Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [209]
South of Vopnafjörður the truly spectacular mountain drive along Rte 917 takes you over Hellisheiði and down to the east coast. The road, which may be impassable in bad weather, climbs up a series of switchbacks and hairpin bends before dropping down to the striking glacial river deltas on the Héraðssandur. The views on both sides will be engrained in your memory forever.
Sleeping & Eating
Campsite ( 473 1423; sites per tent Ikr750, plus per person Ikr350) There’s a good campsite on the outskirts of town with toilets and showers, and great views of the fjord and town below. Follow Miðbraut north and turn left at the school. A ranger comes by at 8am and 9pm to collect camping fees.
Refsstaður (Under The Mountain; 473 1562; twocats@simnet.is; Refsstaður 2; s/d without bathroom Ikr2800/5000) Cathy, an American of Icelandic descent, has a special knack for hospitality. Her farmhouse, 9km south of town along Rte 819, feels incredibly homey and warm. She maintains the local emigration exhibit and provides an interesting perspective about life in rural Iceland.
Hótel Tangi ( 444 4000; Hafnarbyggð 17; sb Ikr3500, s/d without bathroom Ikr6500/8900, with bathroom Ikr10,900/14,900; May-Sep) A wonderful surprise hides behind the shockingly run-down exterior: modern sun-filled rooms! Really, these rooms are quite good – and the popular restaurant (mains Ikr1500 to Ikr3500) isn’t half bad either.
The Kauptún supermarket ( 10am-12.15pm & 1-6pm Mon-Fri, noon-4pm Sat) shares a car park with the information centre; there’s a Vin Búð ( 5-6pm Mon-Thu, 4-6pm Fri) inside.
Getting There & Away
Air Iceland ( 570 3030; www.airiceland.is) operates flights to Vopnafjörður from Akureyri once daily on weekdays from April to late October. The cheapest one-way fare on this route is Ikr9500 (40 minutes).
From Vopnafjörður it is 122km to Reykjahlíð and 92km to Egilsstaðir, so check fuel levels before you leave town. There is no bus service to Vopnafjörður.
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NORTHEAST INTERIOR
Travelling between Mývatn and Egilsstaðir, the Ring Road takes a drastic short cut inland across the stark and barren highlands of the northeast interior. There’s little to lure travellers off the road, but the loneliness can be an attraction in itself in this eerie and otherworldly place of endless vistas.
If you won’t be travelling into the highlands proper Click here, you’ll catch a glimpse of them here. Ostensibly barren, and to some unimaginably dull, the bleak landscape here is dotted with low hills, small lakes caused by melting snowfields, and streams and rivers wandering aimlessly before disappearing into gravel beds. For most of the year it’s a stark grey landscape, but if you’re visiting in spring you’ll be treated to a carpet of wildflowers that somehow gain root in the gravelly volcanic surface.
It has always been a difficult place to eke out a living, and farms here are few and far between. Near the remote farm Grímsstaðir, close to the intersection of the Ring Road and Rte 864, 3km from the Jökulsá á Fjöllum, you can see an old ferryman’s hut, built in 1880. Before the river was bridged it was crossed by ferry, and the former ferryman is said to haunt the run-down building. The hut is on the western bank of the river, 2km downstream from the Ring Road bridge.
Isolated Möðrudalur, an oasis in the barren desert amid an entanglement of streams, is the highest farm in Iceland at 469m. The bus between Egilsstaðir and Mývatn stops for half an hour at the charming highland cafe and guest house Fjalladýrð ( 471 1858, 865 1188; www.fjalladyrd.is; sites per person Ikr900, d sb/linen Ikr4900/7500, cottage Ikr13,900). It’s worth spending the night if you’re interested in tackling some of Iceland’s icy interior. The busy owners are former highland wardens and run informative 4WD day trips to Askja and Kverkfj