My wife and I are planning a self-drive trip on the Ring Road in July and want to spend a day on the Westmann Islands. Any suggestions on whether it makes more sense to bring the car over on the ferry, or to leave the car parked at the port. (We have no experience bringing a car onto a ferry.) Would we be able to see the sights on the island on foot/van tour, or would we need to bring the car over. Is it possible to park the car overnight at the port should we choose to stay overnight on the island?
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7178 posts
There is a parking lot on the mainland so leaving your car there should not be a problem. And Heimaey is pretty small and easy to explore without a car.
Posted by
Snohomish, WA
2762 posts
Yes you can leave your car overnight on the mainland.
I would however take the vehicle. The employees will guide you for how the load with the vehicle. It is easy:). The reason I suggest taking the vehicle is the puffin lookout and storhofdi are at the extreme southern end. With just a day you would not want to be walking there and back. There are tours around the island, but being able to be at these two locations without tours is much more pleasant.
Posted by
WI
372 posts
I would also suggest taking the car with you. The island is relatively small in one sense, but it helps a great deal to get around with a car. It opens up opportunities to easily get to the other side of the island away from the town, see the puffins, explore the beach, etc. You can literally walk to the other end, but it does not seem efficient if time is just a day or two on the island, not to mention the weather which can be rainy / wind / cold even in July.
Loading the car on and off the ferry is well organized and stress free. You just have to pull into the space they provide you when the car ferry opens for entry (it is a little tight getting out of the car to go up to the ferry passenger levels on the boat, but nothing too bad). There are ferry employees there to add some order to the process, so again it's no real hassle.
This was our favorite day out on our trip to Iceland in June 2023! I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well.