Iceland attractions

Hellnar

The Hellnar cliffs line a small cove on the south coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland, where a handful of houses, a church and a small café are all that remain of a once-busy fishing station. Snæfellsjökull rises right behind the village, and on a clear day the ice cap fills the whole view inland. Hellnar sits just off Route 574 on the edge of Snæfellsjökull National Park, roughly two and a half hours by car from Reykjavík. The shoreline between here and Arnarstapi has been a protected nature reserve since 1979, because the surf has carved the old lava into arches, fissures and caves. The best of it is at the water's edge. Valasnös, a rock headland, juts into the bay, and inside it is Baðstofa, a sea cave where light reflected off the water throws shifting colors onto the walls. Calm seas and low tide get you closest. Through the summer, seabirds nest on the ledges above the cove, and you'll hear them well before you see them. By local tradition, Hellnar is the birthplace of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, who sailed to Vinland around the year 1000 and is said to have given birth to the first European child born in North America. A statue of her stands at Laugarbrekka, just above the village. Most visitors pair the village with the coastal path from Arnarstapi to Hellnar, about 2.5 km each way along the cliff tops past sea stacks and the Gatklettur arch. Plan on an hour one way at an easy pace, longer if you stop for photos. Parking in Hellnar is tight, so many people leave the car in Arnarstapi and walk over and back, a good two to three hours in all. Fjöruhúsið, the café on the beach facing Baðstofa, serves soup and coffee in the warmer months, but its season and hours vary, so don't count on it outside summer. In winter the clifftop path can be icy and very windy, and you should keep well back from the edges.

Hellulaug

The Hellulaug hot spring is a small, rock-lined geothermal pool on the shore of Vatnsfjörður in the southern Westfjords, just below Route 60 near Flókalundur. Few hot pools in Iceland sit this close to the sea, and from the water you look straight down the fjord toward Breiðafjörður. The pool fits only a handful of people at a time. Nobody monitors the water temperature, so test it with a hand before you climb in. There's nothing built here, so expect no changing rooms, showers or toilets. Most people change in the car and leave their clothes on the rocks, and there's no entry fee. Skip the soap and shampoo, and take every bit of trash away with you. To find it, drive Route 60 to the Flókalundur hotel and service station, where Route 62 branches off. The small gravel parking lot is a short walk above the pool, which you can't see from the road. Brjánslækur, the landing for the Baldur car ferry from Stykkishólmur, is only a few kilometers away. That location makes Hellulaug the obvious first soak in the Westfjords if you're arriving on the ferry, or a last one on the way back. Dynjandi waterfall is under an hour's drive north over the Dynjandisheiði plateau, and the red-gold beach at Rauðisandur lies farther west, reached from Route 62. The pool has no opening hours and is warm in every season. Go in daylight, and in winter check the official road-conditions map before crossing the mountain passes. On long summer evenings the light over the fjord is at its best, and by then most of the day traffic has moved on.

Herring Era Museum

The Herring Era Museum (Síldarminjasafn Íslands) in Siglufjörður tells the story of the herring boom that turned this small fjord town into one of the busiest ports in Iceland. Spread across three buildings on the harbor, it's the largest maritime and industrial museum in the country, and in 2004 it won the European Museum Forum's Micheletti Award as the best new industrial museum in Europe. Start in Róaldsbrakki, a Norwegian salting station built in 1907. The ground floor covers how herring was salted and barreled for export, while upstairs the rooms where the herring girls lived each summer are kept much as they were. Next door, Grána recreates a 1930s reduction plant that turned herring into meal and oil, using machinery salvaged from abandoned factories. The Boathouse, the newest of the three, rebuilds the harbor as it looked one evening in 1950, with full-size fishing boats moored at indoor piers. It gives the best sense of scale in the whole herring museum, so leave time for it rather than rushing through at the end. Siglufjörður sits at the northern tip of the Tröllaskagi peninsula, about an hour's drive from Akureyri through the Ólafsfjörður and Héðinsfjörður tunnels. The museum opens daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in June, July and August, and from 1 to 5 p.m. in May and September, with visits by arrangement the rest of the year. Plan on about two hours, and check the current admission price with the museum before you go.

