Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [100]
Gistiheimilið Menam ( 482 4099; www.menam.is; Eyravegur 8; d Ikr9900) This small guest house above a Thai restaurant has four rooms based around a central sitting room. The guest house has recently been revamped with cream walls, dark furniture and many buddhas – it’s pleasant, although we found that the newly parqueted flooring caused a lot of sound to carry from the restaurant downstairs. Bathrooms are shared.
Hótel Selfoss ( 480 2500; www.hotelselfoss.is; Eyravegur 2; s/d from Ikr20,300/23,700; ) This is a 99-room behemoth near the bridge, with four-star business-style hotel rooms and great facilities. Make sure you get a room overlooking the broad and lovely river Ölfusá, rather than the car park. There’s a good restaurant, and a spa, beauty salon and fitness centre were added in 2007.
Eating
Guðnabakarí ( 482 1755; Austurvegur 31b; snacks Ikr600-800; 8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat, 9.30am-4pm Sun) The sweet people in this busy bakery-cafe have a small menu of crêpes, soup and pasta, as well as buns and sandwiches.
Hrói Höttur ( 482 2899; Austurvegur 22; pizzas Ikr800-1400; 11.30am-10pm daily summer, shorter hrs winter) This pizzeria and takeaway fairly heaves with families and gangs of teens on a Friday and Saturday night.
Restaurant Menam ( 482 4099; Eyravegur 8; mains Ikr1400-3000; 11.30am-2pm & 5-10pm) For a break from grills and fish and chips, head for this authentic Thai place on the road to Stokkseyri. There’s a big choice of beef, lamb, chicken and pork dishes, as well as a small international menu, although there’s not much of interest for vegetarians.
Kaffi Krús ( 482 1672; www.kaffikrus.is; Austurvegur 7; snacks Ikr500-1500, mains Ikr1800-2700; 10am-midnight Sun-Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat) Krús is a cafe-bar based in a fantastic old house, with beams and creaking floorboards. There’s a varied menu of coffees and light meals – salads, sandwiches, burgers, nachos, felafel and more substantial fish-of-the-day mains.
Sunnlenska Bókakaffið ( 482 3079; Austurvegur 22; 10am-10pm summer, shorter hrs winter; ) This small, friendly independent bookshop (selling both new and secondhand books) also sells coffee and cake, and has free wireless access plus an internet-linked computer.
Self-caterers have a choice between the Bónus ( 481 3710; Austurvegur 42; noon-6.30pm Mon-Thu, 10am-7.30pm Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun) and Krónan ( 585 7195; Tryggvatorg; 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat & Sun) supermarkets on the main road. For fast food, try the drive-through hot-dog stand Pylsuvagninn (hot dogs Ikr400-900; 10am-10pm) on the edge of the hotel car park.
Entertainment
There aren’t many cinemas on the south coast – catch up with Hollywood at Sambíóin Selfossi ( 575 8900; www.sambioin.is; adult/child Ikr1100/900), a shiny cinema inside Hótel Selfoss.
Getting There & Away
All buses between Reykjavík and Höfn, Skaftafell, Fjallabak, Þórsmörk, Flúðir, Gullfoss, Laugarvatn and Vík pass through Selfoss; there are numerous options daily. The hour-long journey from Reykjavík costs Ikr1120.
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EYRARBAKKI
pop 590
It’s hard to believe, but tiny Eyrarbakki was Iceland’s main port and a thriving trading town well into the 20th century. Farmers from all over the south once rode here to barter for supplies at the general store – the crowds were so huge it could take three days to get served!
Eyrarbakki is as bleak as can be in winter, when you’ll slither down its only street without seeing a soul, but there are some interesting summer sights.
Sights
One of Iceland’s oldest houses, built by Danish traders in 1765, Húsið á Eyrarbakka ( 483 1504; www.husid.com; Hafnarbrú 3; admission to both museums Ikr500; 11am-6pm mid-May–mid-Sep) has glass display cabinets explaining the town’s history, rooms restored with original furniture, a bird-egg collection, a gallery of naive artwork, and CCTV footage of the destruction caused by the earthquake that hit the region in 2008. Also look out for Ólöf Sveinsdóttir’s shawl, hat and cuffs,