Accommodation
All rooms with private bathrooms, TV and free Wi-Fi. Family rooms also available and one apartment with two double beds. Disabled access.
Board
Breakfast and dinner buffet. Licensed bar and restaurant. Dining room seating up to 100 people. Fireplace in the dining room and lounge. Guests are welcome to sit down and relax with a drink in the lounge or out on the veranda.
Service and recreation
Hot tub on the veranda, outdoor fireplace, garden furniture. Good facilities for meetings and seminars for up to 50 people. Try some of the local hiking routes, or drive 20 minutes to one of the country’s more popular ski areas in mountain Hlíðarfjall that overlooks town Akureyri, which is where you’ll also find the nearest swimming pool (15 km / 9.5 mi). Akureyri is the main tourism centre in the region, and there you will also find a good selection of shops and boutiques, supermarkets, museums, art galleries, cafés, restaurants, pubs and clubs. For golf, head to the 18-hole course Jaðarsvöllur (17.5 km / 11 mi), or the nine-hole course at Þverá (19 km / 12 mi). Kátur, horse rental by the fjord’s head (16 km / 10 mi), offers riding tours and from Akureyri or Hauganes you can go on a whale watching tour. The infamous Mývatn area is only an hours drive from Sveinbjarnargerði, a place well worth visiting on a day tour or on your own.
Hikes – an Icelandic turf house – Mt. Kaldbakur
Sveinbjarnargerði stands on a grassy plain by the sloping hills of heath Vaðlaheiði. It’s a relatively easy hike to the top, even though the route is a bit steep in places, and on the way you’re treated to lovely panoramic views over the fjord. You can also go on interesting hikes along the shore. Thirteen kilometres away, along the fjord is district museum Laufás (8 mi), set in a genuine Icelandic turf house. Mt. Kaldbakur overlooks the fjord from the north, and its foothills are only 22 km (14 mi) away from Sveinbjarnargerði. Mountaineers will find much to their liking there in summer, and winter sports enthusiasts will not be disappointed either.
Eyjafjörður – Svarfaðardalur – Siglufjörður
The countryside along the valley that continues on inland from Eyjafjörður fjord’s head is known as Eyjafjörður as well. Prosperous and fertile, the countryside is quite densely populated. You can easily circumnavigate the area from Sveinbjarnargerði, it’s a lovely day trip. We recommend stopping frequently along the way to enjoy the outdoors as well as the view from your car. If you travel along the fjord’s west coast, you can drive through the village of Dalvík into Svarfaðardalur valley, across the magnificent peninsula Tröllaskagi, through the mountain tunnels Múlagöng and Héðinsfjarðargöng to the town of Siglufjörður where you can visit the Herring Museum (100 km / 62 mi). Eyjafjörður is a highly recommended area for whale watching, it is offered from Akureyri harbor as well as Hauganes and Dalvík located on the west side of the fjord.
Vaglaskógur – Goðafoss – whale watching – Mývatn
Just a little distance from Sveinbjarnargerði, the highway turns east, through a mountain pass and into a beautiful valley east of the moorlands called Fnjóskadalur. It’s home to one of Iceland’s loveliest forests, Vaglaskógur, which is ideal for outdoor play of all sorts. From there, it is a short drive to the spectacular waterfall Goðafoss. Húsavík village is also a highly recommended place for whale watching (77 km / 48 mi). If you keep driving further east on road 85 you will be able to visit Ásbyrgi canyon, Hljóðaklettar unique rock formations and the powerful Dettifoss waterfall before arriving at lake Mývatn. You can also drive directly to lake Mývatn from Sveinbjarnargerði (90 km / 56) on the ring road, it is truly a wonderful and unique area where you can enjoy the treats of nature at every turn.
Host: Sigurður Karl