Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
over wages but the fact that its builders were given only salmon to eat. The current
bridge dates from 1945, built after the original collapsed when two milk trucks crossed
it simultaneously.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
SELFOSS
By bus
The bus station, at the N1 fuel station on
Austurvegur at the eastern exit of town, is a staging post for
long-distance services with Reykjavík Excursions and Sterna
(
W
bsi.is). Reykjavík city buses run hourly from outside the
tourist information centre; irregular free buses to Stokkseyri
and Eyrarbakki run Mon-Fri only from the same stop.
Destinations
Eyrarbakki (8 daily; 30min); Hella (6 daily;
1hr); Hveragerði (hourly 8am-7pm; 20min); Hvolsvöllur
(3 daily; 1hr 15min); Kirkjubæjarklaustur (2 daily; 6hr);
Landmannalaugar (2 daily; 4hr); Leirubakki (2 daily; 2hr);
Mývatn (2 daily; 11hr); Þórsmörk (2 daily; 3hr); Reykjavík
(hourly 8am-7pm; 1hr 15min); Seljalandsfoss (3 daily; 1hr
30min); Skaftafell (2 daily; 7hr); Skógar (3 daily; 2hr 30min);
Stokkseyri (8 daily; 30min); Vík (2 daily; 4hr 30min).
2
INFORMATION
Tourist information
The very clued-up, informative staff
at the o
ce inside the library, at the western (Reykjavík)
end of Austurvegur (mid-May to Aug Mon-Fri 10am-6pm,
Sat 11am-2pm;
T
480 1990,
W
tourinfoenglish.arborg.is),
dispense free brochures, maps and advice.
Services
There's a shopping mall (Mon-Fri 10am-8pm,
Sat & Sun 10am-7pm) opposite the tourist information
o
ce; the latter also has internet access (200kr for 30min).
Shops in the mall include a well-supplied Bónus
supermarket and a discount outlet for 66ºN, where you can
make big savings on their otherwise overpriced but well-
made outdoor gear. Banks with ATMs are all along
Austurvegur. The local liquor store is tucked behind the bus
station at Vallholt 19.
ACCOMMODATION
Gesthús Selfossi
Engjavegur 56, two blocks south of
parallel Austurvegur
T
482 3585,
W
gesthus.is.
Large,
well-managed campsite with a solid, weatherproof
building housing bathrooms, laundry, huge kitchen and a
dining area. They also have clean but fairly cramped
en-suite wooden
cabins
with ki
tchenette
s sleeping 2-3
people. Camping
1000kr
; cabins
12,500kr
Hótel Selfoss
Eyrarvegur 2, close to the bridge
T
482
2500,
W
selfosshotel.is.
Large conference venue with a
range of spacious rooms - check out the suites, whose
four-poster beds and carved pine cabinets are about as
close as Nordic design ge
ts to Baro
que. Facilities include a
restaurant and hotel spa.
29,500kr
YHA Selfoss
Austurvegur 28
T
660 6999,
W
hostel.is.
Well-appointed, conveniently-located hostel in russet-red
house, with shared facilities and the usual kitchen, laundry
and social area. Staff are pretty
helpful
and you can arrange
breakfast and packed lunches.
3800kr
Ì
Vatnsholt
Follow signposts 15km southeast of
Selfoss via Route 305
T
899 7748,
W
stayiniceland.is.
Family-run farmstay out on grassy plains towards the coast.
There are standard modern doubles, suites with views, and
a self-catering house for groups. Horseriding and fishing
can b
e arrange
d; ask to s
ee the p
et raven, fox and dancing
goat.
15,000kr
; en-suite
19,000
EATING
Ka
-krús
Austurvegur
T
482 1266.
Just opposite the
library, serving coffee, excellent cakes and light meals, and
has a sunken outdoor patio screened from the main road.
It's not cheap though, at 1800kr for a burger and 3000kr for
a grill and salad.
Daily 10am-midnight.
Ì
Menam
Eyravegur 8
T
482 4099.
Inexpensive gem
around from the tourist o
ce serving Thai dishes such as
green chicken curry, shrimps with spicy sauce or Massaman
beef and pork with chilli, basil and garlic, each for under
1900kr.
Mon-Thurs & Sun11.30am-2pm & 5-9pm, Fri
& Sat 11.30am-2pm & 5-10pm.
Noodle Bar
Eyravegur.
This canteen offers possibly the
cheapest restaurant meal in Iceland outside a roadhouse,
serving up a limited menu of Thai noodle soup with either
beef or chicken for just 1000kr. It's around the corner from
the information centre and opposite
Hotél Selfoss
.
Daily
11am-10pm.
Kerið
About 15km north of Selfoss up Route 35, photogenic
Kerið crater
is an ancient
collapsed scoria cone. The bottom of the 70m-deep, red-gravel crater is flooded and
used for farming fish, and there's an easy, fifteen-minute path around the rim, with a
view northwest to the similar
Seyðishólar
crater.