Herðubreið

Herðubreið is the flat-topped mountain that rises alone out of the Ódáðahraun lava desert in Iceland's northeast Highlands, and its outline is easy to pick out from far across the plain. At 1,682 m, it's a tuya, a volcano that erupted beneath the Ice Age glacier, which explains the steep sides and the level summit. Most travelers see Herðubreið from the F88 on the way to Askja, and the best stop is Herðubreiðarlindir, a spring-fed oasis about 4 km east of the mountain. Grass and wildflowers line clear streams here, in the middle of black sand and lava. The Akureyri Touring Association runs the Þorsteinsskáli hut, which has a campsite nearby and summer wardens, and the hut is closed in winter. The F88 leaves the Ring Road west of the Jökulsá á Fjöllum bridge, and Herðubreiðarlindir is about 60 km down this rough mountain road. It's open only in summer and is meant for high-clearance 4x4 vehicles, with river crossings along the way. If you'd rather not drive it, guided 4x4 day trips to Askja from Mývatn and Akureyri stop at Herðubreið and the oasis. Climbing Herðubreið mountain is a serious undertaking. Vatnajökull National Park rates the route difficult and puts it at about 12 hours round trip from Herðubreiðarlindir, including the drive to the trailhead west of the mountain and about three hours up. The park warns of a great risk of falling and rockfall, so wear a helmet, start early and talk to the rangers before you go.

Hesteyri

Hesteyri is a deserted village on Hesteyrarfjörður, the westernmost of the Jökulfirðir fjords in Iceland's Westfjords, inside the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve. No road reaches it, so you arrive by boat from Ísafjörður and step ashore onto a meadow of wildflowers, with a few wooden houses spread along a river that runs into the fjord. At its peak, around 80 people lived here. Norwegian whalers set up a station nearby at Stekkeyri in the 1890s, which later became a herring factory, and its rusting ruins still stand on the shore. Residents began moving away in the late 1940s, and by the early 1950s nobody lived at Hesteyri year-round. The old homes are now summer houses, and in summer the Doctor's House (Læknishúsið) serves food and rents rooms to visitors. Because Hesteyri is part of Hornstrandir, the reserve rules apply: arctic foxes are fully protected, dogs aren't allowed and camping is limited to designated sites. Film fans may recognize the village as the setting of the Icelandic horror film I Remember You (Ég man þig). Scheduled boats to Hesteyri run from Ísafjörður in summer and take about an hour each way, and some operators sell guided trips that include a walk through the village. Pack rain gear even in July, since Westfjords weather turns quickly and return pickups can run late. Outside the summer season, anyone entering the reserve must register their travel plans with the Environment Agency in advance.

Heydalur

Heydalur is a farm hotel and campsite at the head of Mjóifjörður, one of the long fjords off Ísafjarðardjúp in Iceland's Westfjords, known for a pool inside a geothermal greenhouse and a natural hot spring across the river. For anyone driving between Hólmavík and Ísafjörður, it's the obvious place to break the journey for a night. There are three places to bathe. The pool sits inside the greenhouse, where the farm grows fruit and vegetables with geothermal heat, and it's kept at 23–28°C and open around the clock. Just outside, a hot pot fed with pumped groundwater runs at about 40°C. A few minutes' walk away, on the far side of the river, is the natural spring, also about 40°C. Local tradition says Bishop Guðmundur the Good blessed it in the 12th century, and people have bathed there ever since. Heydalur is 12 km off Road 61, about 130 km from Ísafjörður and roughly 110–120 km from Hólmavík, so expect around two hours of winding fjord driving to Ísafjörður. In winter, check the official road-conditions map and weather warnings before you set out, because Westfjords weather changes fast. Bathing is at your own risk, and parents must supervise young children. The pool and the natural spring are free for hotel and campsite guests. In 2026 the Heydalur campsite charges 2,000 ISK per adult and 500 ISK for ages 7–15, plus 400 ISK tax per unit, and electricity costs 1,200 ISK per 24 hours. The campsite is open from 1 June to the end of October, and since no day-visitor price is published, call reception on +354 456 4824 before you come just to bathe. One night is the right amount of time here. From mid-September to mid-April, the outdoor hot pot is a warm place to wait for the northern lights, while in summer you can join a guided kayak trip on the fjord to look for seals or ride Icelandic horses from the farm.

