The Ultimate guide to Snaefellsnes Peninsula

When planning your trip to Iceland, I recommend including at least a few days to visit the Snaefellsness Peninsula. It is a mini Iceland since its main features are diverse and representative of the country. I will share with you all the places you should not miss while visiting it in this guide. Keep reading to get the Ultimate Guide to Snaefellsness Peninsula!

Interesting Facts About The Snaefellsnes Peninsula

The Snaefellsness Peninsula is located in the west of Iceland, right above the city of Reykjavik. On days with clear weather, it can actually be seen from Reykjavik.
The word Snaefellsnes translates into English as Snow Mountains.
It is nicknamed “Iceland in Miniature” since it is home to breathtaking waterfalls, lava and rock formations, beautiful black sand and white sand beaches, and cute small fisherman towns. It even has its own glacier, the Snaefellsjökull.
The Snaefellsjökull Glacier, covers a dormant volcano that is famous for being the entrance to the center of the world in the Jules Verne novel “A Journey to the Center of the Earth”.

Getting to Snaefellsnes

The best way to reach the Snaefellsnes Peninsula is by renting a car and driving there. This way, you can plan your own itinerary and stop wherever you want. However, if driving is not your thing, there are plenty of tours from Reykjavik that will take you to the most famous sites. Here are a couple of suggestions:

If you decide to drive there, you’ll have to follow Route 1 north of Reykjavik until you reach Borgarnes. There you change to Route 54 which is the road that goes around the peninsula.

The drive between Reykjavik and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula will take between 2 hours and 3 hours, depending on where in the peninsula you are going.

On the map on the right, you can find all places that I will talk about in this blog.

Where to Stay in Snaefellsnes Peninsula?

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is not that big so no matter how many nights you’ve planned for, you can choose one location and make it your base. Here are some suggestions for different kinds of budgets.

Hellisandur Camping. If you are driving a camper van, this camping might be a good suggestion with beautiful views of the ocean.
Stod Guesthouse and Apartments. We stayed in this guesthouse in Grundafjordur and it was a good option. There was a shared kitchen available with everything necessary to save some money on meals.
Fosshotel Hellnar. If your budget is a bit higher, you can consider staying in this hotel with beautiful views over the Arnastapi cliffs.

Tips for The Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Best Places to Eat

During the two days we spent in Snaefellsnes, we only ate at a restaurant once. The place where we stayed had a shared kitchen available for all guests and we decided to cook most of our meals. However, the day we did eat out, it was one of the best meals we had during our trip!

If you are visiting the Snaefellsness Peninsula, I recommend eating at Bjargarsteinn Mathus. You will not be disappointed! Plus the restaurant has the best views of Kirkjufell. It does get completely booked (for good reason) so if you want to try it, make sure to book a table in advance.

Time needed

There are many things to do in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. You could easily spend 3 or 4 days in this part of Iceland and keep doing new things every day.

If you have the time, I recommend spending a minimum of 2 days here to be able to enjoy many of the main sites and even go on a few short hikes, without having to rush (this is what I did). However, if you are short on time, it is possible to fit all the main places in one day without the hikes.

Best Places to Visit in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Here are the best and most famous places in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula (in no particular order).

Búðakirkja Black Church

Búðakirkja is a small black church located in Búðir. This church was first built in 1703 with approximately 120 people registered in the congregation at that time. However, with time, the church deteriorated and was demolished in 1816. It was again rebuilt in 1848 after Steinunn Sveinsdóttir, a widow living in Búðir, requested the authorities to rebuild it and funded the project.

The church is famous for its black color and the beauty of its surroundings. It is located right next to the coast with sand and moss dunes around it.

When visiting the church, make sure to also take a stroll to the nearby Búða beach. It is the perfect spot to have a picnic and enjoy lunch on a sunny day.

If you have some extra time, it is also possible to take a short hike (approx. 7 km) between Búðir and Búðaklettur. I was not able to do it due to time constraints but I have left the link to the trail in case you want to include it in your itinerary.

Bjarnarfoss Waterfall

Not far from Búðakirkja, on the other side of Route 54, you can find Bjarnarfoss Waterfall. This is a tall waterfall with a drop of 80m that is easily seen from the road. The lower two tiers of the waterfall drop in basalt columns.

To reach this waterfall, you will have to do a short 1,3 km hike from the parking lot. However, despite the distance being short, to reach the best viewpoint you will have to go through some steep parts.

Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge

Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge is a very narrow canyon in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. This canyon is named after the Icelandic Folkore stories of the Bárðar Saga Snaefellsáss. The saga tells the story of Bárður Snaefellsás, a half-human, half-troll that lived in Hellnar with his daughters. His brother Porkell lived in Arnastapi with his two sons Rauðfeldur and Solvi. One day, the cousins were playing when Rauðfeldur pushed one of the daughters into an Iceberg that drifted away to Greenland. As revenge, Barður pushed Rauðfeldur into this canyon.

You can walk into the canyon and explore it as deep as you want. However, it keeps getting narrower the further you go and there is a small stream of water in it so you should wear waterproof shoes. Inside the gorge, you will be surrounded by very high walls. However, if you look up, you will be able to see the sky.

