Hvolsvöllur Travel Guide: Your Gateway to South Iceland
Hvolsvöllur doesn't look like much from the road. It's a small town on Iceland's Ring Road, and it's easy to just fill up the tank and keep driving past it. But if you're planning a South Iceland trip, this town might be one of the best places to set up camp for a few nights.
Key Takeaways
- Hvolsvöllur is one of the best places to base yourself in South Iceland. It's right on the Ring Road, about 90 minutes from Reykjavík, with easy access to Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Þórsmörk, and the Westman Islands ferry.
- The LAVA Centre is the town's biggest draw and well worth a visit. It explains Iceland's volcanoes, earthquakes, and glaciers, and helps you better understand the landscapes you'll see along the South Coast.
- The town itself is small, but it has everything you need. You'll find places to stay, restaurants, shops, a swimming pool, and tour operators, making it a practical stop on a South Iceland road trip.
- Hvolsvöllur is a great base for exploring the area. From here, you can visit famous waterfalls, hike glaciers, ride Icelandic horses, take super-jeep tours, or head into Þórsmörk.
- If you have the time, stay for two nights. That gives you a chance to see the town's highlights and explore the surrounding area without feeling rushed.
What’s Hvolsvöllur?
Hvolsvöllur sits in Rangárþing eystra, in South Iceland (Suðurland), about 105 kilometers (65 miles) from Reykjavík. It's one of the only towns in the country that didn't grow up next to a harbor or a river. It grew because the farms around it needed a place to get supplies, and that history still shows. It feels like a town people actually live and work in, not a place built for visitors.
On its own, there isn't a lot to look at here. But it puts you close to a lot of things that are worth looking at: the LAVA Centre, which explains the volcanoes you're about to drive past, the whole Njáls saga story playing out across the district, and quick trips to Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Þórsmörk, and the ferry to the Westman Islands. If I were planning a South Coast trip, I'd set myself up here instead of just stopping for gas and moving on.
Where Hvolsvöllur Is and How to Get There
Hvolsvöllur sits right on Route 1, Iceland's Ring Road, in western South Iceland, between Hella and the Eyjafjallajökull area. Pretty much anyone driving the South Coast passes right through it.
Driving From Reykjavík
To drive from Reykjavík, take Route 1 east through Hveragerði, Selfoss, and Hella, and you'll hit Hvolsvöllur. It takes about 90 minutes when the roads are clear. A regular car handles this drive fine in good weather, but winter storms can slow you down or close the road, so don't count on good weather.
Public Transport and Other Options
Strætó runs buses connecting Reykjavík, Selfoss, Hella, and Hvolsvöllur, with some routes going on to Landeyjahöfn. To get to Hvolsvöllur you have to connect via Selfoss or Höfn, and it takes a bit over 2 hours.
If you're flying into Keflavík International Airport, there's no direct route to Hvolsvöllur. You'll need to rent a car, drive through or around Reykjavík, and get on Route 1 heading east. That trip takes longer than the drive from downtown Reykjavík, so leave extra time, especially after a long flight.
Hvolsvöllur isn't part of the Golden Circle. It sits southeast of that route and belongs to the South Coast instead. You can string both together if your trip is long enough, but it won't show up on any Golden Circle map.
Top Things to Do in Hvolsvöllur
I won't pretend the town itself is packed with things to do, because it isn't. But the handful of things it does have are genuinely worth your time, and the LAVA Center especially. If I were you, I'd make that my first stop, not something you squeeze in on the way out.
Visit the LAVA Center
The LAVA Center is the reason most people even mention Hvolsvöllur in the first place. It's an interactive exhibit that walks you through Iceland's tectonic plates, volcanoes, earthquakes, and past eruptions, Katla and Eyjafjallajökull included. Plan on 75 to 90 minutes if you want to actually take it all in, and longer if you've got curious kids in tow or geology happens to be your thing.
Here's the trick though: go before you head out to the waterfalls and volcanic landscapes further east, not after. It genuinely changes the trip. Once you understand what caused all this, you stop just snapping photos and start actually getting it.
Explore the Saga Center
The Saga Center is built around Njáls saga, one of the most famous old Icelandic sagas, and it does a nice job of tying that story back to the actual land around Hvolsvöllur. There's a long tapestry inside that tells the whole thing in pictures, and honestly, that helped me follow it way better than reading a summary ever did. The saga's got feuds, court battles, revenge, the works, so having something visual to hold onto really helps.
Swim in the Local Pool
Almost every town in Iceland has a public pool, and Hvolsvöllur's is no exception, hot tub included, open year-round. It's the perfect way to thaw out after a hike or ride out a rainy afternoon with the kids. Quick heads up if you've never done this before: you shower with no swimsuit on before getting in. Nobody's going to bat an eye; it's just how pools work everywhere in Iceland.
