Accommodation

The guesthouse has rooms with shared facilities, double/twin and family rooms (single beds and/or bunk bed).

Board

The restaurant at Arnarstapi Center highlights local produce in their cooking, from the communities around Arnarstapi and other places on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The restaurant can seat 100 people. Breakfast is served for guests, but between 10:00-22:00 every day the restaurant is open for everyone.

Service and recreation

Arnarstapi and the area surrounding Snæfellsjökull glacier is one of the most popular tourist attractions in West Iceland. Here you will find multiple hiking routes from and around the village, along the seashore, to the mountains, or onto the glacier. This is a reserved area that belongs to the Snæfellsjökull National Park. There are countless scenic driving routes around the peninsula and many different types of activities, such as glacier tours and organized hiking tours. The closest swimming pools are Lýsuhóll (38 km) and Ólafsvík (indoor pool with outdoor hot tubs – 37 km). The closest village with shops and common services: Ólafsvík (37 km).

Arnarstapi - Hiking

Arnarstapi is a small fishing village on the southern side of Snæfellsnes peninsula, around 193 km distance from Reykjavík. The cliffs along the seashore are the perfect place for bird watchers to hang out and the village itself is a popular nesting ground for the arctic tern. Along the seashore, between Arnarstapi and Hellnar, you will find many tempting hiking paths above the waterworn cliffs. 

Snæfellsjökull Glacier

Snæfellsjökull glacier stands proudly above the communities farthest out on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is world-renowned for its beauty and magical powers, and for Jules Verne‘s notion that in Snæfellsjökull there is an entrance leading to the centre of the Earth. Tours are offered from Arnarstapi to the glacier; guided hiking tours, on snowcats and snowmobiles. The view from the glacier summit is stunning and otherworldly on bright and sunny days. No person should hike the glacier on their own.

Snæfellsjökull National Park

Arnarstapi village is located on the edge of Snæfellsjökull National Park, which covers a large area around the glacier from the magnificent seashore to the glacier‘s highest point. The National Park offers many points of interest, an indication of the battle between fire and ice, the powerful ocean waves, and remains telling the stories of how people have survived in this area through the ages. During the summer you take a guided hiking tour, but anyone can explore this wonderous world on their own by following marked paths. The Snæfellsjökull Visitor Center is located at Malarrif (9 km from Arnarstapi).

Vatnshellir Cave

Vatnshellir is an 8000 years old lava tube that reaches over 200 meters and goes 35 meters below the surface. It is located just above the road leading down to Malarrif. The cave is very wide and has a high ceiling and has been made accessible by a spiral staircase. Access to the cave is only permitted in guided tours, which are operated daily from the Visitor Center in Malarrif.

Host:  Lovísa Kristín Jóhannesdóttir