I have read on the internet the is a waterfall inside this ravine if you go deep enough. However, to reach it you will have to walk through a stream and climb through several small waterfalls (a rope to help you go up is installed). We were not feeling like getting wet so we only went a bit inside the gorge and turned around.

Ytri Tunga Beach

Ytri Tunga is a beach that has become popular with tourists because of two main reasons. The first one is the common presence of seals on this beach. The second one is because unlike other beaches in Iceland, it is a white sand beach.

Arnastapi Cliff Walk

Arnastapi is a small settlement near the mountain Stapafell. In the past, it used to be an important trading post and the population was bigger than now. These days it only has a few houses and a small pier for boats.

The most important thing about Arnastapi is its seaside views from its cliffs and rock formations. On its cliffs, there is a big colony of Arctic Tern that resides there.

The best thing to do in Arnastapi is to walk along its cliffs until the next settlement in Hellnar while enjoying the fantastic views. You will want to stop every few meters to take photos and admire them. The most famous rock formations are the Arnastapi Rock Bridge and Glatklettur or hole rock. However, my personal favorite was Pumpa beach.

Londrangar Basalt Cliffs

Lóndrangar is two pinnacles made of basalt on the coast of Snaefellsjökull National Park. The two rock pinnacles are respectively 75 and 61 meters tall.

According to Icelandic folklore, the Londrangar rock formations used to be two trolls, a man and his wife who liked to enjoy the sea and sat at the edge of the cliffs to admire the ocean at night. However, one day they were so consumed in their passion that they didn’t notice that the sun was coming out. Since these creatures turn into stone in the presence of the sun, they turned into these pinnacles.

There are two possibilities for visiting Londrangar.

Park your car near the Londrangar observation deck parking. From there, you will have to walk for 500 meters and you will get amazing views of these rock formations.
The second possibility is to park your car in the Snaefellsjokull National Park Visitors Center parking and go on a short hike until the two rocks.

We opted for the second one and it was a beautiful hike!

Vatnshellir Cave

Vatnshellir is an 8000-year-old lava cave that formed after a volcanic eruption from the nearby crater Purkhólar. If you decide to visit this cave you will first descend through a spiral staircase 35 meters under the surface. After, you will explore the 200 meters long cave with the shape of a tube while you admire the beautiful and colorful lava.

To visit this cave you will have to join one of the guided tours that are offered. It is not possible to visit the cave on your own. Information about prices and times can be found on this website.

Djupalonssandur & Dritvik Beach

Djupalonssandur is a beautiful black-pebbled beach with rock formations emerging from the ocean. The word Djupalonssandur translate into English as Deep Lagoons is named like that because of the lagoon right next to the beach.

On this beach, you can also find the rests of the British Epine GY7 shipwreck, which happened here on the 13th of March 1984. A total of 14 men died on this shipwreck and the iron ruins remain on this beach in memory of their lives.

Dritvik Beach is right next to Djupalonssandur. This beach can only be reached by walking from Djupalonssandur. Dritvik used to be the largest seasonal fishing station in Iceland between the 16th and 19th centuries with between 40 to 60 boats and up to 600 fishermen.

These two beaches and the hike between them was one of my absolute favorite places in Snaefellsnes so make sure to include this stop in your itinerary!

Saxholl Crater

Saxholl is a crater inside the Snaefellsjökull National Park. It is the perfect place to visit for those people that don’t want to walk too much. You can reach the crater by walking 300 meters on a walking path with steps that make access to the crater very easy. On the top, there is a viewing platform from where you can see the crater, the ocean, and lava fields.

Skarðsvik Beach

Skardsvik Beach is a golden sand beach in the northwest part of the peninsula. It is a beautiful beach with clear turquoise waters and rock cliffs surrounding it.

This beach is not very big but it compensated for its size with its beauty. In addition, we got to enjoy it all alone with no one else on the beach.

Ondverdarnes and Svortuloft Lighthouses

These are two orange lighthouses in the most western part of the peninsula. The contrast between the black lava cliffs, the orange color of the lighthouse, and the blue of the sea make a fantastic scene.

Kirkjufell Mountain and Kirkjufellfoss Waterfall

Kirkjufell Mountain is the most famous and photographed mountain in Iceland. Depending on which angle you look at it, it will either look like a triangle or a trapezium. The mountain is only 463 meters high and there is a hike to get to its top. However, it is a very challenging one and I don’t recommend that you try it.

Next to Kirkjufell Mountain, you can also find Kirkjufellfoss, a small waterfall with two drops.

The area is perfect to admire the views and take beautiful photos of both the mountain and waterfall. On a clear day, it is even possible to get the mountain reflected on the water.

Murals of Hellissandur

Hellissandur is a small village located in the north part of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. In 2018, a team of international artists painted on the walls of an abandoned fish factory 30 large murals. These murals are inspired by local stories of Iceland.

Hope you enjoyed my ultimate guide to Snaefellsness Peninsula! Let me know what you think in the comments.

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