Walk the Town Center
There's a small green area right in the middle of town, good for a walk, a picnic, or just letting the kids loose for a bit. It's nothing dramatic, no hike, no big view, but it's a nice way to see Hvolsvöllur as an actual place where people live, rather than just something you drive through on the way to a waterfall.
Book a Guided Adventure Tour
A handful of tour operators are based right in Hvolsvöllur, and between them you can book highland trips, super-jeep tours, hikes, bike rides, or glacier excursions. If Þórsmörk or the highlands are on your list, I'd go with one of these local companies. They know the terrain better than anyone.
Best Attractions Near Hvolsvöllur
This is honestly the whole point of staying in Hvolsvöllur. You're not there for the town, you're there because so much good stuff is only a short drive away.
Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi
Seljalandsfoss is the one you've probably already seen in photos, the waterfall you can walk behind. It drops about 60 metres off what used to be a sea cliff, and on a good day you can loop around the back of it. Just know you're going to get wet, so don't wear your nice jacket. Right nearby is Gljúfrabúi, tucked into a narrow little canyon. It's easy to miss if you don't know it's there. To get a proper look at it you'll be hopping across some wet rocks, so watch your footing.
Skógafoss and Kvernufoss
Skógafoss is a bit further east, near Skógar, and it comes off the same old coastline as Seljalandsfoss. You can stand right in front of it at ground level, or climb the stairs off to the side for a view looking down over it, which honestly might be my favorite angle. If you'd rather skip the crowds, Kvernufoss is close by and gets a fraction of the visitors. Same kind of magic, way more peace and quiet.
Eyjafjallajökull
You know this one even if the name doesn't ring a bell. Eyjafjallajökull is the volcano under a glacier that erupted in 2010 and grounded flights across half of Europe. Around here, though, people remember it differently. It hit local farms, roads, and rivers hard, and it took months to clean up. The LAVA Centre does a great job of walking you through how a volcano and a glacier end up tangled together like that. Just don't go thinking you can wander up to the summit on your own. That takes real glacier experience and a proper guide.
Þórsmörk
Þórsmörk is the kind of place where photos don't really do it justice. It's boxed in by ridges and glaciers, with rivers that split into a dozen little channels running through it, and it might be the best hiking area in the whole country. People call Hvolsvöllur the gateway to Þórsmörk for good reason, since most of the tours and specialty vehicles heading there leave right from town.
One thing I'd stress: don't try to drive there yourself in a regular rental. The roads cross rivers with no bridges, and the water can rise or speed up faster than you'd expect. Your rental insurance won't cover damage from that either, so it's just not worth the risk. Book a seat on a highland bus, hop in a super-jeep tour, or join a guided hike instead.
Landmannalaugar and the Westman Islands
Landmannalaugar is known for its rainbow-colored mountains and natural hot springs, but it's deep enough into the highlands that a guided day trip makes way more sense than trying it solo. On the flip side, the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) are an easy add-on. The ferry leaves from Landeyjahöfn, about 30 minutes from Hvolsvöllur, so you can do a full island day and still sleep in the same bed that night.
Hidden Gems and Lesser-Known Stops
Once you've hit the big names, there's a quieter side to this area worth exploring too, tied to old sagas and the local landscape.
Njáls Saga Sites
This countryside is basically a real-life map of Njáls saga. Bergþórshvoll is where the story's central family is traditionally placed, and Hlíðarendi belongs to Gunnar Hámundarson, one of the most unforgettable characters in the whole saga. Then there's Fljótshlíð, a green stretch of farmland with Eyjafjallajökull sitting in the background, which forms a big chunk of the story's setting.
Keldur Turf Farm
Keldur is worth a stop if you want to actually picture what people's homes looked like generations ago. The turf buildings are still standing, though I wouldn't call it a perfectly preserved saga-era house. Building styles here changed a lot over the centuries, so think of it more as a snapshot of rural life over time than a single frozen moment from the story.
Efra-Hvolshellar
This one's just outside town, and almost nobody stops here compared to Seljalandsfoss or Skógafoss. If you do check it out, park in the spot that's meant for it, take any trash back out with you, and keep dogs on a leash. It's a small site, and it stays nice because people treat it that way.
Scenic Rural Roads
Honestly, some of my favorite views around here aren't on any list of attractions at all. Just take the smaller roads through Fljótshlíð and you'll get wide open farmland with Eyjafjallajökull looming behind it, no tour bus parked in your shot.
Best Outdoor Activities and Day Trips
Hvolsvöllur is a great jumping-off point whether you want an easy stroll to a waterfall or something a lot more demanding.
