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Reviews of 2023 trip Westfjords, Thorsmark, Westmann Island, Selfoss and Reykjavik

I will try and be concise with my reviews, but that is not my strong suit;) We had a camper van for 10 days, and then a car for 7 on our most recent trip. I will list the reviews by category

Vehicle rentals:
Happy Campers--Excellent! We had the Happy 4x4 which was a VW Transporter. Cost was 3K US dollars for 10 days. We brought our backpacking sleeping pads, bags and pillows which made it more comfy for us. Otherwise everything else they provided was great. They do provide bedding, but we wanted our own instead. When you pick up the van, there is an area that fellow campers can leave things behind and you can take. We opted for the Happiest Bundle, which provided the premium insurance as well.

Blue Car Rental--We have used them a number of times and they are great to work with. We had a Dacia Duster for 7 days and the cost was $1350 US dollars. It was a 6 speed manual. No issue with the car or with Blue. We took the full insurance.

Restaurants:
Braud Bakery--There are several locations between the airport and Reykjavik. I preordered/prepaid and picked up our goodies after we were on the road. We opted for the location that was adjacent to Kronan so we could grocery shop as well with just one stop. Their cinnamon rolls are amazing, and they have several flavors such as licorice with blueberry.

Costco--Yes, brunch after our overnight flight was a Costco hot dog. Not like the ones here, but true Icelandic style being lamb and them with the special sauce and onions.

Fjoruhusid Cafe (Hellnar)--We hiked from Arnastapi to Hellnar, and at the end of that trail is this cafe. We had the fish soup, bread, coffee and hot cocoa and it was very good. The cafe is right next to the trail, so easy to spot.

Gamli Baerinn Kaffihusi (Westfjords, just west of the ferry dock)--This cafe/guesthouse is on a farm. We had tomato soup, toast, coffee and cocoa and it was very good. The soup was the best tomato soup I have had. They also have a small area of hand knit wool items for sale.

Tjoruhusid Restaurant (Isafjordur)--This is a huge seafood buffet place that books months in advance. There are two seating a night, one at 6 and one at 8. Family style seating. Everything is seafood. The fish soup was very good, but we were advised by several locals to not fill up on that as the other pans of fish were so good. The main buffet had around 6 or 7 huge cast iron pans with different fish in each. I tried a little bit of everything but still could not eat it all. Most people had at least seconds, which I have no idea how unless they had hollow legs;) My only negative comment is that if you have a sensitive stomach, the oils can get to you.

Litlibaer Cafe (near Sudavik)--Tiny little cafe up on a hill alongside the fjord. Outside tables. Order at the window and they bring it to you. If you order coffee, they will bring you an entire pot to leave at the table with you. Waffles are their specialty, with home made rhubarb and blueberry jams. They also bring real whipped cream in a dispenser. Once again, there is a small area inside with wool items for sale.

Heydalur Farm--This is a hard place to describe. They have a handful of hotel rooms, a couple cabins and a campground. We camped. They also have a natural hot spring, a man made hot spring, and then a full size pool inside a greenhouse. There is a stable on site, so you can ride horses as well. I knew we would stay at this place when I found out they have a 14 yr old Golden Retriever, so we got our golden fix while missing ours at home;) We had dinner in the restaurant, which they ask you to let them know in the afternoon what it is you want to eat, so they can prepare it and have it ready at the time you want to dine. We opted for starters of smoked arctic char which they made to look like a rose. Sounds odd, but was very good. We both wanted the meat (lamb) soup, so a huge crock of the soup was brought to the table and we self served

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Dalakot Restaurant (in Budardalur)--They have a lamb buffet lunch each day with lamb, potatoes and dessert. We both opted for that as we could do a small portion and it was perfect. The lamb was so tender and tasty. We saw burgers go to other diners and they looked great, but enormous!

Erpsstadir Creamery (in Budardalur)--Creamery that has fresh skyr and ice cream. We bought skyr that had home made rhubarb and crowberry jam on top. So good!

Messinn (Selfoss)--This is our favorite restaurant in Reykjavik, so we were thrilled to be able to stop here for lunch since we did not have plans to be in Reykjavik at all. Their plokkfiskur (cod stew) is the best I have had and the chef gave me his recipe a couple years ago. Everything they make comes out to you in the cast iron pan it is cooked in. Thankfully the lunch portions are smaller, so we got one plokkfiskur and one regular cod to share, and coffee/latte to keep us going for the day.

