Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION AND TOURS
Tourist information
South Iceland Information Centre,
inside the shopping centre on the edge of town (Mon-Fri
8.30am-5pm, Sat 9am-2pm, Sun 9am-1pm;
T
483 4601,
W
southiceland.is), is a helpful outlet whose staff give useful
advice, hand out brochures and sell maps and books. Check
out the glassed-over crack running through the floor of the
o
ce, and the Earthquake Simulator (200kr), which
reproduces the 6.3 strength quake the town suffered in 2008.
Services
The shopping centre houses toilets, a Bónus
supermarket (Mon-Thurs 11am-6.30pm, Fri 10am-7pm,
Sat 10am-6pm, Sun noon-6pm), a bank with ATM
and a post o
ce. The tourist o
ce has internet access
(120kr for 30min). Hveragerði's excellent pool (Mon-Fri
6.30am-8.30pm Sat & Sun 10am-6.30pm), up past the
campsite on Reykjamörk, is beautifully set below hills
above town.
Horseriding
Eldhestar (
T
480 4800,
W
eldhestar.is), one
of Iceland's largest riding stables, are about 2km southeast
of Hveragerði at Vellir, and offer anything from one hour to
two weeks in the saddle.
2
ACCOMMODATION
Campsite
Reykjamörk, east of and parallel with
Breiðamörk
T
483 4605.
O
cious atmosphere but well-
equipped, with sheltered pitches, showers, toilets, laundry
and a covered area to wash up and sit in when it's raining.
Uniquely in Iceland, the picnic tables have metal plates on
them, useful for those with fuel stoves. Th
ey also h
ave self-
contained
four-person cabins. Camping
1100kr
; cabins
16,000kr
Ì
Frumskógar Guesthouse
Frumskógar 3
T
896
2780
,
W
frumskogar.is.
Three streets west of Breiðamörk,
offering cosy doubles with shared facilities upstairs in the
main house, and self-contained studio apartments with
spas in a new block behind. It's a spotless, friendly and
welcoming place, with unlimited use of
the hot
tub and
steam roo
m. Breakfast 1400kr. Doubles
11,000kr
, studio
20,500kr
Frost og Funi
Hverhamar
T
483 4959,
W
frostandfire
.is.
Too upmarket for a guesthouse, but more intimate than
a hotel, with smart timber-floored en-suite rooms hung
with lively paintings. The riverside hot tubs are a definite
bonus. It's out
of town
off Brieðamörk on the way to the
walking trails.
22,000kr
EATING
Café Rose
Cnr Breiðamörk and Austurmörk
T
483
1100.
Cheerful diner just up from the shopping centre
serving crepes, grills, burgers and pizza; also has beer in the
evenings.
Daily noon-9pm.
Ì
Kjöt & Kúnst
Breiðamörk 21
T
483 5010.
Up
towards the north end of town, and serving delicious
home-cooked food, including
hverabrauð
, rye bread baked
in underground ovens at the adjacent geothermal area.
They also cook fish in the same way (3390kr), and offer
everything from cakes and coffee to salads, grills, soup and
meatballs.
Mon-Sat noon-9pm.
Selfoss
Some 15km east of Hveragerði, the Ringroad passes the junction of Route 35 north
towards the Geysir-Gullfoss area, before crossing a suspension bridge over the fast-
flowing Öfulsá and running into the bustling town of
SELFOSS
. Caught between the
looming bulk of
Ingólfsfjall
to the north and flat grasslands running to the horizon in all
other directions, the town has been the centre of Iceland's
dairy industry
since the 1930s,
and now has a population of around four thousand. Selfoss is laid out along a 1500m-
long stretch of the Ringroad, which runs east-west through town as Austurvegur; there
are no specific attractions here, but its crossroads position on the southwest's main roads
means that you'll almost certainly pass through on your way around Iceland.
The bridge
The original English-engineered
suspension bridge
, built in 1891, is the reason Selfoss
came into existence. Before then, roads through the region ran further south, to where
traffic was ferried across the Öfulsá estuary. Rough waters made these ferry crossings
hazardous, and when the bridge was opened it became an immediate success, a focus
for shops and homes that gradually coalesced into the country's
first inland town
. he
bridge also gave Selfoss the distinction of hosting the country's first strike, sparked not
