of Mjóifjörður past paddling ducks with processions of ducklings, and swans glide smoothly past rocks that look like basking seals in the midsummer twilight.…
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Town Guide: Hidden Places, Wildlife & Westfjordian Wonders In Patreksfjörður
Tucked away in the southernmost region of the Westfjords lies Patreksfjörður, a peaceful fishing town of around 700 inhabitants. It’s a great hub for exploring the lower reaches of the Westfjords, sitting conveniently close to the towering Látrabjarg bird cliffs that mark…
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A Road Trip To The Weird & Wonderful Samúel Jónsson Museum
It’s a surprising sight, after driving the snowed-in mountain passes and grey, rocky coastline of the southern Westfjords, to round a tight corner on an obscure coastal dirt road and see a vast pink sand beach sprawling towards the horizon. Violent blue…
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Town Guide: Amazing Nature In Tálknafjörður, A Peaceful Westfjords Hideaway
The tiny town of Tálknafjörður sits tucked away in the fjord of the same name, just off Route 63. It’s an extremely peaceful place, where the steely ocean is surrounded by towering and distinctively Westfjordian flat-topped mountains. The fjord is dotted with…
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Another Iceland: Spring Snowstorms In The Wild Westfjords
Around 200 kilometres from Reykjavík, somewhere near Kleifar on Route 60, the rolling landscape of western Iceland starts to change. After speeding through the hopeful springtime farmland of Borgarfjörður and Hvammsfjörður and over the Gilsfjörður land bridge, the green-tinged land fades into…
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Photos: A Springtime Road Trip to The Westfjords
Two weekends ago, not long after the official first day of Icelandic spring, we took a road trip up to the wild countryside of the Westfjords. The further north we got, the more apparent it became that some regions of the countryside…
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Outvert Art Space: The Inside-Out Gallery Of Ísafjörður
When you enter the space, it feels a little bit like you were dropped in a shoebox with the intent of letting you take a peek into the art world. And what a peek it is. The gallery is a single room…
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The Djúpavík Effect: Peace & Superheroes In Strandir
It’s halfway along the dirt road between Hólmavík and Djúpavík that the car starts to make a strange sound. We grind to a halt and look at the wheels in the midst of a soaking rainstorm, and in the middle of nowhere.…
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Seaweed City: A Trip To The Sjávarsmiðjan Spa
The crossing from the capital region to western Iceland happens suddenly. Past the wind-whipped Kjalarnes coastal road that winds north from Reykjavík, Route One traces a path northwards through a dramatic and rapidly evolving landscape. Conspicuous volcano craters start to appear, surrounded…
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Paradise Island: A Boat Trip to Vigur
Although it boasts some of Iceland’s most beautiful landscapes, the Westfjords is one of the least visited areas in the country. Admittedly, the windy coastal roads mean the drive is a long one—five hours if you’re lucky, and more if you get…
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Practical Magic: Learning Sorcery In Strandir
Heavy clouds hover only dozen of metres above the ground, confirming the presence of an approaching blizzard. I slide my fingers over the cool hood of the car, carefully tracing invisible lines and arches. Adding the last circle, I’m done. With a…
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A Close Encounter With The Arctic Fox
Skimming briskly along Ísafjarðardjúp, the large bay that cuts between the Westfjords’ northernmost and middle tines, I lose phone service and geographic reference at about the same time. Snowy mountains jut into the deep from every direction, giving me the sense that…
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The Mysterious Pull Of Djúpavík
It’s late spring and the mountains of the Westfjords are still covered in snow after a harsh winter. The undulating, unpaved coastal road to Strandir is a challenging drive at this time of year, with steep slopes, the risk of landslides, and…
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ROAD TRIP: Reading The Grapevine All Over Iceland
Whilst the Reykjavík Grapevine is mostly written — and printed — in Reykjavík, you know, it’s actually kind of about the whole of Iceland. People pick it up in gas stations, cafés, swimming pools, hotels, restaurants in some of the most far-flung…
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Swimming On The Edge of Nowhere: Pools In Strandir
Swimming pools and hot tubs are always major attractions in Iceland, both to Icelanders and foreign tourists, and they can be found in the most unlikely places all over the country. Strandir is an area on the east side of the Westfjords,…
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OMG! #GVpics! The Week’s Best Iceland Instagrams
Wow! Can you believe that a week passed since the last #GVpics winner was announced? Time is FLYING round here. It’s terrifying! Where did this week go? We’re all gonna die! WTF! Aaaaaaa! But hey uh, in the meantime, Instagramming sure is…
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WINTER IS COMING: A Road Trip To Djúpavík
“Hey Hannah, you can drive right? Do you want to drive John up north, to do an interview?” ‘Up North’—that’s what they told me. You’ll drive ‘up north’. In my naiveté, I assumed by ‘up north’ they meant something like Winterfell, the…
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Lumpfish Life: Growing Up In A Remote Fishing Village
An amusing interaction in a Facebook group caught my attention the other day. A small-town resident wanted to order pizza. Seeing a mass order as her only chance to get the pizzeria to deliver, she rallied her townsmen. Together they put in…
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Aurora Over Ísafjörður
Look. Early evening, December 27, Second Day Of Christmas, the good people of Ísafjörður were momentarily torn from the comfort of their couches and boardgames and families and binge TV by the appearance of fairly strong, wholly engrossing Northern Lights dancing overhead. Just…
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Winter Westfjords And The Art Of Zen: Isafjörður In November
When I set off on a Westfjords adventure in early November, I never expected it to be such an educational experience. But, it was. What I learned was the utter futility of trying to defy the elements, how one must sometimes just…
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Iceland’s Sonic Landscape: Driving The Ring Road
Not long ago, I was packing my travel bag into the back of my friends’ four-wheel drive SUV as we all headed out for an extended week navigating the Ring Road. I was somewhere between a tourist and a resident, living in…
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Top Tips for Driving Safely in Iceland
Visiting Iceland and renting a vehicle? Here are some tips to keep you and your travelling partners safe on the notorious Icelandic roadways. Stick To The Speed Limits Most rural mountain roads in Iceland are made up of loose gravel, which can…