Hiking
There's a huge range here. On one end you've got short, easy paths at Seljalandsfoss. On the other end is the Fimmvörðuháls route between Skógar and Þórsmörk, which crosses exposed terrain between two ice caps. That one's a real mountain hike, not something you casually add on after checking out a waterfall.
Glacier Walks and Ice Caves
If you want to walk on an actual glacier, most guided hikes head out to Sólheimajökull, an arm of Mýrdalsjökull. You'll be geared up with a helmet, harness, crampons, and a guide who knows the ice, and that's really the only safe way to do it. As for ice caves, those are seasonal and mostly further east, not something you'll find right around Hvolsvöllur.
Super-Jeep and Volcano Tours
Super-jeeps exist for a reason: the highland roads out here would wreck a normal car. And a heads up, when someone mentions a "volcano tour" leaving from Hvolsvöllur, they usually mean a scenic drive through old eruption sites, not a hike up to bubbling lava.
Icelandic Horse Riding
The Icelandic horse is its own breed, and the thing that sets it apart is the tölt, this extra gait that feels almost impossibly smooth compared to a regular trot. Local farms run everything from a quick first-timer ride to multi-day trips out into the countryside.
Northern Lights and Midnight Sun
Since there's so little light pollution out here, it's actually a solid spot for chasing the Northern Lights, roughly from late August through April, depending on how clear the sky is and how active things are up there. Come summer, forget the aurora, the sky just won't get dark enough. What you get instead are these incredibly long, bright evenings, so don't be surprised if you're standing in front of a waterfall at 10 p.m. with the light still looking great.
Where to Stay and Eat
Hvolsvöllur has options for pretty much any budget or travel style.
Places to Stay
- Hotels: The easiest choice for couples and Ring Road drivers who want a private bathroom and easy access from the road.
- Guesthouses and farm stays: Spread across the wider area near Eyjafjallajökull and Fljótshlíð, with country views and darker skies, though you'll drive further to restaurants.
- Hostels and base camps: Good for solo travelers and hiking groups who want tours and a place to sleep bundled together.
- Campsites: Available around Hvolsvöllur, but stick to the official ones and check when they're open rather than pitching a tent wherever looks nice.
Where to Eat
The food scene here is small but it covers the basics: a few restaurants, hotel dining, some cafés, a bakery, and a grocery store for stocking up before a highland trip. Hours run shorter outside summer, so booking dinner ahead during peak season is a good habit.
Worth trying while you're here: Icelandic lamb, Arctic char, skyr, and the classic Icelandic hot dog, usually made from lamb, pork, and beef, topped with raw onion, crispy onion, and remoulade.
For traditional (but not boring) Icelandic cuisine go to Eldstó Art Cafe / Restaurant. For more “common” food, check out the Valhalla Restaurant.
Best Time to Visit and Suggested Itineraries
The best time to visit depends on what you want out of the trip.
Choosing Your Season
- June to August: Long daylight, the easiest highland access, and the most tours running, but also the highest prices and biggest crowds.
- May and September: A good middle ground, with fewer people and decent weather, plus a shot at the aurora in September.
- October to March: Your best chance at the Northern Lights, though you'll deal with short days, ice, and highland roads that can close with little warning.
Essential Travel Tips and FAQs
A few practical things to know, and quick answers to what people ask me most about this town.
Is Hvolsvöllur Worth Visiting?
Yes, mainly for the LAVA Centre, the Njáls saga connection, and how well it works as a base. The town itself is more useful than pretty. Its real value is everything you can reach from it.
Do You Need a Car?
You can reach Hvolsvöllur by bus, and the town itself is walkable, but most of what's around it needs a car, a bus transfer, or a tour.
Is Hvolsvöllur Family-Friendly?
Yes. The LAVA Centre, the pool, and easy access to Seljalandsfoss make it a solid base for families, though you'll want extra caution around waterfall paths, glacial rivers, and highland roads.
Is Hvolsvöllur Expensive?
Like most of Iceland, costs add up fast between places to stay, gas, and tours. Booking early, buying your own breakfast and lunch, and traveling in shoulder season all help keep spending down.
Safety Tips
Check the Icelandic Meteorological Office for weather, SafeTravel for alerts, and the road authorities for current conditions before heading into the highlands. And never cross a river just because the car ahead of you made it. Conditions change fast, and not every vehicle can handle what the last one did.
Conclusion: Is Hvolsvöllur the Right Base for Your Trip?
Hvolsvöllur is a small, plain town that happens to sit next to some of the best things South Iceland has to offer: the LAVA Centre, Njáls saga country, Seljalandsfoss, Þórsmörk, and the ferry to the Westman Islands, all without switching hotels every night.
If your South Iceland plans include at least two of those, it's worth basing yourself here. My advice would be to spend two nights if you can. That gives you enough time for the town's own attractions plus something bigger, like Þórsmörk or the islands, without feeling rushed.
