Your guide to Snæfellsnes peninsula

The Journey to Snæfellsnes

Leaving Reykjavík, the road quickly lets go of the city. As you drive north along Route 1, the world opens up: endless lava fields roll out like an old quilt stitched in green and black, Icelandic horses graze in quiet clusters, and low mountains rise in the distance.

After about an hour, you'll cross the long bridge over Borgarfjörður and roll into Borgarnes — the last real town before the wildness of Snæfellsnes. It's a good place to stretch your legs, grab a coffee, and maybe learn a little saga history; this region is where many of Iceland's oldest stories were born.

From Borgarnes, Route 54 carries you westward — and that's when the landscape begins to shift. The mountains grow sharper, the coastline draws near, and the air turns crisp and salt-scented. Lava fields twist toward the sea, hardened into frozen waves. You'll know — without question — that you've entered Snæfellsnes.

Highlights of Snæfellsnes

The peninsula isn't a place to rush through. Every curve of the road offers something new, something unexpected.

Snæfellsjökull Glacier:

At the western tip, the great glacier-capped volcano Snæfellsjökull watches over everything. This mountain inspired Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, and it still holds a kind of quiet, magnetic power. On clear days, its white summit glows against the sky; on misty days, it disappears altogether, wrapped in clouds and mystery.

Lóndrangar – The Sea Towers:

Rising from the coastline like ancient sentinels, the basalt cliffs of Lóndrangar are the remains of a volcanic crater, worn down by time. A short path leads you to a viewpoint where the cliffs fall sharply into the Atlantic, and in summer, seabirds swirl above the rocks — puffins, fulmars, kittiwakes — their cries lost in the endless roar of the waves.

Arnarstapi and Hellnar:

Two old fishing hamlets, linked by a stunning coastal trail, where lava arches, blowholes, and basalt cliffs tell stories of fire and ocean. Walk the path between them, and you'll feel the pulse of the peninsula under your boots.

Djúpalónssandur Black Beach:

A beach where the stones are black and smooth as river pebbles and old iron remnants from a shipwreck lie rusting in the sand. Here, you can still test your strength on the ancient "lifting stones" once used to measure a fisherman's worth.

Kirkjufell:

On the north side, the photogenic peak of Kirkjufell rises like a perfect arrowhead above the fjord — one of Iceland's most recognizable mountains, framed beautifully by its waterfall, Kirkjufellsfoss.

Snæfellsnes: A Place to Breathe

At Key to Iceland, we believe the most memorable journeys are the ones where you slow down.

Snæfellsnes isn't about checking off sights. It's about stepping out of the car, standing on the cliff's edge, breathing in cold salt air, and listening to the old rhythms of earth and ocean.

It's about finding vast, wild, endless space and realizing you didn't know how much you needed it until you arrived.

So take your time, wander a little, and let the peninsula unfold around you, one quiet wonder at a time.