Westfjords

Dynjandi waterfall

The Westfjords are in the far northwest of Iceland, a sparsely populated, rugged territory intertwined by fjords.

Towns

• 1 Ísafjörður - regional centre of the region with an airport
• 2 Bolungarvík - fishing village and the neighbour of Ísafjörður
• 3 Hólmavík - one of the towns on the way to northern Westfjords, with a witchery museum as the main attraction.
• 4 Patreksfjörður - fishing village in the southern part of Westfjords.
• 5 Súðavík
• 6 Suðureyri

Other destinations

Atlantic puffin at Látrabjarg

• 1 Hornstrandir – a nature reserve situated in the north west of the Westfjords, Hornstrandir is only used during the summer. 30 species of birds can be found and seals are common along the beaches.
• 2 Látrabjarg bird cliffs - situated in the southern Westfjords, within 60 km driving distance from the town of Patreksfjörður.

Understand

Westfjords is a region with more fjords than the rest of the country. The region is one of two with very steep hills, the other one being East Iceland. Roads may be closed several months a year, separating the northern towns from the southern ones. Tunnels, especially the Vestfjarðargöng tunnel, has improved that situation. The westfjords are connected to the rest of the country by a 7-km-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður.

In the Icelandic folk tales there is an explanation for this short isthmus. In those tales, two trolls tried to separate the Westfjords from the rest of the island. They dug all night and eventually tried to hide from the sun in Kollfjarðarnes. But as the sun rose, they turned to stone. The result of their digging was the short isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður.

Get in

Keflavík International Airport is the main international airport in Iceland, and the point of entry for most people arriving in Iceland. Once you are there you will need to get to Reykjavík, via a flight bus or a car.

If you arrive in Iceland on the ferry from Denmark or the Faroe Islands, you will find yourself in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland. Once you are there you will need to get to Egilstaðir, via a bus or a car. Road 63 goes from Seyðisfjörður to Egilstaðir.

By plane

From Reykjavík you can take a domestic flight to Gjögur, Bíldudalur (via Eagle Air) and Ísafjörður (via Icelandair).

From Egilstaðir you can take a domestic flight to Reykjavík (via Icelandair) and then another flight to Gjögur and Ísafjörður. There are no non-stop flights straight to the Westfjords, as Reykjavík is a hub for most domestic air flights in Iceland.

By car

From Reykjavík

Once you are at Reykjavík there is at least a 320-km drive to the Westfjords. Should you choose to drive, you will take Road 1 to Bifröst, turn left into Road 60 (towards the town of Búðardalur) and continue until you have reached the town of Króksfjarðarnes. Once you are there you can continue on Road 60 if you intend to go to the southern part of the Westfjords or turn right into Road 61 to go to the northern part of the Westfjords. The whole section of these roads have winter service, which is mainly snow removal, 7 days a week.

You can also save yourself a lot of driving by taking Road 1 to Borgarnes, turn left into road 54, take a right into road 56 and another right into road 58 to Stykkishólmur. From there you can take the ferry Baldur to the Westfjords. You will then find yourself at the southern part of the Westfjords at Brjánslækur, 56 km from the town of Patreksfjörður.

From Egilstaðir

Once you are at Egilstaðir you will turn onto Road 1 which you will follow during the bulk of the journey and then turn left at Bifröst into road 60.

You could also take a shortcut by taking road 68 at the base of the fjord Hrútafjörður instead of turning into road 60, but be aware that road 68 does not have as regular road service as road 60 does.

By bus

There are buses from most of the main towns in East Iceland and Southwest Iceland to the Westfjords.

• Stjörnubílar has scheduled buses from Hólmavík three times a week and Ferry Baldur three times a week to Ísafjörður. Buses start June 1 and stop 31 August.

Get around

Dýrafjörður, a fjord in the region of Vestfirðir

The districts of Ísafjörður and the town of Suðureyri in the northern part of Westfjords are connected via a bus system. Each line has a bus every hour or so. The buses start running either at 06:30 or at 11:00, depending on the bus line, and the last trip goes at 19:00. A single fare costs 350 kr. You can also buy a set of 25 tickets for 6550 kr from the bus driver and at the city council office of Ísafjörður.

Scheduled trips are from Bolungarvík (in the southern part of the Westfjords) to Ísafjörður (in the northern part of the Westfjords) three times over the day. The bus stops are in Bolungarvík at the corner of the streets Vitastígur and Aðalstræti. In Ísafjörður the bus stop is at the corner of the streets Hafnarstræti and Austurvegur. Each trip costs 1,000 kr.

Car pooling

• Súðavík: Outside of the restaurant Amma Habby for those who like to get to Ísafjörður.
• Bolungarvík: At Þuríðarbraut for those who like to get to Hnífsdalur and Ísafjörður.

Car rental:

• Westfjords adventures, Bolungarvík airport, ☏ +354 4565006. Car rental in association with Bílaleiga Akureyrar, the franchisee for Eurocar in Iceland. 
• Hertz, Ísafjörður airport, ☏ +354 5224490. 
• Avis, Ísafjörður airport, ☏ +354 6600617. 

See

• Dynjandi waterfall – in Arnarfjörður, between Patreksfjörður and Suðureyri. Dynjandi is a 100-metre-tall waterfall and it is the tallest waterfall of the region.
• Vigur – island populated by birds. Boat trips are available from Ísafjörður.
• Steingrimsfjordur — this fjord is an important feeding ground for humpback whales and ideal for whale watching.

Go next

• Circumnavigate the island via Route 1 (Iceland)