Hjálparfoss

Hjálparfoss is a double waterfall in Þjórsárdalur, South Iceland, where the Fossá river splits around a block of dark lava and pours in two white streams into one round pool. Curved basalt columns line the basin, and the whole scene fits in a single view from the bank above. The falls sit in the Vikrar lava field north of the volcano Hekla, close to where the Fossá joins the Þjórsá. From Reykjavík it's about 1 hour 45 minutes: Route 1 toward Selfoss, Route 30 north, then Route 32 east past Árnes to a signposted gravel spur that ends at the parking lot. Of the waterfalls in the valley, Hjálparfoss is the easy one. The viewpoints are a short walk from the parking lot, and 20 to 30 minutes is enough for photos and a close look at the basalt. Búrfell, the second-largest hydropower station in Iceland, is just downstream, so expect power lines on the drive in. Summer, from June to September, is the best time to visit Hjálparfoss waterfall, when the moss is green and the valley roads are in their best shape. In winter, snow and ice can make the gravel track hard going, so check the official road-conditions map before you leave Route 32. Háifoss, the Gjáin valley and the reconstructed farm Þjóðveldisbærinn are all a short drive away, and some guided day tours into the Highlands stop here on the way.

Hjörleifshöfði

Hjörleifshöfði is a 221-meter headland of tuff on the Mýrdalssandur sand plain in South Iceland, about 15 km east of Vík. With its cliff sides and green cap, it looks like an island stranded on dry land. It formed in an eruption under the ice late in the last Ice Age, and floods from the Katla volcano have since built the sand plain out around it. The big 1918 eruption pushed the coast farther south, creating the spit of Kötlutangi below the headland. The name means Hjörleifur's Headland. The medieval Book of Settlements says that Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson, sworn brother of Iceland's first settler Ingólfur Arnarson, landed here and was soon killed by his own slaves. A mound on the summit is traditionally called his grave. That summit is the reason to stop. A marked trail climbs from the parking lots on the west side, and a loop over the top takes most hikers two to three hours with time for the view. From up there you look across the sand to Mýrdalsjökull, along the coast toward the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, and down onto the old farm site, so expect wind on the open plateau and keep back from the cliff edges. The road to Hjörleifshöfði is a signposted gravel track that turns south off the Ring Road, roughly 2 hours 45 minutes from Reykjavík. Ordinary cars usually manage it in good weather, but it gets rough after heavy rain or snow. The land is private and the parking lots charge a fee, so read the signs when you arrive. Summer is the easiest time to hike, though the headland is worth a look in any season. There are no toilets or services, so stock up in Vík first and check the official wind forecast and weather warnings, because Mýrdalssandur is known for sandstorms. Since the Gígjagjá cave sits at the foot of the cliffs a short walk from the parking, most people see both on the same stop.

Hljóðaklettar

Hljóðaklettar is a group of basalt crags in Vesturdalur, in the Jökulsárgljúfur section of Vatnajökull National Park in Northeast Iceland, about 15 km south of Ásbyrgi. The columns here run sideways, curl into rosettes and arch over caves instead of standing in neat rows, and the name means echo rocks, after the way sound bounces between the cliffs. The Hljóðaklettar cliffs are the worn-down plumbing of old volcanoes. They belong to a row of craters about 6 km long that erupted 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Outburst floods on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum later scoured away the loose cinders and left the magma that had cooled inside the vents, which is why the basalt columns point in every direction. A paved road leads to the parking lot at Langavatnshöfði, just off Route 862 between Dettifoss and Ásbyrgi. From Dettifoss it's about half an hour north, and from Reykjahlíð at Mývatn a little over an hour. The short V2 trail (1.2 km, about 30 minutes) reaches the rock called Tröllið, while the V3 Hljóðaklettar circle runs 3 km and takes 1 to 1.5 hours over uneven ground. On the circle, look for Kirkjan, the church, a domed cave framed by curved columns, and for the honeycomb weathering on the rock faces. With more time, the V4 trail continues 5 km to the red Rauðhólar craters, and the longer canyon trail links Hljóðaklettar with Hólmatungur and Dettifoss to the south. Stay on the marked paths, since the park protects the thin vegetation here. June to September is the time to come, when the trails and the campsite in Vesturdalur are open. Route 862 has limited winter service, so check the official road-conditions map before driving north in the colder months. Most people pair Hljóðaklettar with Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss on a Diamond Circle day.

