Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plans for expansion (the addition of 22 new rooms in time for summer 2015) should bring
a welcome reinvigoration to the Sel (in the hamlet of Skútustaðir), where facilities are
good but a little tired. There's a hot-pot, sauna and lounge, plus a souvenir shop-cafeteria
(open 8am to 10pm June to August) next to the car park. The hotel's no-frills restaurant of-
fers buffets favoured by tour groups (lunch/dinner buffet Ikr2700/5900).
The hotel's best feature is its packages of
winter activities
: Northern Lights, super-Jeep
exploration, snowmobile tours on the frozen lake, cross-country skiing, horse riding, and
some quirky choices like driving go-karts on ice. Low-season room rates are significantly
cheaper.
Hótel Gígur
HOTEL
( 464 4455;
www.keahotels.is
;s/d incl breakfast Ikr29,200/36,500; )
The Skútustaðir lakeside location doesn't quite compensate for the overpriced, extra-com-
pact rooms that leave little room for cat-swinging. The pretty green restaurant (dinner
mains Ikr3990 to Ikr5600) is the hotel's best feature, offering prime lake views plus well-
prepared local dishes (pan-fried trout, crème brûlée with slow-cooked rhubarb).
Western Mývatn
Sights & Activities
Laxá
RIVER
The clear and turbulent Laxá (Salmon River), one of the many Icelandic rivers so named,
cuts the western division of Mývatn, rolling straight across the tundra towards Skjálfandi
(Húsavík's whale-filled bay). The Laxá is one of the best (and most expensive) salmon-
fishing spots in the country. More affordable brown-trout fishing is also available.
Vindbelgjarfjall
MOUNTAIN
The steep but relatively easy climb up 529m-high Vindbelgjarfjall, on the lake's western
shore, offers one of the best views across the lake and its alien pseudocraters. The trail to
