Westman Islands are among my favourite places in Iceland and highly underrated in my opinion, with an abundance of natural beauty, a surprising amount of great food options for a small town (population of ca. 4500) and the biggest annual summer festival in Iceland to name a few things.
How to Get There?
There are two methods to get to Westman Islands, by a ferry or by flight. There have been discussions through the years about making a tunnel but no agreement has been made on that.
The Ferry (Herjólfur)
Herjólfur is the most popular way to get to the Westman Islands from the mainland. The ride from Landeyjahöfn harbour takes 40 minutes one way. Driving to Landeyjahöfn from Reykjavík by car takes around two hours, so the total travelling time from Reykjavík to Heimaey could be close to three hours and even longer if you take the bus (route 52) from Mjódd. I took the bus on the way back from Landeyjahöfn this month and found it strange to pay more for that than the ferry (6000 ISK one way for bus vs. 4800 ISK return ticket with the ferry).
Flights from Reykjavík
Eagle Air operates flights from Reykjavík to Westman Islands that take around half an hour one way.
Things to Do
Most of the best things to do in Westman Islands relate to the nature there, e.g. hiking up to Heimaklettur, Stórhöfði or Eldfell or wandering around the photogenic lava field from the eruption in 1973.
Eldheimar
The whole population of the islands, 5000 people in 1973, was forced to evacuate the island on a moment’s notice in the middle of the night at the peak of winter in January. Many of them lost their homes, as some houses disappeared under the new lava field.
The exhibition at Eldheimar focuses on the 1973 eruption, which was one of Iceland’s biggest natural catastrophes. It covers people’s lives on Heimaey before the eruption and after. It lasted for five months and lava and ash destroyed almost 400 homes and businesses, a third of the buildings on the island at the time. The population fled to the mainland to live with relatives or in temporary housing where they waited to see what the future would hold for them.
Lava and ash covered 2 km², about 20% of the island, and the new volcano Eldfell had risen 220 m tall, making Heimaey 2 km² bigger in the process.
The exhibition also covers the Surtsey eruption in 1963, when a new island (Surtsey) was formed. That eruption lasted for almost four years but the island has been closed off for the public from the beginning, only scientists have been allowed to go there to monitor new ecosystems coming to life. Surtsey became a natural property on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2008.
Skansinn
Skansinn is a fortress area at the edge of town in Heimaey, with a fortress built in 1586 by request of the Danish king. After the 1627 invasion by Turks, islanders rebuilt Skansinn, considering it a necessity to defend the island against further attacks.
Skansinn also has a stave church built in 2000 and given by Norway to celebrate 1000 years since Iceland’s christening. It is a replica of the first stave church that stood there since the year 1000, but its remains have never been found, presumably they have been swallowed by the sea.
Stórhöfði – Puffins and Wind
Headland Stórhöfði (Great Cape) is the southernmost point of Iceland, 122 metres high, with a lighthouse built in 1906. Stórhöfði is well known for its strong winds and in February 1991, the greatest wind speed ever recorded in Iceland was measured there, 119 knots with waves up to 96 feet.
Stórhöfði is also known for puffins, with a puffin population of approximately 800,000 during the season in summertime. Westman Islands has the largest puffin colony in the world. Rescuing pufflings is a big thing on the island. When the adult birds leave the pufflings, they try to fly and ideally would fly towards the ocean but they are attracted to the town lights and fly there instead, landing on the streets and are unable to fly away from there again. The residents then go out to save them into cardboard boxes and then release them by the ocean away from the town.
Eldfell
Eldfell is a 200 metres high volcano, formed by the eruption of 1973. Its formation destroyed 400 houses, but islanders managed to divert the lava flow away from town and use it to create a better harbour entrance. The eruption ended on 3 July and on the weekend following that date, islanders celebrate the end of the Heimaey eruption every year at an event called Goslokahátíð (see more below).
The hike is relatively easy from town and the view is great in all directions (when weather allows) and takes around or just over an hour.
Where to Eat?