Hlíðarfjall Ski Resort

Hlíðarfjall is the main Akureyri ski resort, on the slopes of Hlíðarfjall mountain about 15 minutes' drive up Hlíðarfjallsvegur from central Akureyri in North Iceland. It's the best-known place to ski outside the capital area, with floodlit runs for night skiing. The Hlíðarfjall ski resort has 26 marked pistes graded green, blue, red and black, plus groomed cross-country tracks from 1.2 to 10 km. The vertical drop is 455 meters, and the longest run is more than 2.5 km. A four-seat chairlift and several surface lifts carry you toward the top, where the upper lift reaches about 980 meters. So, can you ski in Iceland? Yes, and Akureyri skiing is the easiest place to start. Snow cannons help Hlíðarfjall open early, and the season normally runs from the end of November until early May. Floodlights keep the slopes open through midwinter, when daylight lasts only a few hours. Opening hours change day to day with weather and snow, so check the resort's daily status before you drive up. Lift passes go on a SKIDATA card, which you can buy online with your ticket and collect at the ticket office. Ski rental and a ski school operate on site, so you can come without your own gear. For skiing in North Iceland, February to April is usually the best stretch, when days are longer and the snow base is deeper. In summer the lower chairlift runs on set days for mountain bikers and hikers, which makes the mountain worth a visit even without snow.

Hnausapollur

Hnausapollur is a round crater lake in the Fjallabak highlands of South Iceland, right beside road F208 about 9 km north of Landmannalaugar. Locals also call it Bláhylur, the blue pool, and on a clear day the deep blue water explains the name, though plenty of drivers bound for Landmannalaugar pass within a few hundred meters without noticing it. The crater formed in an explosive eruption when rising magma met groundwater, leaving a steep-sided bowl that later filled with water. Its walls of red and black scoria make the color of the Hnausapollur crater lake look even stronger. A short track leads from F208, the northern Fjallabak road, to a parking area on the crater rim, so the first view takes almost no effort. From Reykjavík, the drive takes about 3 hours. For the best angle, follow the path along the west side of the crater and climb the steep hill at its northern end. The loop to the top and back is under 2 km and takes about 45 minutes, with loose, slippery ground near the summit. If you only want photos from the rim, 15 minutes is enough. F208 is an F-road, so you need a 4x4, and like other highland roads it opens only in summer once the snow clears. This northern stretch has no river crossings before the Landmannalaugar turnoff, but always check the official road-conditions map before setting out. Without a 4x4, a guided highland day trip that stops here is the easier option.

Hoffell Hot Tubs

Hoffell Hot Tubs are a set of geothermal tubs at the foot of Hoffellsjökull, a tongue of Vatnajökull glacier about 19 km north of Höfn in Southeast Iceland. You sit in hot water with the glacier valley and the jagged peaks above it in view, and it's one of the easiest soaks to fit into a drive along the southeast coast. The tubs belong to Glacier World, the farm guesthouse at Hoffell, and now run as the Hoffell Baths, so the old cash honesty box is gone. There are four tubs and a sauna, with a small bar on site. Hoffell is roughly 20 minutes from Höfn by car, about 3 km off the Ring Road on paved Road 984. Entry costs 4,900 ISK per person, and guests staying at Glacier World use the tubs for free. From May to September, the baths open 10:00–21:00. In October, November and February to April they open 12:00–21:00, and they close in December and January, with the last booking each day at 19:00. An hour is about right for a soak. Go late in the day after Jökulsárlón or Vestrahorn, when the light on the mountains is softer and you're ready to sit still.

