Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Grindavík
A well-serviced fishing port of two thousand souls down on the Reykjanes
Peninsula's south coast,
GRINDAVÍK
is a sizeable town for this part of the country.
It has a long history as a trading centre and was important enough to be raided
by pirates looking for slaves and plunder in 1627; its harbour still supports a fishing
fleet, whose catches are processed at the large factory here. Grindavík is also the
closest settlement to the Blue Lagoon - just 5km to the north - but gets nothing
like the number of visitors, though the town's eccentric museum is definitely worth
a look.
2
Saltfisksetur Íslands
Kvikan building, Hafnargata • Daily 10am-5pm • 1200kr
The motto of the
Saltfisksetur Íslands
(Icelandic Saltfish Museum),
Lífið er saltfiskur
- “Life is saltfish” - kicks of a fine display of models, videos, dioramas and life-
sized photos, all laced with the pervasive aroma of
cod
. It's no exaggeration to say
that modern Iceland was built on the back of this fish: the country's original coat
of arms, ratified by the Alþing in 1593, was a golden cod, filleted and crowned on
a red field. Fishing started off slowly as a seasonal adjunct to farming, however,
the catch preserved as wind-dried
stockfish
until salt began to be imported in bulk
during the nineteenth century. This coincided with the first large, ocean-going
vessels being used in Iceland, which increased catches six-fold and sparked a new
industry that undermined Iceland's traditional agricultural economy, drawing
people off the land to swell coastal settlements. Today, saltfish accounts for sixty
percent of Iceland's exports, the fish ending up mostly in Spain, West Africa and
South America.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
GRINDAVÍK
By bus
Buses from Reykjavík via the Blue Lagoon (
W
bsi.is)
pull in on central Aðalbraut.
Destinations
Blue Lagoon (3 daily; 15min); Reykjavík
(3 daily; 1hr).
By car
Grindavík is about 30km from Keflavík via either the
Blue Lagoon or Hafnir, and about 60km from Reykjavík.
Route 43 drops south into town as Víkurbraut. Ránargata
heads 250m down to the harbour from here, and halfway
along you cross the intersection with Hafnargata, where
many services are located.
INFORMATION
Tourist information
There's a desk at the Saltfish
Museum, Hafnargata (daily 10am-5pm;
T
420 1190).
Services
The N1 fuel station and Nettó supermarket are
close to each other on Veikurbraut. The swimming pool
(Mon-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm), with water
slide and usual hot pots and sauna, is two streets back near
the sports field.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Arctic Bed & Breakfast
Austurvegur 28
T
696 1919,
W
arcticbandb.com.
Guesthouse in a small family home,
not far from the water and within walking distance of
everything in town. Facilities are all shared. The owners can
arrange horseridi
ng (includ
ing viewing the autumn
rettir
, a
sheep roundup).
10,000kr
Bryggjan
Miðgarði 2
T
426 7100.
Popular fisherman's
hangout at the harbour, set in old warehouse decorated
with maritime memorabilia and a suspended bust of John
Lennon (mind your head), serving hearty grilled fish,
baccalao
and mussel dishes; there's a lamb soup special on
Wednesdays, and a lobster soup on Fridays. Mains around
2800kr.
Daily 8am-10pm.
Campsite
highway east out of town.
Split into bays with a play area,
toilets, showers, BBQ area and laundry; it's
also su
nken
with buildings to seawards, so fairly sheltered.
950kr
Guesthouse Fiskanes
Hafnargata 17-19
T
897 6388,
E
eikil@simnet.is.
Marked only by a sign directly above
the doorway, this big concrete block of a building offers
functio
nal, en-
suite studio roo
ms. Clos
ed Sept-May.
Studios
5600kr
; with sleeping bag
3800kr
Mama Mía
Hafnargata 7a
T
426 9966.
Opposite the
Saltfish Museum, this is a decent-value pizzeria where a
12” margarita costs just 1460kr, though their house
topping (seafood, meat, veg etc) is more than double this.
Also does burgers and sandwiches. Home delivery
available.
Daily noon-10pm.
Cnr Hafnargata and Austurvegur, the