Rostin (at Gardur by the lighthouse)--We have been to the lighthouse before, but did not notice the restaurant. Wow, what a find! Very interesting decor (in a good way) including tomato plants that were climbing the windows and they actually had fruit on the vines. We had the cod fish n chips (not greasy at all) and then catfish in a mango chutney. Both were so good and one of the best meals of the trip!

Volcano Huts at Thorsmark--This is a remote, hard to get to place, but they have very good food. We opted for the breakfast buffet each day before hiking, and preordered picnic lunches for our hikes. They serve burgers in the afternoon until 5, and then from 6pm on it is a buffet dinner. The first day after hiking we had burgers for dinner. The second day we just shared one. The picnic lunches were plentiful. A regular sandwich with I think chicken or turkey meat, but then also a lamb one on very thin bread, and then a banana, juice box, and Mars bar. I did not care for the lamb sandwich, but that is just a personal preference.

Skyr Bar at Westmann Island--Just like the old frozen yogurt bars from the 80's here, but skyr. So good and they had outdoor seating which was nice on this very warm day.

Slippurinn at Westmann Island--Such a great dinner! We shared two entries, lamb fillet and wolffish. The wolffish dish came out in a cast iron pan and had grains, cabbage, apples and a sauce that all just really went so well together. We also shared dessert which was skyr with caramel (not too sweet) and then something I have no idea what it was lol. It was like a slushy/icey and green, but it really added to the dish. I need to look it up online and see, as it sounds so odd but was so good.

Gott at Westmann Island--Lunch here one day was fish tacos and fish soup. Both were good, but the soup was a bit better than the tacos. It is right on the main downtown street and they have numerous outdoor tables which was again nice on the warm days we had.

Viktin Bakhus at Westmann Island--We stopped here for coffee/cinnamon roll in the morning and then came back for sandwiches at lunch. Great little coffee shop with a good variety of options.

Mika Restaurant (Selfoss)--One of our favorite meals of the trip! This is located very close to Fridheimer, the tomato farm. They are known for their chocolates and incorporate that into many of the dishes. We shared a scallop starter that had chocolate and pistachios, served on scallop shells. We each had the lamb fillet with roasted veggies and a sweet potato puree, again with some chocolate shavings. Dessert was shared again, a chocolate creme brûlée with raspberry sorbet and chocolate shavings and whip cream. They make chocolates in house, so we bought a few to bring home.

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Cafe Loki (Reykjavik)--We had no intention of going to Reykjavik on this trip, but ended up there for a bit before our flight. The place we wanted to go to lunch was not open, so we headed up to Cafe Loki since we knew it. It was very chilly and windy, and the place was packed, so the only seating was outside. They had heaters, but it was still quite cold. We opted for coffee/latte to help warm us up and to keep us awake for our later flight home. For lunch my husband had the meat (lamb) soup and I had the plokkfiskur. Both were good and warmed us up.

Hotels:

Mostly we stayed in campgrounds, which I won't mention unless someone asks. The last part of the trip though was hotels.

Northern Light Inn (Grindavik)--We have stayed here on a past trip. We had no intention of staying here, but on a whim, while driving to hike the volcano we talked about it. We had been in a camper van for 9 nights so far, and a hotel was sounding really nice. So on a whim I called and we snagged the last room! The room is spacious and has two very comfy chairs. They have coffee and tea (nice selection of both) in the room as well as wine glasses and chocolates. There is an area of the hotel that is like a lounge and has an honesty bar. Snacks, wine, beer, etc and you just write down what you took and your room number. The showers here are so nice! Especially after our 12 mile hike;) They have a discount code for returning customers. I did not bring it with me as we had not planned to stay here, but they could see my name in their system and offered it to me which was much appreciated.

Volcano Huts at Thorsmark--The lodging options here include pitching your own tent, a yurt or a cabin (hut). We opted for a cabin and it was perfect for us. Very bare bones. Bunk beds with very comfy mattresses. You can rent linens fro them, but we had our sleeping bags so just used those. The kitchen area had an electric kettle for water and two hot plates and a tiny sink. No refrigerator. No coffee pot. My husband make his Alaska cowboy coffee so he had something before the lodge opened;) Check out is 10 am, but you can leave your bags and still go hike. It is a very laid back place as it is geared towards multi day hikers. The lady at the desk was super helpful for trail information.

Hamar Guesthouse on Westmann Island--This place was fine, but rather run of the mill. The room was spacious and it did have a nice couch. The bathroom was very clean. Towels could use a refresh and the buffet breakfast was just meh. I hate to say anything negative as it wasn't bad, but just nothing special. No Skyr, which I missed.