Hofskirkja Turf Church

Hofskirkja is a small turf church at Hof in Öræfi, Southeast Iceland, just off Route 1 between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón. Built between 1883 and 1885, it has stone side walls, a turf-covered roof and a timber gable facing the churchyard, so from the road it looks more like a grassy mound with a front door than a church. Records of a church at Hof go back to 1343, when it was a farm church dedicated to Saint Clement. The current building was made by Páll Pálsson, a carpenter from the nearby farm Hörgsdal, and it measures only 9.8 by 4.5 meters. By the middle of the 20th century the Hof church was in poor shape, so the National Museum of Iceland took ownership in return for paying for the repairs. It was taken down and rebuilt in its original form in 1953 and 1954. The setting adds to the visit. Around the church is a churchyard with raised, grass-covered graves in the old style, and behind it the slopes of Öræfajökull rise above the farms of Hof. Look closely at the east gable, which still has old timber siding, while the interior was finished later. Hof is about 20 km (some 20 minutes) east of the Skaftafell visitor center and about 38 km west of Jökulsárlón. From Reykjavík it's roughly 340 km, a drive of about four and a half to five hours. The National Museum opens the church to view at any time but only from the outside, so plan on 15 to 20 minutes for a walk around the building and the churchyard. Summer is when the roof is at its greenest, but the Hofskirkja turf church makes a quiet stop on a Ring Road drive in any season. It pairs well with a hike in Skaftafell or an afternoon at the glacier lagoons farther east.

Hofsós Swimming Pool

Hofsós Swimming Pool is the outdoor municipal pool on Suðurbraut in Hofsós, a village on the eastern shore of Skagafjörður in North Iceland. Built low into the slope below the village, it lines its far edge up with the fjord, so from the water you look across to Drangey island and the mountains on the western shore. That view is why so many travelers know it as the Hofsós infinity pool. The pool opened in 2010 as a gift to the village from Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Lilja Pálmadóttir, and Basalt Architects designed it. Day to day it's a working municipal pool, 25 by 10.5 meters and 0.8 to 1.8 meters deep, with the water kept at about 30–31°C and a hot tub at around 38–39°C. As at every Icelandic pool, you shower without a swimsuit before getting in. Hofsós is on Route 76, about 37 km north of Sauðárkrókur and under two hours' drive from Akureyri. The Hofsós pool makes an easy stop on the coast road to Siglufjörður and the Tröllaskagi peninsula, and an hour covers a swim and a long soak. Aim for a clear evening if you can, when the low sun lights up Drangey. Summer hours (June 1 to August 23) are 07:00–20:00 on weekdays and 10:00–20:00 on weekends. From August 24 to September 20, weekend hours drop to 11:00–18:00. In winter (September 21 to May 30) the pool opens 07:00–13:00 and 17:00–20:00 on weekdays and 11:00–16:00 on weekends, so time a winter visit around the midday closure. Adult entry is 1,400 ISK. Seniors, disabled visitors and children from age 7 pay a reduced fee of around 425 ISK, while younger children swim free, and swimsuits and towels can be rented at the desk for about 850 ISK each.

Hraunsnef

Hraunsnef is a country hotel and farm on Route 1 in Norðurárdalur, West Iceland, with outdoor geothermal nature baths open to day visitors as well as hotel guests. Hot soaks right off the highway are rare on the long drive north from Reykjavík, which makes it worth knowing about. The baths use naturally heated water in a quiet valley setting, and the Hraunsnef restaurant keeps the same opening hours, so a soak and a farm-to-table dinner make an easy evening stop. Hraunsnef sits just north of Bifröst, about 35 km from Borgarnes and roughly an hour and a half from Reykjavík. Deildartunguhver hot spring and the Hraunfossar waterfalls are both within about 40 minutes. Entry is 4,900 ISK for adults and 3,500 ISK for children aged 3 to 12, and children up to 2 get in free. Hotel guests get 20% off. Forgot your gear? Swimsuits and towels rent for 1,500 ISK each, robes for 2,000 ISK and swim shoes for 2,500 ISK. Opening hours change with the season. From April to September the baths open 12:00 to 21:00, in March and October 17:00 to 21:00, and in February and November only on Friday and Saturday evenings. They close in December and January, and because the hotel says hours can change with the weather, check before a shoulder-season visit.