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the amount of great food options in Heimaey is something that surprises many visitors for a town of this size. But now we told you, so you don’t need to be as surprised when you visit.
Restaurants
Vöruhúsið
Vöruhúsið is a family-run restaurant, emphasizing fresh ingredients. The menu is heavy on pizzas but also has pasta, various starters, burgers, taco, wild mushroom risotto, chicken salad and fish of the day. It is relatively simple (two A4 pages) but the restaurant is rated top (5/5 on Google when this is written). I liked the mushroom risotto (the only thing I have tried there) but I got better food at Gott earlier (in 2021).
Næs
The name Næs is just the Icelandic spelling of the English word “nice” and it lives up to that name with 4.9 out of five in average rating on Google at the time of writing from 240 reviews. I got a nice fish of the day there this month but the dessert was something else, rhubarb marengs with vanilla ice cream and some kind of caramel pudding at the bottom, absolute top quality, with a perfect harmony between sweet and sour taste and crunchy and soft texture, similar elements in place as in Calor Restaurant at Hotel Varmaland earlier this summer. Both surely rank in the top 10 desserts I have got in my life so far.
GOTT
GOTT is Icelandic for “good” and it also lives up to its name, not complicating things on the islands with restaurant names (“Nice” and “Good”), although another one we cover below is called Kráin (The Pub) and is more of a fast food place than a pub. GOTT is a family run restaurant using fresh and healthy ingredients. All sauces, stews, soups and cakes are made from scratch on site and the fish is picked up fresh from the local fish market every morning. Head chef, Sigurður Gíslason, is a former member of the Icelandic national team of chefs.
Einsi Kaldi
Einsi kaldi is on the ground floor of Hotel Vestmannaeyjar and has been running since 2011. They emphasize locally sourced ingredients and seafood. They have a five course tasting menu with a selection of dishes from the menu, three starters, mains & a dessert of chef’s choice.
Tanginn
Tanginn is a family run restaurant located directly on the harbour, with a view of Heimaklettur, the harbourfront and the ships. Their light dishes include a buffet with three soups and a salad bar, where you can make your own wrap from the available ingredients. Crepes, Indian veggie bowl and chicken salad are also among the light courses. As for most restaurants on the island, fish is heavy on the menu, which also includes meat dishes and burgers.
Slippurinn
Open only seasonally from May to September, Slippurinn is located in a building that used to be a machine workshop serving the shipyard. They serve local food, foraging for wild herbs and seaweed and featuring seasonal produce from the island in cooperation with small producers, fishermen and farmers.
Bakery & Fast Food
Vigtin Bakhús
I was in the Westman Islands for þjóðhátíð (the national festival) on the first weekend of August, staying from Thursday to Monday. Every morning, I went to Vigtin bakhús for breakfast, not only because it opens earlier than most (or any) other places on the island (7 AM usually, 8 AM around the festival), but mainly because it is a rock solid place, not with the biggest variety but everything they serve is really good and that has to be the main goal for any bakery, café or restaurant. They opened in 2019 and quickly gained popularity for precisely that reason. It was my third visit to the island since then so I can almost call myself a regular at Vigtin bakhús.
Tvisturinn
Tvisturinn is a proper “sleazy” fast food restaurant and a kiosk. The menu consists of mostly sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. The specialty sandwich is called Búkolla (named after a magical cow in an Icelandic folktale) with roast beef and bernaise sauce. If this place was in Reykjavík, it might well be more popular than Hlöllabátar, which has been the best known “sleazy” fast food place in downtown Reykjavík for a few decades already.
Ranya Kebab
Like most decent towns and cities, Westman Islands has a kebab place, Ranya Kebab. The main item on the menu is kebab but they also serve pizzas and burgers. The staff is super friendly and the service is fast.
Kráin
Kráin is a fast food restaurant with long sandwiches (called Eyjabátar, meaning Island Boats), burgers, lamb chops, fish and chicken salad. They also have courses of the day that vary between meat and fish dishes.
