Snaefellsnes

The Snaefellsnes peninsula is sometimes referred to as “Iceland in a Nutshell” for its incredible diversity in landscapes from breathtaking lava fields to waterfalls, ice capped volcanoes, fishing villages and caves.

Iceland’s smallest national park, Snaefellsnes is the best place to visit if you want to see everything Iceland has to offer in one short trip. We have an incredible selection of escorted tours to Snaefellsnes that will pick you up right from your hotel and take you to this breathtaking 90km long peninsula.

How to get to Snaefellsnes?

If you are going on a short city break to Iceland and want to visit Snaefellsnes, we highly recommend booking one of our Snaefellsnes tours. Our escorted tour bus will pick you up directly from your hotel and take you there, leaving you little time to worry about directions and road conditions.

If you are hiring a car for your trip, there are several routes you can take to get to Snaefellsnes. You can either drive around the entire fjord of Hvalfjordur for the scenic route or you can go through Hvalfjardargong, te road tunnel which will take you around 2 hours from Reykjavik.

Things to see in Snæfellsnes

Landbrotalaug Pool

This stunning natural geothermal pool is a must see if you are visiting Snaefellsnes. It’s small size means only two or three people can fit into it at a time but it makes for a truly special moment if you are visiting on a honeymoon or romantic break.

Landbrotalaug Pool isn’t the easiest thing to find and is quite a hidden secret in Iceland, subtly located in a random field by a little pond behind an abandoned farm. However, if you do want to find it we suggest following these directions: If you’re coming from Reykjavik, after passing the Eldborg crater on road 54, turn into the dirt road with the sign Stóra Hraun and follow the path to the parking lot.

Lava Tube Caves

On our Lava Cave Snaefellnes tour, you will be taken 35 meters underground and about 200 meters into the lava cube Vatnshellir. This fantastic lava tour shows you the unique formations of lava statues curved on the sides of the lava tube and gives you chance to experience total quietness and even total darkness when your guide switches off the light. Gullborgarhellir is another great lava tube cave to visit since it is believed to be the extending to around 670 metres in length.

Natural Mineral Springs

As well as finding volcanoes and lava caves, there are several natural mineral springs to discover in Snaefellnes. Raudamelsolkelda Spring is one we recommend seeing, with its name translating to ‘red gravel plain spring.’ The water it contains is believed to have incredible healing properties and is incredibly refreshing to drink.

The Gerduberg Cliffs

Gerduberg is a natural heritage site that is home to an impressive wall of beautiful basalt columns. At their highest, these columns reach 14 meters, their greatest width is 1.5 meters. Together the columns form a massive wall with, sometimes perfect, geometric patterns. It is magnificent to explore this area because you can see how powerful and diverse the Icelandic nature truly is here.

The Budir Church

On the south coast of Iceland’s Snaefellnes peninsula, there’s a village with only a hotel and a tiny black church called the Budakirkja. On paper, the hamlet of Budir doesn’t sound like much, especially when compared to Snaefellsjokull, the dormant ice-capped volcano looming nearby, but what Budir lacks in infrastructure it more makes up for in its surreal, dreamlike landscape, epitomized the singular black church.

The Black Church of Budir has in recent years become a very popular object for photographers and with good reason. The small distinct church is a beautiful and minimalistic object placed in the rough nature of Iceland, where the black color makes a beautiful contrast to the often cloudy mountains in the background.

Book a trip to Snaefellnes here