Hreppslaug

Hreppslaug is a geothermal swimming pool at Andakíll, near Hvanneyri in Borgarfjörður, West Iceland, filled with hot spring water since 1928. It sits in open farmland, and the local youth association UMF Íslendingur that built it still runs it today. The Hreppslaug swimming pool is simple: one large concrete pool and two small hot tubs, all filled with water piped straight from a nearby hot spring. You won't find slides or a café here. What you get instead is a quiet soak with a view over the river flats and the mountains at the mouth of Skorradalur, which is exactly why people make the detour. The drive from Reykjavík takes about an hour, and Borgarnes is roughly 15 minutes away. Hreppslaug pairs well with Deildartunguhver, Europe's most powerful hot spring, about 25 minutes inland, or with a drive up the valley to Skorradalsvatn lake. An hour is plenty for a swim and a soak. This geothermal pool is seasonal. It opens from late spring to the end of October and closes for the winter, with the longest hours in June, July and August, when it's usually shut on Mondays. Hours change from year to year, so call 437 0027 before you go.

Hrunalaug Hot Spring

Hrunalaug Hot Spring is a small natural hot spring on private farmland near Flúðir in South Iceland, where water at 37–38°C fills three pools in a quiet green valley. It's about 10 minutes' drive from Flúðir and about an hour and 40 minutes from Reykjavík, close enough to add to a Golden Circle day. The land belongs to the farm Ás, owned by the same family since the 1890s. The oldest pool was built around 1890 for laundry and bathing, the second in 1935 for dipping sheep against scab, and the third in 2017 for visitors. That newest pool was rebuilt in 2023 with an outer ring of columnar basalt, which made it larger and deeper. Hrunalaug charges entry. As of October 2026, adults pay 3,000 ISK before 14:00 and 3,500 ISK after, ages 11–15 pay 2,000 or 2,500 ISK, seniors and guests with disabilities pay 2,500 or 3,000 ISK, and children 10 and under go free. There's no booking system, so it's first come, first served, with room for about 25–30 people and a 90-minute limit per visit. The spring is open all year: 9:00–22:00 from May through August, 9:00–21:00 in spring and fall, and 10:00–20:00 from November 1 to March 14. Outside those hours the site is closed and monitored by an alarm, so late-night soaks are no longer possible. It also closes now and then for private sessions, which the owners announce on the official website. A new changing building opened in 2026, set into the hill behind the pool, with lockers, toilets and showers. Towels rent for 1,000 ISK, and the walk from the parking lot is under 200 meters. The stones in and around the water are slippery, the site isn't wheelchair accessible, and drones and glass containers aren't allowed. Plan on an hour in the water, and come before 14:00 if you want the lower price. In very dry spells this natural hot spring has dried up before, so check the official website on the day of your visit.

Hrísey Swimming Pool

Hrísey Swimming Pool is the outdoor pool on Hrísey, an island in the middle of Eyjafjörður in North Iceland. It belongs to the island's small sports center at Austurvegur 5, a short walk uphill from the harbor, and the municipality of Akureyri runs it. The outdoor pool is 12.5 meters long, with a separate children's pool, a hot tub and a cold tub. Indoors you'll find a steam bath and an infrared sauna, plus a gym. The view across Eyjafjörður from the hot tub is the main reason to come, and after a few hours on the island's trails it's the obvious place to warm up before the ferry back. Getting there means taking the Sævar ferry from Árskógssandur, about a 30-minute drive north of Akureyri, and the crossing takes around 15 minutes. Leave the car on the mainland, since the village is compact and everything is within walking distance of the Hrísey ferry landing. An hour in the water fits easily into a half-day or full-day trip to the island. In summer, from June 6 to August 16, the Hrísey pool opens 10:30 to 19:00 on weekdays and 10:30 to 17:00 on weekends. The rest of the year it opens only in the afternoon: 15:00 to 19:00 Monday to Thursday, 15:00 to 18:00 on Friday and 13:00 to 16:00 on weekends. In 2026 adults pay 1,400 ISK and children aged 6 to 17 pay 310 ISK. For wheelchair users, a separate step-free changing room opens onto the pool area, though there's no lift into the pool or tubs.

