Best Family-Friendly Stays in Hellissandur, Iceland

Stays in Hellissandur

Adventure Hotel Hellissandur is the only full hotel in the village, on Klettsbúð, 204 km from Reykjavík Domestic Airport. Rooms have private bathrooms, work desks, wardrobes, hairdryers, electric kettles and showers, and the property has a lift, which matters with a pushchair. The restaurant serves international dishes with vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free options, and there is a child friendly buffet plus a coffee shop. Outside there is a sun terrace and an outdoor play area, and parking on site is free. It is the one address here where dinner does not require a plan.

Seaside Retreat, Glacier View has two bedrooms, a living room, family rooms and a private entrance on Skólabraut, with a kitchenette, a washing machine, a tumble dryer, a children's high chair, a garden and a barbecue. Laufás Guesthouse goes bigger with three bedrooms on Helluhóll, a dishwasher, a washing machine, a high chair, a sofa bed, a flat screen television and a garden with sea and mountain views. The Bookstore Family Apartment adds a buffet breakfast to a one bedroom ground floor unit with a terrace and family rooms. All three include free private parking on site.

The Freezer Hostel & Culture Center sits at Rif, two kilometres east on Hafnargata, in a converted fish processing factory that now runs a theatre. Family rooms, a communal kitchen, a shared lounge and a bar make it the cheapest workable option for a group, and in summer guests get complimentary tickets to performances, live music and game nights. Kleifar and Brenna, both one bedroom beachfront apartments on Hellisbraut, suit families of three rather than five. Every property in the village has free WiFi, which counts for something on the long dark evenings.

The village is small enough that children can be let loose on the main street without much anxiety. Murals cover most of the concrete gables, the Sjómannagarður maritime yard keeps a wooden fishing boat outside, and the 412 metre radio mast is the landmark every child points at from the car. Rif harbour lands fish two kilometres east. There is no playground economy here, no pool in the village and no cinema, so the entertainment is weather, rock pools and the park.