Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [114]
Guesthouse Puffin (Víkurbraut 24a; sb Ikr2900) This place has very thin bedroom walls but a great old guest kitchen (check out the diagonally opening drawers) and a possibly haunted lounge. The guest house is attached to Hótel Lundi.
Hótel Lundi ( 487 1212; www.hotelpuffin.is; Víkurbraut 24-26; s/d/tr Ikr12,650/17,250/21,400; ) This small old-fashioned family-run hotel has rooms with telephones and bathrooms, and a respectable restaurant; prices include breakfast.
Edda Hótel Vík í Mýrdal ( 444 4000; www.hoteledda.is; s/d Ikr14,600/18,300; May–mid-Sep; ) One of the three-star Edda Plus hotels, this serviceable modern place has good, clean rooms with phone, TV and en suite bathroom. There’s a restaurant with ocean views, and free internet in the dining room.
Halldórskaffi ( 487 1202; Víkurbraut 28; mains Ikr400-1800; 11am-11pm Sun-Fri, to 2am Sat Jun-Aug, 6-11pm Fri, to 2am Sat Sep-May) In the same building as the tourist office, this place serves pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, fish mains and beer in an old-world wooden dining room.
There are restaurants at the Edda Hótel and Hótel Lundi. The N1 petrol station contains the Ströndin Bistro ( 487 1230; 3-10pm); or for cheaper eats with a view of Reynisdrangur, there’s the restaurant-grill Víkurskáli ( 487 1230; snacks Ikr790-1800; to 9pm). For alcohol, there’s a Vín Búð ( 5-6pm Mon-Thu, 4-6pm Fri), and self-caterers can make use of the large Kjarval supermarket ( 487 1325; Víkurbraut 4; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-1pm Sat) near BrydebúÐ.
Getting There & Away
Vík lies on the main bus route between Höfn and Reykjavík, and buses stop at the N1 petrol station. From June to mid-September, the bus from Reykjavík leaves at 8.30am, stopping at places of interest, and returns from Vík at 3pm (one-way Ikr4900, five hours). A second bus leaves at 5pm, returning at 9am: this one is faster, with a journey time of 3¼ hours.
In winter, the bus runs from Reykjavík at 3pm on Tuesday, and 2pm Friday and Sunday.
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EAST OF VÍK
Mælifell
On the edge of the glacier, this 642m-high ridge and the countryside around it are just spectacular. The simple but idyllic campsite at Þakgil ( 853 4889; www.thakgil.is; sites per person Ikr850, cabins Ikr12,000; Jun & Jul), a green bowl among stark mountains, makes a convenient base from which to explore. You can walk up Mælifell, or even get up onto the glacier – a path leads to the nunatak (hill or mountain completely surrounded by a glacier) Huldufjöll. You can drive to Þakgil, 14km along a rough dirt road (Rte 214) that branches off Rte 1 about 5km east of Vík, or there are two walking paths from Vík.
At the start of Rte 214, Country Hótel Höfðabrekka ( 487 1208; www.hofdabrekka.is; s/d Ikr14,100/19,300; ) is a large and reputedly haunted hotel! It offers tasteful wood-panelled rooms with en suites, four hot tubs, a guest kitchen and a good restaurant (open from 6pm to 10pm; bookings necessary in winter). Internet access costs Ikr300 per 20 minutes.
Mýrdalssandur
The vast black-lava sand flats of Mýrdalssandur, just east of Vík, are formed from material washed out from underneath the glacier Mýrdalsjökull. This 700 sq km area of sand is bleak and desolate, and apparently lifeless, but arctic foxes (which have a black coat in summer) and sea birds are common sights here. To the south of Rte 1, the small peak of Hjörleifshöfði (231m) rises above the sands and offers good views towards Vestmannaeyjar. On the other side of Rte 1, the green hill of Hafursey (582m) is another possible destination for walks from Vík. As you head east towards Höfn, look out for stone cairns constructed by early travellers to mark safe routes across the sands.
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VESTMANNAEYJAR
Black and brooding, the Vestmannaeyjar form 15 eye-catching silhouettes off the southern shore. The islands were formed by submarine volcanoes around 11,000 years ago, except for sulky-looking Surtsey, the archipelago’s newest addition, which rose from the waves in