Hvalnes Lighthouse

Hvalnes Lighthouse is a short orange tower on a gravel spit beside Route 1 in Southeast Iceland, about 50 km east of Höfn. Behind it, the dark, jagged peaks of Eystrahorn rise almost straight from the shore, with a pebble beach and a quiet lagoon on either side. For a Ring Road photo stop, few places take less effort. The light dates from the mid-1950s and still guides ships along this part of the coast. At about 12 meters, it is small next to most Icelandic lighthouses, and you can walk around the base but not go inside. The land around it, often called the Hvalnes nature reserve, marks the eastern end of the Lón district. Most people spend 20 to 30 minutes here, walking out to the black pebble Hvalnes beach and back, while wading birds feed along the lagoon shore. From Höfn the drive takes roughly 45 minutes, and coming from the Eastfjords it is about 50 minutes south of Djúpivogur. A short track leads to a small parking area by the lighthouse. There are no facilities, so plan restrooms and coffee in Höfn or Djúpivogur. Wind can be fierce on this exposed spit at any time of year, so hold on to your car door when you open it. Hvalnes pairs well with Vestrahorn, closer to Höfn, which has a similar mountain-and-beach setting, and heading east the Ring Road runs below the steep scree slopes of Hvalnesskriður toward Djúpivogur.

Hvalsneskirkja

Hvalsneskirkja is a stone church on the Reykjanes Peninsula, standing almost alone on the flat coast south of Sandgerði, about 15 minutes by car from Keflavík Airport. The dark stone walls and the bright red and yellow bell tower make it easy to spot from the road. For a building this small, Hvalsneskirkja carries a lot of Icelandic history. It was built from cut stone quarried on the nearby Miðnes heath and consecrated on Christmas Day 1887, paid for by Ketill Ketilsson, the farmer and ship owner who owned the Hvalsnes estate. It's still a working parish church, with services held in the same rough-walled nave. The main story inside belongs to Hallgrímur Pétursson, Iceland's best-known hymn writer, who was the priest at Hvalsnes from 1644 to 1651. His daughter Steinunn died here in 1649, aged four, and her gravestone is kept in the church. Tradition says he carved it himself, and the stone was found in 1964 after years of use in the path to the church. From Reykjavík the drive takes roughly 50 minutes, and there's parking beside the churchyard. The Hvalsnes church fits easily into a first or last day near the airport. Visiting hours aren't posted, so plan on the exterior and the churchyard, and treat a look inside as a bonus.

Hvammstangi Swimming Pool

Hvammstangi Swimming Pool is the village pool of Hvammstangi in Northwest Iceland, run by the Húnaþing vestra sports center at Hlíðarvegur 6, up the hill from the harbor and about 6 km off the Ring Road on Route 72. After a long day on the gravel loop around Vatnsnes, this is where the dust comes off. The outdoor pool is 25 by 11 meters with four lanes, and around it sit a hot tub with massage jets, a cold tub, a shallow children's pool and a waterslide. Inside there's a steam bath, plus a washing machine and dryer that guests can use. Campers and cyclists tend to appreciate the laundry more than the slide. Because Hvammstangi sits roughly halfway between Reykjavík and Akureyri, about 2.5 hours north of the capital, the pool makes an easy break on the long Ring Road stretch through the northwest. The Kirkjuhvammur campground is a short walk away, and the Icelandic Seal Center is down by the harbor if you want to pair the swim with something in town. Under the 2026 municipal tariff, a single adult entry costs 1,200 ISK. School-age children pay 340 ISK, seniors aged 67 and over and teenagers aged 16 to 18 pay 600 ISK, and children under 6 swim free. Renting a towel or swimsuit costs 805 ISK, and a wash or dry load is 1,345 ISK. In summer (June 1 to August 31) the pool opens 07:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 18:00 on weekends. Winter hours run 07:00 to 21:30 Monday through Thursday, 07:00 to 19:00 on Friday and 10:00 to 16:00 on weekends. Ticket sales stop 30 minutes before closing, so plan an hour and arrive with time to spare.

