Best Coastal Stays in Hellissandur, Iceland
Coastal stays in Hellissandur line the shore road at the northwestern tip of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, where Route 574 runs between the lava field and the North Atlantic about 205 km by road from Reykjavík Domestic Airport. Two apartments here have direct beachfront access on Hellisbraut, and three more holiday homes look out over the same water from gardens and terraces. The coast is black rock and surf rather than sand, and the wind arrives unbroken off Breiðafjörður. Every one of these five properties has a kitchen, which is what makes the shoreline workable out of season.
Coastal · Hellissandur in numbers
CoastalKleifar: Ocean View Apartment
CoastalLaufás Guesthouse
CoastalThe Bookstore Family Apartment
CoastalBrenna - Ocean View Apartment
CoastalSeaside Retreat, Glacier View
Stays in Hellissandur
Kleifar: Ocean View Apartment sits on the beachfront on Hellisbraut, a couple of minutes from the Route 574 junction through the village. The one bedroom apartment has a living room, a fully equipped kitchen, parquet floors and a private entrance, plus a terrace, a balcony and a patio for the hours the wind allows. Free WiFi covers the public areas, and there is bicycle parking, an outdoor seating area and express check in and check out. Couples rate the location 9.1 for a two person trip, and the overall score of 8.9 across 123 reviews is the highest in the village.
Brenna - Ocean View Apartment shares the same Hellisbraut shoreline and the same direct beachfront access, with one bedroom, a living room, a full kitchen, a terrace and a balcony. It adds bike hire and a tour desk, which is useful for the Snæfellsjökull park loop west of the village. Laufás Guesthouse takes a different line entirely: three bedrooms on Helluhóll, a garden and terrace with sea, mountain and town views, a dishwasher, a washing machine and free private parking. That last combination is the one to book for a group planning several nights rather than a single stop.
Seaside Retreat, Glacier View on Skólabraut and The Bookstore Family Apartment on Snæfellsás both look at the water without standing on it, which in a February gale is an advantage rather than a compromise. Seaside Retreat has two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a washing machine, a garden and a barbecue. The Bookstore adds a buffet breakfast with pastries, pancakes, cheese and juice. From either one, the shoreline walk east towards Rif takes in the harbour and the low cliffs, and Skarðsvík golden sand beach lies west inside the national park. Neither address runs any kind of evening food service.
Hellissandur has the feel of a fishing settlement that decided to paint itself. Murals cover concrete gables along the main street, the Sjómannagarður maritime yard keeps an old fishing boat in the open air, and the 412 metre radio mast dominates every photograph taken from the coast road. Rif harbour, two kilometres east, still lands fish. Ólafsvík, about 10 km on, has the supermarket. Between them Hellissandur stays small, unlit and very quiet after eight in the evening.