Exploring the Rekyjanes Peninsula

Keflavik

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Keflavik harbour Photo - Keflavik, Iceland

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We drove to Keflavik from our base in Reykjavik, it is only about 45 minutes easy drive and is the location of the main airport (but also a US military installation).The area around Keflavik is very interesting and has some attractions that are well worth seeing. We didn't really see any tourists around, so most people seem to miss this area off their itinerary. This is a real shame, we really enjoyed it here.For 55 years a NATO base here protected the island from potential Russian invasion. At the end of the Cold War, the American led contingent left, but right up until 2006, this was an important place for the locals to work. We drove past the old base and all its buildin...Read More

We drove to Keflavik from our base in Reykjavik, it is only about 45 minutes easy drive and is the location of the main airport (but also a US military installation).

The area around Keflavik is very interesting and has some attractions that are well worth seeing. We didn't really see any tourists around, so most people seem to miss this area off their itinerary. This is a real shame, we really enjoyed it here.

For 55 years a NATO base here protected the island from potential Russian invasion. At the end of the Cold War, the American led contingent left, but right up until 2006, this was an important place for the locals to work. We drove past the old base and all its buildings. It is huge - at one time 6,000 people lived at the base. You can still visit, everything is in really good condition. Many businesses have now opened up on the base - there is a big problem for them though. The power supply is based on the American system!

We explored a little around the harbour - it is very calm, still and scenic. You can climb over the rocks, take in the calm views over the water and explore an old boat.

Look for the Black Cave of the Giantess - follow the enormous footprints to find it. This is the "home" of a giantess, she is a character from an Icelandic children's book - Sigga and the Giantess. The cave was opened in 2008. Sigga and the Giantess was the first of 16 children's books written from 1959 onwards.

It is very quaint. You can go into the cave - we found the giantess sitting in a chair, breathing, snoring and making all kinds of rude noises. Our son loved this! She is supposedly 400 years old, has eyes the size of footballs and sits in an enormous rocking chair. There is also a giant bed in the cave, children can climb onto this too.

There is an interesting little museum close by - the Duushus. It is free, and well worth spending a short while exploring inside. During our visit, they were repainting and fixing up most of the rooms and it was not due to fully open until June. We were able to explore 2 of the exhibition halls though. They had a display of model ships which were all made by a local man. We enjoyed especially the exhibition about life in Iceland many years ago. They had a mock up of an old corrugated iron Icelandic house and all the information was in English.

The coffee shop in the museum is also quite nice for a snack and a drink.

The museum staff were extremely helpful and gave us a driving route around the peninsula with lots of suggestions for interesting places to stop and see. These were places we hadn't found in any literature, or in any of our planning, so we were very happy with that. Read Less

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Lighthouses and Fissures

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About 10 minutes drive from Keflavik and you reach the top of the peninsula at Garour. It is well worth stopping at this little place - we were intrigued by the houses there, some of them were the smallest we had ever seen.Garour is a fishing village and is known for its lighthouses. The older lighthouse was used to study migrating birds arriving from North America to breed on the shores here.We parked our car near the lighthouses and got out to explore. The original old lighthouse is no longer used, due to erosion by the sea. It sits right at the edge of the land, looking a bit precarious. You can walk around the outside of the lighthouse, but unfortunately you can't go ...Read More

About 10 minutes drive from Keflavik and you reach the top of the peninsula at Garour. It is well worth stopping at this little place - we were intrigued by the houses there, some of them were the smallest we had ever seen.

Garour is a fishing village and is known for its lighthouses. The older lighthouse was used to study migrating birds arriving from North America to breed on the shores here.

We parked our car near the lighthouses and got out to explore. The original old lighthouse is no longer used, due to erosion by the sea. It sits right at the edge of the land, looking a bit precarious. You can walk around the outside of the lighthouse, but unfortunately you can't go inside. The "new" lighthouse is very impressive, tall and gleaming white, it was built in the 1800's. Again you cannot go to the top of this lighthouse.

We carried on driving and passed through miles and miles of lava fields. The scenery is spectacular, but weird and eerie. We drove for miles and miles with not a house, person or animal in sight. Some areas had fine lava, others had huge boulders of black rocks. It was fascinating - so much of Iceland is wild and untamed.

