Day Trip Around Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Jun 22

Jun 22 Day Trip Around Snæfellsnes Peninsula

When I made our itinerary, I scheduled in a day to see Snæfellsnes Peninsula but “if we don’t make it, oh well.” However, I’m so glad we ended up having this day!! The weather was beautiful and we saw so much! Also, so. much. driving. If I were to redo it, I would schedule the Into the Glacier tour for 10am and then drive the peninsula afterwards.

We stopped at Borgarnes about an hour into the drive and grabbed treats at the Geirabakarí Ehf and this is probably the largest bakery I’ve seen around. Lots of good options of treats and sandwiches, it has a bathroom and it’s connected to a grocery store.

After that we headed to Ytri Tunga to see the seals on the beach. I was expecting to see something similar to Monterey, California - a beach jam packed with barking and grunting but I was wrong. This was a morning intimate setting and you could get right down to the water. (However, you should respect the animals if they come ashore.) The seals were so playful and we stayed here longer than I anticipated. (Parking was 650isk.) I took a video of 3 of them playing in the water and it was like real-life whack a mole - one would go down, another would pop up!

Our destination after Ytri Tunga was Budakirkja but we spotted Bjarnarfoss along the way and decided to stop. Stunning! One of the best waterfalls in my opinion. My husband and Dad decided to climb it and it took them no time at all. Highly recommend this stop if you’re out this way because it takes no time and it’s literally on the way.

Bjarnarfoss, Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland June 2023

Unless you’re hiking one of the many trails, Budakirkja is basically a photo stop. There’s also a hotel and restaurant which is convenient if you need to use the bathroom.

(From here we crossed the peninsula to head to see Kirkjufell Mountain however, we unintentionally made our way back over here to visit Arnarstapi when my mom mentioned it, so I’m going to continue with what should’ve been a better driving route.)

My mom wanted to see the giant stone statue. While we were here we also walked the paths and found the stone bridge. This whole village was adorable and so colorful. Highly recommend adding this to your day around Snæfellsnes. We were able to see the colorful fishing boats coming in and being unloaded for the day.

The drive to Kirkjufell across the moutains was curvy and windy and full of waterfalls and ocean views. On our way back to Arnarstapi,Snæfellsjökull was visible and boy was she stunning. The snowcapped top with a view of the ocean on our drive back was really spectacular. There were so many points that I wanted to pull over and just soak it all in. I was glad we decided to loop back because we got to see it coming and going.

Kirkjufell is the most photographed mountain in Iceland as well as a filming location from Game of Thrones. Another gorgeous waterfall and another paid parking lot. I thought at some point I would be tired of seeing waterfalls but I was wrong. They’re all stunning in their own way.

Kirkjufellfoss with Kirkjufell in the background

On our way home we stopped at Landbrotalaug Hot Springs. The sign does in fact say it’s closed but the gate was open and between us and all the cars we passed, it’s still a busy little spot. It’s basically a pond with a geothermal bath on one end and a spigot on the other end. Everything in the middle was cold. I’ve read that just a few years ago it was so much better. Worth a stop if you’re not in a hurry, though!

London and I were the only ones that tested it out. It was comfortable and if people weren’t already in the bath, we could’ve spent more time here. London had to be carried back to the cars.