Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Northeast of the village, the
Grábrók
crater can be ascended by means of a marked
trail, as can the
Baula
rhyolite mountain (934m), 11km from Bifröst and reached along
Route 60; if you don't fancy walking from the Ringroad, you can take one of the
buses
heading for Búðardalur. Although the sides of this cone-shaped mountain are steep and
scree-covered there are no particular obstacles to the ascent and once at the summit
there's a small shelter made of rocks.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
BIFRÖST
By bus
Buses from Bifröst's filling station head back down
to Borgarnes, north via Route 60 to Búðardalur and
Hólmavík, and northeast up the Ringroad for Akureyri.
Destinations
Akureyri (2 daily; 4hr 10min); Borgarnes
(3 daily; 30min); Búðardalur (5 weekly; 1hr 10min); Hólmavík
(3 weekly; 1hr 30min); Reykjavík (3 daily; 1hr 40min).
ACCOMMODATION
Hraunsnef
Norðurárdalur
T
435 0111,
W
hraunsnef
.is.
A new country hotel located about 3km north up the
Ringroad from Bifröst whose smart rooms each have their
own private entry from the grounds. Gu
ests have
access to
the hot tubs by the stream just outside.
19,900kr
3
Búðardalur and around
North of the Snæfellsnes peninsula and some 45km from Bifröst, the wide and
sheltered
Hvammsjörður
lies protected from the open sea at its mouth by dozens of
small islands. Accessed via Bifröst on Route 60, or from Route 54 along the north coast
of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, its main service centre is
Búðardalur
, an uninspiring place
that is best passed over in favour of the rich
saga country
close by. Running northeast
from Buðardalur is
Laxárdalur
, the valley around which one of the best-known Viking
romances, the
Laxdæla Saga
, was played out. South of here,
Eiríksstaðir
, in Haukadalur,
was home to
Eirík the Red
, discoverer of Greenland, and the birthplace of his son,
Leifur
, who went on to discover North America.
Búðardalur
BÚÐARDALUR
is home to just 250 people, and provides limited banking, postal and
retail services to the surrounding rural districts. It's an unkempt place, consisting of
little more than a collection of a dozen or so suburban streets, and the only reason to
break your journey here is to pop into the museum en route to the nearby saga sites.
Leifsbúð
Búðarbraut 1 • June-Aug daily 10.30am-6pm • Free
Búðardalur's one and only attraction is
Leifsbúð
, a modest museum dedicated to Leifur
Eiríksson and his voyage to North America from Greenland. Despite such a rich
historical theme to draw upon, the museum will barely whet your appetite with its
disappointing collection of wooden models and uninspiring photographs - the key
exhibit, a tapestry recounting the discovery of Vínland, is a modern creation and less
than accurate in its portrayal of historical facts.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
BÚÐARDALUR
By bus
Buses call at the filling station beside the main road
in Búðardalur. Since the completion of the new road to
Hólmavík, there are now direct services to the West Fjords
from here.
Destinations
Bifröst (3 weekly; 50min); Borgarnes
(3 weekly; 1hr 20min); Hólmavík (3 weekly; 1hr); Reykjavík
(5 weekly; 2hr 15min).
Tourist information There's an o
ce
(June-Aug
daily 10.30am-6pm;
T
434 1441,
W
dalir.is), housed in
the former nineteenth-century warehouse down by the
harbour which also contains
Leifsbúð café
.
