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Official travel guide to West Iceland

How to get there and around

West Iceland can be split into five regions

Where to stay, wine and dine

Guides and recommendations from the locals

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Museums

Museums

Museums: Iceland has all kinds of museums. Most of them are pretty standard but others are
dedicated to more abstract things, such as ghosts and other curious phenomena.

What does West Iceland Sagaland stand for?

Whether you are travelling on foot, by bicycle, on horseback
or driving, your trip will be much more interesting with good
guidance or information about the places you visit.
• Interpretation and study of nature in West Iceland
• Geology of West Iceland
• Stories of outlaws
• Folk tales and stories of elves and trolls
• Social and cultural history of West Iceland
• Customs and employment in West Iceland
• Fishing stories of West Iceland
• Stories of the settlement and the heroes of the Icelandic sagas
• Stories of the university communities of West Iceland
• Stories of the development of West Iceland
• Stories of pilgrims and entrepeneurs
• Travel stories

Share your stories of your trip through West Iceland with your
family and friends.

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©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

©Alexander Schwarz / inisland.is

The Settlement Center

The Settlement Center is located in Borgarnes. The Settlement Center consists of a restaurant and a museum. The museum has two exhibitions, one is about the settlement of Iceland and the other one is about a famous viking called Egill Skalla-Grímssón and his life.

Samkomuhúsið Arnarstapa

Icelandic Home Cooking Restaurant Samkomuhúsið is located in the old community house in Arnarstapi on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, close to Snæfellsjökull glacier. In Samkomuhúsið you will find a

Bjarnarhöfn

At Bjarnarhofn we welcome visitors to our own little sharkmuseum all year round. At the museum you can learn about the Greenland shark, its habits, biology and of course taste the shark which is produ

Norwegian House - Regional Muesum

Norwegian house: The regional museum of Snæfellsnes The Norwegian house, built in 1832, was the first wood-frame residence with two full-sized storeys in Iceland. The wood was imported from Norway h

The Volcano Museum

The museum includes works of art, old and new, showing volcanic eruptions, as well as objects, artifacts, volcanic rocks from the unique collection of proffessor Haraldur Sigurðsson who has carried o

Library of Water

Vatnasafn / Library of water is a long-term project conceived by Roni Horn for a former library in the coastal town of Stykkishólmur in Iceland. The building stands on a promontory overlooking the oc

Akranes Folk Museum

The museum preserves a comprehensive collection of exhibits from former times, bearing witness to farming, housekeeping and social conditions in and around Akranes. Among the exhibits on display are b

Grundarfjörður Information Center

The Tourist Information Center in Grundarfjörður helps you with information regarding the Snæfellsnes peninsula and other inquiries. Established in the same building are Kaffi Emil, Bæringsstofa a

War and Peace Museum

The unique and remarkable history of the occupation period in Iceland 1940-45 unfolds at the War and Peace Museum. Our exhibition tells the story of how a peaceful countryside was transformed, in the

Eiríksstaðir - Living Museum

One of most historic sides of Iceland. Step back to the Viking Era and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and scents of Eriks the Red's farm which is also the birthplace of Leif the Lucky who is s

Laxness Museum - Gljúfrasteinn

Gljúfrasteinn - Laxness Museum Gljúfrasteinn was the home of writer Halldór Laxness (Nobel Prize in Literature 1955) and his family. The house has now been converted into a museum, where the author

The Agricultural Museum of Iceland

The Agricultural Museum of Iceland presents the agricultural heritage and seeks to explain the history of Icelandic agriculture. The museum has an extensive collection of farm artifacts. For example,

Borgarnes Museum

Among other things in the museum, there are two great exhibitions. One is Children Throughout a Century, which is a narrative of Iceland´s history in the 20th century; photographs play a major role.

Akranes Photografical Museum

Dalir Heritage Museum

Dalir Heritage Museum is an old-fashioned museum, displaying various items related to the daily life, culture and the history of Dalir region. Every item has its own history and a bit of wisdom to sha

The Maritime Museum in the Fishermen´s Garden

In the Fishermen's Garden you will find a collection of items reminding one of the local community's connection to the ocean and how its inhabitants dealt with a life that revolved around fishing in d

Others

Ólafsdalur í Gilsfirði

Gilsfjörður
371 Búðardalur
896-1930

Transportation Museum

Brákarey, Brákarbraut 20
310 Borgarnes
862-6223

Salmon fishing and heritage center

Ferjukot
311 Borgarnes
437-0082, 616-6095, 847-6319

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West Iceland

Towns & Villages

The population centres in West Iceland are as varied as they are many. Ten places have over 50 residents and Akranes is the most densely populated with 6,500 inhabitants.

All of the larger communities put ever-increasing emphasis on dynamic tourism where a wide selection of recreation and services are offered.

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West Iceland Marketing office
Borgarbraut 58-60
310 Borgarnesi
Info@westiceland.is
Phone: (+354) 437 2214

Safe travel in Iceland

To make travel in Iceland safer - for your safe return
Safetravel.is is run by ICE-SAR and is part of a bigger project, simply named Safetravel. In that project a number of companies, public institutions and individuals join hands and the goal is to lower the rate of accidents in travel and tourism in Iceland.

The 112 Iceland app can be used for two things, both for added safety on your Iceland trip.
First of all you can call for help by pressing the red Emergency button. Your location will be sent by text message to the 112 response center. Remember that even though your phone shows no signal there is a possibility that you can send text message.

The green Check In button is for you to leave your location with us so if something happens we have more information to work with. Only the 5 last locations are stored and we recommend you use this – don’t worry – you are not disturbing anyone – except for our big computer who wants to be disturbed.

On Safetravel.is you can find extensive amount of information which can help you plan your travel to and around Iceland in more safe and secure way.

Local time and weather

Aurora forecast

When to see the Northern Lights in Iceland?
The best time is between 21:00-03:00 although they can often be seen early evening or during the night. The official Northern Lights season in Iceland is from October till March. The more activity the more likely it is that you will see the northern lights but that is not all. There is never a guarantee of spotting the northern lights, but northern lights forecast by vedur.is are good. Clear skies are necessary, when we have clear skies in Iceland It is usually cold. So be sure to wear the right clothing.
Northern Lights Forecast
The Icelandic Met Office does Northern Lights Forecast which is good to use.
Visit the Icelandic Met Office www.vedur.is, for more info.

Driving in Iceland

Always check the road conditions
The weather is not the same in different regions of Iceland. Here below are good websites to use when traveling in Iceland in winter. Vedur.is is the official website for weather in Iceland. But it doesn’t always give the right picture road.is, the website for the Icelandic Road Administration, is the best website to use if you use it right.If you are unsure then you can call 1777 and ask for the conditions (open 06:30-22:00) or 1778 an automatic telephone service open all day.

Driving in Iceland can be tricky - but if you listen carefully to Elfis you should be fine.