Last updated September 16, 2026

Aerial view of Borgarnes on its narrow peninsula in Borgarfjörður, with the old town clustered at the tip and mountains behind

Steinninn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Iceland

Where to Stay in Borgarnes

Borgarnes is a town of about 2,250 people (January 2026) on a narrow peninsula jutting into Borgarfjörður, in West Iceland, and the largest town and main service hub of the Borgarbyggð municipality. It takes its name from Borg á Mýrum, the farm of Egill Skallagrímsson, the warrior-poet at the center of the 13th-century Egil's Saga, and was officially chartered as a town in 1913. Route 1 (the Ring Road) crosses into town via Borgarfjarðarbrú, a 520-meter bridge opened in 1981 that shortened the road by about 11 km compared to the older route around the fjord via Hvítárbrú — it's Iceland's second-longest bridge. On a Ring Road self-drive trip, Borgarnes is a natural overnight stop and the gateway to two directions: north and west toward Reykholt, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, and on to North Iceland, or south onto the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It's also close enough to the capital — about 75 km, roughly an hour's drive via Route 1 and the Hvalfjörður undersea tunnel — that many day tours out of Reykjavík pass straight through. The town's walkable core runs along Borgarbraut between two ends: the older peninsula tip around the Settlement Center, Skallagrímsgarður park, and the church, and the newer service cluster at Brúartorg, where the Ring Road meets the edge of town.

Quick facts

Best time to visit
Summer (June-August) brings the mildest weather and nearly round-the-clock daylight, and makes day trips onto the Snæfellsnes peninsula or to Reykholt and the nearby waterfalls easiest. The Hvalfjörður tunnel keeps the Reykjavík connection open and fast year-round, unlike some more remote Ring Road stops, though connecting roads further out (toward Snæfellsnes or North Iceland) can still be affected by winter weather.
Renting a car
You'll arrive with a car: Borgarnes is a stop on the Ring Road or a Snæfellsnes loop, and everything that makes it worth an overnight is a drive away — Reykholt, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, Deildartunguhver, and the peninsula itself. None of it is reachable on foot from town.

Where to stay

Road-trippers who want a genuine town to walk around for an evening rather than just a fuel stop — the Settlement Center, church, and a small waterside park all sit within a short walk of each other — and anyone curious about Egil's Saga and Iceland's Settlement Age.

Borgarneskirkja, the white church in Borgarnes, standing against a blue sky with snow-capped mountains across the fjord behind it

Anjali Kiggal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Borgarnes Town Center

Best for: Road trips, First-time visitors, Nature lovers

Our picks for Borgarnes

A handful of editorial calls across every neighborhood above, not just the highest star rating — see each hotel's own card further down for the full case for and against it.

🏆 Our overall pickHótel VesturlandBorgarnes Town Center📍 Best locationHótel BorgarnesBorgarnes Town Center

A couple of hotels in Borgarnes Town Center

Borgarnes Town Center is the top-recommended area to stay in Borgarnes.

Hótel Vesturland

★★★★
  • 🏆 Our overall pick

Our take The most complete hotel in Borgarnes, with spa and dining facilities most Ring Road overnight stops don't offer, at a genuinely walkable address near the town's services.

Highlights

  • Two on-site restaurants and a bar, so dinner doesn't mean driving back out.
  • Walkable to the N1 filling station and Brúartorg's shops, near the Ring Road junction.
  • Many rooms look out over the fjord and surrounding mountains

What to know

  • About 870 meters from the Settlement Center and the old part of town, nearer the Ring Road junction.
  • Formerly operated as B59 — some older references and map listings may still use that name
Check availability on Booking.com

Hótel Borgarnes

★★★
  • 📍 Best location

Our take Central enough to walk to the Settlement Center and the old town rather than drive — simple and functional rather than polished.

Highlights

  • About two minutes' walk from the Settlement Center, the town's main sight
  • On-site restaurant and bar save a drive back out for dinner
  • Apartments with balconies and mountain views are available alongside standard rooms

What to know

  • Rooms and public areas are functional rather than styled — a practical road-trip stop, not a design hotel
  • About 870 metres — a 10-12 minute walk — from Hótel Vesturland and the N1 services.
Check availability on Booking.com

Useful travel information

Iceland uses the Icelandic króna (ISK); cards are accepted almost everywhere. Nearly every visitor arrives by rental car on a Ring Road or Snæfellsnes itinerary. As the main service town for the region, Borgarnes has full services: multiple filling stations, a supermarket, a bank, a pharmacy, a health clinic, a post office, and a geothermal swimming pool with water slides, hot tubs, and a steam bath. The nearest airport with scheduled domestic flights is Reykjavík, about 75 km (roughly 1 hour) away via Route 1 and the Hvalfjörður tunnel; Keflavík International Airport is about 130 km (roughly 1 hour 45 minutes) away.

Tips

  • The Settlement Center (Landnámssetur Íslands) has two separate exhibitions — one on Iceland's Settlement Age and one on Egil's Saga — plus an on-site restaurant, and is the town's main indoor stop on a rainy or windy day.
  • Skallagrímsgarður, the small park beside the swimming pool, contains a mound traditionally identified as the burial site of Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson, Egill's father — a quick, free stop between the two hotel clusters.
  • If you're continuing toward Reykholt, budget about 40 km and 33 minutes of driving — worthwhile for Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls, both a short walk from their car park.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Borgarnes from Reykjavík?
About 75 km via Route 1 and the Hvalfjörður undersea tunnel — roughly an hour's drive. Taking the older route around the fjord instead takes about 2 hours.
Is Borgarnes worth an overnight stop, or just a fuel break?
It works well as more than a fuel break — the Settlement Center, Skallagrímsgarður park, and the church all sit within an easy walk of the recommended hotels, giving you a real town to spend an evening in rather than just a service stop.
What is Borgarnes known for?
It's the main service town of West Iceland and the gateway to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and it's closely tied to Egil's Saga — the town takes its name from the farm of the saga's central figure, Egill Skallagrímsson, and its main museum, the Settlement Center, is built around that history.
Do I need a car in Borgarnes?
Not to get around the town itself — its walkable core is compact — but yes for reaching anything around it, since Reykholt, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss, and the Snæfellsnes peninsula are all a drive away.

Related destinations