The Bridge Between Two Continents is a great place for another stop. This peninsula lies on the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The Continental Drift means that the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are continuously drifting apart, with the result that fissures form. If you stop here, you will see a major fissure. They have built a little bridge over the fissure which symbolises crossing the continents.

There is lots of car parking, the place was practically deserted during our visit, so we had this place all to ourselves. Our 9 year old found it fascinating, the idea of crossing a bridge and visiting 2 continents. He played with the volcanic ash here too - taking it from Europe to America, back again and mixing it up.

You can walk between the plates right through the fissure. All around is back, powdery, volcanic ash. It is so fine, gets everywhere and our shoes were full of it. Something else we found amazing and intriguing was that, although the weather was freezing cold, the ash on the ground was really hot - the deeper you dug, the hotter it became.

A short distance away is a Geothermal Power Station. We were intrigued by the idea of geothermal energy and were keen to visit. Unfortunately when we got there it was deserted, apart from a couple of workers. We managed to find someone who told us it doesn't actually open for visitors until June. It did look interesting and worth visiting.

We loved this drive and these 2 special places. We saw no other cars on the road here and no other tourists at either stop. It is a shame that people seem to leave these interesting areas off their travels, but great for us as it meant we had the Bridge Between Two Continents all to ourselves.

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Blue Lagoon (Geothermal Spa)

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Attraction | "Blue Lagoon"

Blue Lagoon Photo - Blue Lagoon (Geothermal Spa), Reykjavik, Iceland

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The Blue Lagoon is the most famous geothermal spa in Iceland. It is one of the most touristy things to do when you visit - everybody does it, it is recommended as a must-do in everything you read about Iceland and all the tour buses call here. Apparently the locals do use it as well. I was not too keen on going, but knew it had to be done!We had driven around the Reykjanes Peninsula all day and were planning to stop here on the way back to Reykjavik. It is about 40 minutes drive away from the city. It had turned really cold when we were visiting some hot springs nearby, as we got closer, the most enormous black cloud settled overhead and the rain started to pour down. My reluctance ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 14, 2013

Blue Lagoon (Geothermal Spa)
Grindavik lava field, Reykjanes Peninsula
Reykjavik, Iceland

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Gunnuhver and Seltun Hot Springs

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Gunnuhver Hot Springs Photo - Keflavik, Iceland

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Just a short distance away from the Geothermal Power Station on the Peninsula are the Gunnuhver hot springs. They are not particularly well sign-posted, but it is worth looking out for them and making the short detour to have a look. There is a collection of steam vents and mud pools, with walkways and ramps which make it really easy to explore. Gunnuhver is the most famous of the geothermal zones on the Peninsula. There is a folk tale about how the mud pools and hot springs were formed - we read it with our 9 year old, I think he enjoyed the story, but felt a little anxious around the steamy holes in the ground following the story!!Apparently an old witch was thrown into t...Read More

Just a short distance away from the Geothermal Power Station on the Peninsula are the Gunnuhver hot springs. They are not particularly well sign-posted, but it is worth looking out for them and making the short detour to have a look.

There is a collection of steam vents and mud pools, with walkways and ramps which make it really easy to explore. Gunnuhver is the most famous of the geothermal zones on the Peninsula. There is a folk tale about how the mud pools and hot springs were formed - we read it with our 9 year old, I think he enjoyed the story, but felt a little anxious around the steamy holes in the ground following the story!!

Apparently an old witch was thrown into the earth to prevent her casting spells and making mischief for local people. The steam coming out of the earth is supposed to come from the witch - now stuck in the bowels of the ground!

The whole place is weird and like being in another world. The steaming, bubbling pools are fascinating to watch. There is a strong sulphur smell which is not too pleasant and a lot of steam. The colours of the mud and the earth are incredible. While we were exploring, a huge black cloud settled overhead and the temperature plummeted. My husband found a novel way of warming himself up - he sat on one of the stones at the side of the path - they were really warm and did the trick!

There is a small car park beside the springs, both parking and walking around the Gunnuhver area is free. There were no tourists at all here - we had the place to ourselves, it is definitely worth a visit for half an hour.

The other hot springs on the peninsula are at Seltun. We actually missed the turn-off, so had to retrace our steps a little - be careful of this, signposts in this area are not that easy to find.