Hvolsvöllur Swimming Pool

Hvolsvöllur Swimming Pool is the town pool of Hvolsvöllur, part of the municipal sports center in the middle of this small Ring Road town in South Iceland. Half an hour of spray at Seljalandsfoss leaves most people damp and cold, and the pool is the warm fix about 20 km back down the road. The outdoor pool is 25 meters long, with two hot tubs, a wading pool and a waterslide around it. There's also a steam bath, and you can choose between indoor and outdoor changing rooms. The building has a gym and a sports hall too, but for a road-tripper the hot tubs are the point. Hvolsvöllur is about 1 hour 20 minutes east of Reykjavík on Route 1, the last town before the turnoffs for Fljótshlíð, Þórsmörk and Seljalandsfoss. Since the pool is a short walk from the main road and the LAVA volcano exhibition, it slots easily into a South Coast day, either as a morning start or a stop on the drive back. The pool is open every day. From May 1 to August 31 it opens 06:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 19:00 on weekends. From September through April weekday hours stay the same, while weekends run 10:00 to 17:00, and on winter weekdays school swimming lessons take up the middle of the day. Entry prices aren't easy to find in advance, so confirm the current price at the desk. Plan about an hour, and as at every Icelandic pool, shower without a swimsuit before you get in.

Háifoss

Háifoss is a 122-meter waterfall on the Fossá river in Þjórsárdalur, a valley in South Iceland near the volcano Hekla at the edge of the Highlands. It drops in one clean plunge into a canyon of layered rock, and its smaller twin, Granni, pours over the same rim just to the right. The name means "high waterfall," and Granni means "neighbor." From the rim you see the Háifoss and Granni waterfalls side by side, with the full depth of the canyon below. Stay well back from the edge, since the cliff top is open ground with a long drop. From Reykjavík it's about two and a half hours: Route 1 to Selfoss, Routes 30 and 32 up the valley, then about 7 kilometers of gravel on Road 332 to a parking lot on the canyon rim. That last stretch decides most trips. Road 332 is rough and potholed and isn't maintained in winter, so a 4x4 is the safer choice and the drive is realistically a summer one. The main viewpoint is a short walk from the parking lot, and 30 to 60 minutes is enough for photos along the rim. For a full day, the hike up the Fossá from the reconstructed Stöng farm takes 5 to 6 hours round trip. June through September is the best time to visit Háifoss, when the road is open and the canyon walls are green. Check the official road-conditions map before you turn off Route 32, especially after rain, and pair the trip with Hjálparfoss and the Gjáin gorge farther down the valley.

Hólmatungur

Hólmatungur is a spring-fed area of the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon in the northern part of Vatnajökull National Park, North Iceland, where clear streams pour out of the ground and run into the gray glacial river. It lies between Dettifoss and Vesturdalur and sees far fewer visitors than either. The contrast is the reason to come. The Hólmá river winds through islets and banks thick with angelica before dropping over the Hólmárfossar cascades, while the Jökulsá á Fjöllum churns past below. Réttarfoss, the lowest and northernmost waterfall on the Jökulsá, is a short walk from the parking lot. To get there, turn east off Route 862 north of Dettifoss onto the short Road 887 and follow it to the parking lot at Ytra-Þórunnarfjall, which has toilets and a view down into the canyon. Because the drive from the Dettifoss turnoff takes only a few minutes, the two are easy to combine. Overnight stays aren't allowed at the parking lot. The H1 Hólmatungur circle is the walk to do: 4.5 km, about 1.5 to 2 hours and graded easy, out along the Hólmá to the cascades and back beside the Jökulsá. A short, steeper side trail, H2, drops to Katlar, where the river squeezes into a narrow channel full of whirlpools. Hikers on the two-day canyon trail between Ásbyrgi and Dettifoss also pass through Hólmatungur. Summer, roughly June to September, is when the trails are snow-free and the roads are reliably open. Route 862 gets only limited winter service, so check the official road-conditions map before setting out in the shoulder seasons. An hour or two at Hólmatungur makes a quiet break on a Diamond Circle drive.