Pizza 67
Pizza 67 used to be the most popular pizza place in Iceland for a period in the 90s, but currently their only shop is in the Westman Islands as far as I know. The reviews on Google and Tripadvisor are quite mixed, some people highly recommend it while others complain about the food and service. I haven’t been there in recent years and can’t judge.
Bars
Not as surprising as with the food options (because they are not so many), but Lundinn is a place that surprises many visitors for atmosphere, same could be said for The Brothers Brewery.
Lundinn (The Original Puffin Bar)
When I went to Westman Islands in May, I was very surprised to find a bar that was full, with people dancing and a band playing, an atmosphere as good as the best you would find in Reykjavík. As many other businesses on the island, Lundinn is family owned and has had the same owners since 1998. They normally have a DJ playing on the weekends.
The Brothers Brewery
In 2012, two friends decided to start brewing beer and got their brothers in on the idea, making the name an obvious choice, The Brothers Brewery. In 2015, they invited Einar, the owner of restaurant Einsi Kaldi (mentioned above), to drop by at the garage to taste the beer and then Einar was eager to sell the beer at his restaurant.
In 2016, they got a production licence for an 80 L stockpot and the idea was to produce only enough to meet the demand from Einsi Kaldi. It quickly became apparent that the demand was much higher than that, and production capacity was vastly increased as a consequence. In 2017, they opened a taproom that was full day in and day out almost from the beginning and in 2018 they bought their current housing, 550 sqm with new brewing equipment and the possibility of welcoming groups. Now, two employees work on brewing beer and 15 people take shifts at the taproom and help in at the brewery from time to time.
Events
There are three well known annual events in the Westman Islands, the most famous is the national festival (þjóðhátíð) at the beginning of August (Merchants Weekend). The other two are Goslokahátíð (to celebrate the end of the eruption in Heimaey in 1973) and the Puffin Run, an increasingly popular trail run and the most interesting race that I have participated in so far.
The National Festival (Þjóðhátíð)
Þjóðhátíð is the biggest annual outdoor festival in Iceland and celebrated 150 years this year with close to 18 thousand guests and a varied program for all ages, including music, a bonfire, fireworks show and the highlight, which is singalong with guests, led by a musician on stage.
The weather was unusually bad this year and tents and camping gear from some of the guests blew away with the wind. Last year, the weather was unusually sunny and calm, but these were the extremes in both directions, most years it has been somewhere in between.
Many locals set up big white tents, where the atmosphere is a bit different from what the average camping guest has, with family gatherings and food, playing cards or board games and singing in the evenings. Islanders are known for hospitality and other guests are often welcome to drop by at the white tents.
Goslokahátíð (The end of eruption festival)
Goslokahátíð (literally: The end of the eruption festival) has become an annual tradition on the island to celebrate the end of the volcanic eruption on Heimaey in 1973. It is held on the first weekend of July. It is a family event with children’s attractions set up around the island. On Saturday evening, there is a concert in the port and open air celebration until morning.
The Puffin Run
Taking place in early May, the Puffin Run has been gaining momentum year after year and was sold out well in advance this year. It is a trail run of 20 km for individuals and the other options are a relay race of 2×10 km for two people or 4×5 km for four people.
I took part for the first time this year and was expecting something relatively easy, it’s the vibe I got from the name and logo, “a cute little puffin”, something for tourists. But it was very challenging, with ups and downs on the route. To be honest, I somehow thought it was only 10K when I started running, so I was relieved to see the 5K sign “in the middle” and already tired, “halfway there” I thought. But it is 20K to avoid any misunderstanding. The most challenging parts were up and down Stórhöfði (Great Cape) and also running through the zigzag and ups and downs on narrow paths in the lava field by Eldfell. It is certainly more risky than street races in terms of chances of injuries, especially those two parts (down from Stórhöfði and in the lava field).
The weather was perfect that day and the route around the island was stunning. If you consider taking part next year, make sure to book your tickets well in advance, it is unlikely that they will add more tickets, as it is also about balance with nature and capacity of the island, e.g. in terms of accommodation.