The drive to Seltun is spectacular. Most of the way is along a paved road, but there are a few sections which are gravel. We did not have a 4x4, we drove a small rental car and had no problems at all with this, but if you are a nervous driver, this drive would probably not be a good idea.

The road was deserted the whole way, this place is also really off the beaten track. We saw no coaches, no other traffic and no people at all. You drive past Lake Keitarvatn - so beautiful and an amazing colour. The black volcanic coastline and beaches are also wonderful . We tried to take some pictures, but the weather was so bad during our visit - lashing rain and low clouds, so the pictures absolutely do not do it justice. It was bleak, but amazing - black sand, black hills, a curving road and the water lapping right at the edges of the road.

Eventually you come to Seltun and the hot springs. There is a little car park, it is again free to park and there is no charge to wander around and look at the hot springs. There are wooden boardwalks which make it easy to explore, you can walk right up to the edges of the bubbling mud pools and peer right in.

The mud pools and springs are again, totally fascinating. The colours of the soil - yellow, red and green make it seem as if you are on another planet. The strange, colourful scenery and the active, bubbly pools are a must-see.

We spent about half an hour here, again there were no other people and we had this wonderful place all to ourselves. We drove back the same way we came, past the wonderful black rock formations and beaches - it is absolutely stunning.

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Hafnarfjordur

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Viking Village Photo - Keflavik, Iceland

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Hafnarfjordur is a little coastal town, renowned for having one of Iceland's largest colonies of elves, dwarves and hidden folk. We had read about the Icelandic fascination with elves and discussed it with our 9 year old before our trip. He was very interested in all of this, so when he heard this place was "home" to a large number of these mythical folk, this place was a must visit for us.Apparently many Icelanders believed in a hidden world - the other worldly landscape of the country lends itself well to this. Many rocks stacks and formations are said to be trolls, petrified for committing bad deeds. There are wooden elf houses in some Icelandic people's gardens too - look out for t...Read More

Hafnarfjordur is a little coastal town, renowned for having one of Iceland's largest colonies of elves, dwarves and hidden folk. We had read about the Icelandic fascination with elves and discussed it with our 9 year old before our trip. He was very interested in all of this, so when he heard this place was "home" to a large number of these mythical folk, this place was a must visit for us.

Apparently many Icelanders believed in a hidden world - the other worldly landscape of the country lends itself well to this. Many rocks stacks and formations are said to be trolls, petrified for committing bad deeds. There are wooden elf houses in some Icelandic people's gardens too - look out for these.

Elves, gnomes, fairies, dwarves, sprites etc. are, they say, prevalent in Hafnarfjordur because lines of mystical energy converge here. In times past, you were not allowed to build a house or a road in the area until it had been established that the plot was not occuped by elves!

It is quite a nice little town, but I would say only come for about half an hour and do not go out of your way to visit. We found car parking in the centre and set out to explore.

There is a hotel called the Viking Village in the town. It is unusual but a bit of a gimmicky place, themed with all things Viking. They have a Viking festival here later in the year, I think this would be great to see, but during our visit, it was all a bit quiet and subdued. We were the only people in the restaurant area. We decided not to eat here, it was all a bit too quiet but apparently they do Viking feasts in the evening. It is worth having a quick look inside - it is very well themed.

Folklore says whole families of elves live in the rocks that are part of the town. The Icelanders are superstitious people, in the past lots of building projects in this town have been stopped, moved or changed because of the belief it would disturb the elves!

We walked around a lava park in the town called Hellisgeroi Park. This is famous for its elves and there is a big cliff here where the Royal Family of the Hidden Folk are supposed to live. There are a few little statues, paths to explore but not really a lot to see.
The park is also quite small, so you can't really take a long walk. It is surrounded by a residential area.

After our park visit, we headed back to the town centre. We only managed to find one cafe which was open (it was very close to the car park). They did have a delicious selection of cakes and snacks, so it is a good place to visit.

We only spent about half an hour in Hafnarfjordur (including our peek inside the Viking hotel). It is a nice enough little town, but not really worth a trip in its own right, maybe we were expecting too much. I had read you can take a tour around the town with a guide, who tells you about the magical hidden world of the elves. Perhaps that might have been a better idea for us, it might have brought all the folklore and elf stories to life a bit better and would have been more entertaining for our 9 year old.

So, if you do decide to come here, visit during the Viking Festival (that looks great fun) and book on one of the elf tours!

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