Blue View Cabin in Selfoss--We stayed here our last night and just loved it! Very small. but well laid out. The private hot tub on the deck was ready to go when wee arrived and was very clean. Comfy bed. The bedroom was tiny, almost as if it were built around the bed;) Tiny kitchen area, but we didn't cook. Nice views. This would be an ideal spot to stay for doing the Golden Circle.

Activities:

Green Cliffs of Hornstrandir hike in the Westfjords. We booked this with Borea Adventures. They only do this hike 1-2 times a week during the season. It is normal a 9 mile challenging hike, but we did 10 miles as it all depends on the weather and where the boats can go to drop you off and pick you up. It was very foggy this day, but it cleared a bit on occasion. Beautiful hike, rough terrain. It starts off very steep as we climbed 1250 feet in the first hour. After that it was just a very slight uphill, where you really don't even notice. The terrain kept changing, and it was just beautiful. Two areas of descent were a bit dicey. The two guides were great at getting everyone down them safely. The first one was steep and very rocky. The second one was very steep, but no rocks to get footing on and I knew my knees so I just did a butt slide;) Very tall brush to go through after that.

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Hornstrandir continued--To get here and back, you take a large boat, then transfer to a zodiac to get to land. So same thing for the return the zodiac comes and gets you and takes you to the larger boat. The downside of this hike is that this is the first pickup spot, so the boat ride back is long as there are two other pickup spots for other hikes. It is a long day, but so worth it!

Calm water Kayaking also with Borea Adventures--We did a 2 hour kayak trip in the water there right at Isafjordiur. We had a beautiful day for it, until heading back in. Winds whipped up and we were going against the wind. It wasn't bad, but we had to work to get back. Our guide was a grad student at the marine university there and she was excellent.

Volcano Hike--Our plans changed and we left the Westfjords a day earlier than anticipated. While at Hvammsvik hot springs, we decided on a whim that we would go hike the volcano. This was a 12 mile hike round trip. Not difficult, but just a long slog. So worth it though as the volcano was actively erupting. The last km or so was over a lava field, so that part was a bit trickier with footing, but not bad. We found some rocks to sit on and just watched the magma spew out. Once in a lifetime event!

Rib Safari tour on Westmann Island--This was so much fun! We did a 2 hour trip and I am so glad we opted for that vs the one hour. We went all around the islands, in and out of caves, and then the boat driver noticed orcas. Right in front of us! He slowly moved the boat a bit closer, but very slow and we were all silent and just watching them. There were at least 7 and they were just playing all around our boat. They came within 15' of the side of the boat. I have seen them here in WA while on our ferries, but not up close like this and not this many.

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Hot springs/lagoons:

Hellulaug (Westfjords near the ferry)--Small natural hot spring right on the ocean. There is a donation box. No changing area. Slippy to get into, and yes I went face first without intending;) Really a nice little spot and perfect for right after the ferry.

Isafjordur pool--Indoor pool. Bare bones, but a regular pool, cold plunge vat and hot tub.

Horgshlidarlaug--hot springs pool near Heydalur. Just on the side of the road adjacent to the fjord. Small changing room, no cost and no donation box. Cold plunge is in the fjord.

Heydalur--Swimming pool in the greenhouse, but also a man made hot spring just outside of the green house. Then further down from the property is a natural hot spring. Really nice facilities and no extra charge for any of this.

Dragsnes hot tubs--Right next to the ocean. Three tubs. One cold plunge, one warm temp and one hot temp. 1000kr per person, cash only and the lady does come by to make sure that everyone has paid. Loved this as it was very clean and the people who were there at the same time as us were all very friendly.

Gudrunarlaug Hot Spring--Up the hill past the hotel and campground. Natural hot spring with a cute turf cottage to change in. Slippery to get in/out of, but really nice. Donation box on the trail up to it. I loved this one as the setting was just really pretty.

Hvammsvik Hot Springs-- Loved this!!! It is about 30-45 minutes outside of Reykjavik and is only about a year old. It sits right next to the fjord. There are about 7-8 hot pools and there is a map that lists the temperatures of each. The cold plunge is the fjord. The setting is just beautiful, the facility is beautiful as well and is low key. So far this is my favorite commercial hot springs from all of our 5 trips to Iceland!

Laugarvatn Fontana in the Golden Circle--We really liked this one as well. Very understated. Right on a large lake, so again the cold plunge is the lake. There are 3 sets of pools with varying temperatures, including a very shallow pool for kids or if you just want to sit. Beautiful setting, very serene. Facility was clean and well kept.

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This was a lot of fun to read and sounds like a great trip. Thank you for the report.

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Thank you, Planner Mom;)

There is still so much of the country to see and experience, so we will be back!