The south coast of Iceland is, hands down, one of the most popular areas of the country for visitors. However, there are a group of islands off the mainland of the country that most people that go to the south coast never visit. The Westman Islands is a 45–50-minute ferry ride away and it’s a fantastic place to explore. The nature, history, landscape, and stories about the locals almost make it feel like you are not even in Iceland anymore.
KuKu Campers Provided My Transportation & Accommodations
I was fortunate to partner with Kuku Campers for this episode. Kuku Campers is a campervan company that provides campers of various sizes. I specifically used the AA Campervan because it is large enough for two adults but the width is small enough to fit in the ferry to the Westman Islands along with regular cars. It was great to have my accommodations and transport all in one place because it gave me flexibility regarding when I decided to sleep, eat and so on.
The Campsite on Heimaey on the Westman Islands
The campsite on Heimaey (home island), is lovely and it was so easy/affordable to stay there. It was 1700 ISK per person. You have access to several bathrooms, showers, and a communal kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean everything was and the camping area itself is gorgeous. It looks like a naturally made amphitheater.
That isn’t surprising considering the fact that the biggest Icelandic festival of the year, Þjóðhátíð, happens here over the Verslunarmannahelgi (merchant weekend). This year the holiday falls on Monday, August 1st, so it is the last weekend of July.
7 Reasons to Visit the Westman Islands
As the title of this podcast episode explains, there are at least seven reasons to visit. Granted, there are more but here are the ones that come to mind for me.
- The Ferry ride over to Heimaey is so much fun. After you park your car in the bottom of the ferry, you can go upstairs and outside to wave goodbye to mainland Iceland. As the ferry gets closer to Heimaey, you can see the other islands that make up the Westman Islands. There are 15 islands surrounding the home island but only Heimaey (home island) is actually inhabited. It is hard to explain just how gorgeous this ferry ride is and I hope you get a chance to experience it.
- Eldefell Volcano erupted in 1973 and caused a lot of destruction on the island. It also change the landscape of Heimaey. You can hike up this volcano, which still has heat coming up through the ground. The color duing the summer is a gorgeous red and is surrounded by a vibrant green color of moss and grass.
- Eldheimar Museum is absolutely fascinating. It was built around a house that was excavated after it was buried in ash during the eruption. You get to see that people on the island had no time to prepare for this eruption. It happened during the night, and people had to literally jump out of bed, put on shoes, and their coats and run out to get on boats so they could get off the island. The museum is eerie and hauntingly beautiful. Thankfully, no one died during the eruption, and many people who were originally living there came back to clean up and live on Heimaey.
- Gaujalundur is an elf garden on Heimaey that was fun to walk around. It was created by a woman named Gauja, who was said to be able to communicate with elves. She created the this garden to protect their homes, which are large rocks that have been roped off. It was fun to walk around this nicely manicured garden.
- In the Skansinn area, there is an an all black church called Stafkirkjan or Stave Church. It was an gift from the Norwegians to Iceland in the year 2000 to celebrate 1000 years of Christianity. I highly recommend walking around the church and checking it out. In this same area, you can see a water tower that was mostly destroyed during the eruption but one part of the wall is still standing. It‘s cool and bizarre to see.
- The Rainbow stairs take you ontop of the lava on the island from the eruption. You will see little stone monuments as you walk around. These are plaques letting you know that below your feet are buildings and streets that were buried during the eruption.
- Puffins are abundant in the Westman Islands. There is an observation house you can go to so you can see them chilling out on the hill.
- A bonus reason to go to the Westman Islands is if you want to experience the music festival Þjóðhátíð.
Icelandic Word of the Episode
Vestmannaeyjar – Westman Islands
If you listen to the episode, you can hear how to pronounce this word.
Random Fact of the Episode
There is a beluga whale sanctuary in the Westman Islands. Keiko, the whale in the movie Free Willy, was taken to this sanctuary to live out the rest of its life.
Thanks again to Kuku Campers for sponsoring this episode. I highly recommend checking them out if you want to rent a camper van in Iceland. Camper vans in Iceland get booked up pretty quickly in the summer, so keep that mind. However, you can use them any time of the year.
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