Iceland: Accommodations — To Make Much of Time

One of the few pictures we have of our accommodations.

UPDATED: 1/16/2023

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Going, going, gone! As we discussed in our prior blog that provided an overview of our Iceland trip, which you can read here, Iceland is relatively new on the vacation scene. Practically, that means there is not the level of infrastructure, including hotels, that most areas have. We were surprised by the limited options, and how many of those were booked a solid 9 months in advance of our trip when we were planning and booking everything.

Accommodations in Iceland:

We discovered that there seem to be three main accommodations options in Iceland: (1) Airbnb (or similar rentals), (2) hotels, or (3) camping. I’ll cover the last two briefly first since we did not personally experience them.

Several companies offer camping gear and camper vans for rent, and it is relatively popular to go that route. We opted not to because we wanted the convenience of bathrooms and the ability to get out of the weather (which was a good call given how rainy it was on our trip). There are plenty of other travel blogs that share their amazing camping stories, so check those out if that interests you.

Iceland does have more hotel options in Reykjavik, so that may be a good option for people staying in the capital city. In our experience, most hotels (that looked to meet our standards) were booked there and elsewhere or where fairly pricey. Icelandair runs a group of hotels scattered throughout the country.

So, ruling out hotels and camping, we turned our sights to Airbnb. We found that many towns where we had planned to stay were already booked and so had to make some slight tweaks to our initial itinerary, but after we added in that flexibility, there were plenty of options that could fit our needs.

What to expect:

As a general comment, like many places outside of the US, homes and apartments and rooms in them are typically on the smaller side. No windows had any screens because of the climate, which was a pleasant surprise, and because the heaters in the winter get so hot, most rooms have small windows that can vent for fresh air. Everywhere we stayed had black-out curtains to make it easier to sleep in the endless summer sun. And, we learned about a new way of approaching bedding - instead of a bedspread or comforter over the entire bed, they basically fold a duvet in half and place them on the bed so that each person has his/her own cocoon to climb into. It was very cozy and seems that it is a common approach in Scandinavia as well as parts of Europe. That is one of my favorite things about travel - taking something that you think is done the same the world over and learning that you have a lot to learn!

Where we stayed:

For our trip, we traveled with a friend so booked two-bedroom places that typically had one bathroom.

The last place where we stayed near the airport is not one I’d particularly recommend so I’m leaving that off, but we loved our other four accommodations. Here are links to these Airbnbs and brief notes explaining why we would recommend each.

Reykjavik: Apartment in Central Reykjavik - Cute place with exposed brick, a block from Brauð & Co. for pastries, very walkable to key sites in the city, including Hallgrímskirkja and Harpa. For more on our stay in Reykjavik , check out our blog here.

Hvolsvöllur: Cabin with a Glacier View - About 20 minutes from the town for a nice country setting with gorgeous views of, yes, a glacier. There are 2 or 3 cabins owned by the same person, and I actually think the photos on the site may be from the other ones. There is nice separation between the bedrooms and the family room/kitchen/dining area that makes it seem much bigger. For more on our stay in Hvolsvöllur and day trip to the island of Heimaey, check out our blogs here and here.

Seyðisfjörður: The Old School (2nd floor), built 1883 - Right in the town, very walkable around town and to hike in the mountains. There is also a separate apartment on the bottom floor, and the building is in the style typical of many homes we saw in Iceland. Note that the stairs up to the apartment are very steep and not suitable for everyone. For more on our stay in Seyðisfjörður, check out our blog here.

Akureyri: Romantic Boutique Apartment - While there is a separate basement apartment with I think a permanent renter, this apartment really is more of and feels like a home. It was very spacious, beautifully decorated and renovated. There is a separate bedroom cottage in the backyard - seems to be a garage converted into a bedroom - that is included though we didn’t need to use it. This spot was very walkable to the spots around town and felt like the most residential experience we had since it was clear the neighbors were locals. A small market is within walking distance. For more on our stay in Akureyri and the day trip we took to Grímsey island, check out our blog here.

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