Glaumbær Turf Farm & Museum

About Glaumbær Turf Farm & Museum

Glaumbær Museum is a preserved gabled turf farm in Skagafjörður, North Iceland, about 8 kilometers north of Varmahlíð on Road 75. People lived in these turf houses until 1947, and walking the dim central passage is the quickest way to understand how a large rural household got through an Icelandic winter.

The farm is a row of turf-and-timber houses, most built in the 18th and 19th centuries, joined by one long internal corridor so nobody had to step outside in a storm. You pass the kitchen, pantries and storerooms before reaching the baðstofa, the communal room where everyone slept, ate and did handwork by lamplight. Tools, utensils and textiles from the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum fill the rooms, and Glaumbær is part of the National Museum of Iceland's historic buildings collection.

Beside the turf farm stand two 19th-century timber houses and the small Glaumbær church. One of them, Áshús, holds the museum café, open in summer and a good place to warm up with coffee after the tour.

Glaumbær sits on the road from the Ring Road at Varmahlíð toward Sauðárkrókur, a little over an hour's drive west of Akureyri and roughly 3.5 hours from Reykjavík. That makes it an easy break on a Ring Road day across the north. Plan on about an hour, more if you linger in the café.

From May 20 to September 20 the museum is open daily 10:00 to 18:00. In spring (April 1 to May 19) and early fall (September 21 to October 20) it opens weekdays 10:00 to 16:00, and from October 21 to March 31 visits are by appointment, so email or call ahead.

Admission in 2026 is 2,200 ISK for adults and 1,900 ISK for students, seniors, disabled visitors and groups of six or more, with under-18s free; the published 2027 rates rise to 2,400 ISK and 2,000 ISK. A combined ticket with Víðimýri turf church near Varmahlíð is available, and a 2026 offer pairs museum entry with a dip at a Skagafjörður swimming pool. Groups can book a short guided tour or a private 45 to 60 minute tour in advance.