Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING TO THE WESTMAN ISLANDS
By plane
You can fly to Heimaey, though weather
frequently cancels or delays services. Both Eagle Air
(
T
562 2640,
W
eagleair.is) and Landsflug (
T
481 3300,
W
airiceland.is) have daily departures from Reykjavík
(30min; 20,000kr return).
By bus
Landeyjahöfn buses from Reykjavík's BSÍ bus
terminal (1800kr) are timed to connect with the ferries.
By ferry
The most convenient way to reach Heimaey is
aboard the
Herjólfur
car and passenger ferry (
T
482 2800,
W
herjolfur.is). Five services depart daily between 10am
and 10pm from Landeyjahöfn, a small port 10km south off
the Ringroad at Seljalandsfoss via Route 254. Pedestrians
pay 1500kr each way; cars cost 1840kr plus 1150kr per
person; and the journey takes 40min. Note that in winter,
ferries might depart from the old port at Þorlákshöfn near
Hveragerði (see p.98), in which case the crossing takes 3hr
and there are only two services daily.
2
Heimaey
By far the largest of the Westman Islands,
Heimaey
- Home Island - is only around
6km in length. At its broad top end you'll find
Heimaey town
and the harbour faced by
a narrow peninsula of sheer-sided cliffs; east of here, buildings are hemmed in by
Eldfell, the fractionally higher slopes of Helgafell, and the rough, grey-brown solidified
lavafield,
Kirkjubæjarhraun
, under which a third of the original town vanished in 1973.
Moving south, you pass the cross-shaped airstrip, beyond which the island tapers to a
narrow isthmus, over which the rounded, grassy hummock of
Stórhöfði
rises as an end
point - one of the best places on Heimaey to watch birds.
Heimaey town
HEIMAEY TOWN
is an attractive place, quiet and low-key, with signposts around the
place designed to resemble puffins. The small centre is split by the south-running
main street,
Heiðarvegur
, with most services and attractions in the streets east of
here between the harbour and Hásteinsvegur. Down at the
harbour
, you'll find a
tightly packed fleet of fishing boats, several warehouses processing their catches, and
yards piled with kilometres of black and green fishing nets being examined and
repaired.
Aquarium and Natural History Museum
Heiðarvegur 12• May 15-Sept 15 daily 11am-5pm; Sept 16-May 14 Sat & Sun 3-5pm • 400kr •
W
saeheimar.is
he
Aquarium and Natural History Museum
(Sæheimar) is in three parts. Most
interesting is the aquarium itself, full of tanks of live fish and some enormous crabs;
check out the endearingly ugly lumpfish, an important part of the local fishing
industry. The remaining sections of the museum are more humdrum: glass cases of
stuffed birds, including almost every species that breeds in Iceland, and a similarly
thorough display of rocks from all over the country. They occasionally have orphaned
seabirds that visitors can handle.
WHEN TO VISIT HEIMAEY
If possible, pick a sunny couple of days between May and September to visit Heimaey,
allowing time for walks, close contact with pu
ns and thirty other breeding bird species, plus
the chance to see whales, orca and seals. If you want to party, join in the August Bank Holiday
Weekend
Þjódhátíð
, a festival to commemorate Iceland's first steps towards full
independence in 1874, which involves bands, fireworks, a huge bonfire and three days of hard
drinking with thousands of other revellers. All accommodation and transport to the island gets
booked long in advance.
As to the Westmans'
weather
, temperatures are among the mildest in Iceland, but things
can get extremely blustery - the country's highest windspeed, 220km an hour, was
recorded here.
