Last updated September 16, 2026

Fishing boats moored in Höfn's harbor with mountains rising in the background under a clear sky

Bernard McManus / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Höfn

Where to Stay in Höfn Town Center, Höfn

Höfn is small enough that there's really only one place to stay: the town center itself, a short cluster of streets built up around the harbor on the tip of its peninsula. The two main streets, Víkurbraut and the harbor-front Ránarslóð, run only a few hundred meters apart, with the Nettó supermarket, the swimming pool, restaurants, and the Gamlabúð visitor center all sitting within a few minutes of each other and of every hotel in town. There's no separate 'harbor district' worth treating as its own Area — the working harbor and the town's shops and hotels are all part of the same compact grid, and the whole of Höfn functions as one walkable base.

What it's actually like to stay here

Quiet and functional rather than polished — a genuine working fishing harbor with trawlers and langoustine boats moored alongside low, practical buildings, busiest for an hour or two around dinner as Ring Road travelers arrive for the night, then quiet after dark. There's little in the way of nightlife; the draw is the harbor setting and the glacier views, not evening entertainment.

Stay here if

Best for road-trippers who just need a walkable, well-placed base for one night between Jökulsárlón/Diamond Beach and the next leg of the Ring Road, and for anyone who wants to walk to a langoustine dinner, the harbor, and the short Ósland nature trail without moving the car again after checking in.

Walkability
Very walkable — hotels in the center sit within roughly a 10-12 minute walk of each other, with the supermarket, restaurants, and harbor viewpoints clustered between them. The Ósland nature reserve, a short peninsula walk with birdlife and harbor views, is reachable on foot from the town center via a land bridge at the edge of town.
Noise at night
Quiet. Höfn has no real nightlife scene, and the harbor itself is peaceful outside of active fishing hours; some road noise is audible from rooms facing Route 1/Víkurbraut, the street that doubles as the Ring Road through town.

Best Hotels in Höfn Town Center, Höfn

Höfn - Berjaya Iceland Hotels

★★★
  • 📍 Best location

Our take Right on Höfn's harbour with glacier views across the water — in a town where that setting is the main reason to stay.

Highlights

  • Sits directly at the harbor, an easy walk to the boats and nearby restaurants
  • Views across Hornafjörður toward the Vatnajökull ice cap from much of the property
  • Breakfast buffet included, useful given Höfn's limited early-morning dining options

What to know

  • Rooms are simple and functional rather than styled — the setting, not the interiors, is the draw
  • About an 8-minute walk from Höfn's supermarket and central shops on Víkurbraut
Check availability on Booking.com

Hótel Höfn

★★★
  • 💰 Best value

Our take A straightforward, dependable choice in a small town with limited options — nothing flashy, but a full-service hotel with its own restaurant and an easy walk to the harbor for a one-night Ring Road stop.

Highlights

  • On-site restaurant serving local langoustine, useful in a town with few places to eat
  • Central spot on Víkurbraut, a 10-minute walk to the harbor and Höfn's shops
  • Some rooms have glacier or sea views over the surrounding fjord

What to know

  • Rooms are functional rather than stylish — this is a practical overnight stop, not a design hotel
  • Sits on Víkurbraut, which also carries Ring Road through-traffic, so street-facing rooms pick up road noise
Check availability on Booking.com

Transportation & practical information

Everything in the town center is a walk, not a drive. Onward travel is almost entirely by rental car, since nearly every visitor is here as one stop on a self-drive Ring Road itinerary; a seasonal Strætó bus also reaches Höfn from Reykjavík via the South Coast, but only once or twice a day.

The car you drove in on is the point of Höfn: it's the natural overnight after Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón, and what gets you back out to those sights, the glacier-lagoon boat tours and Diamond Beach on your own schedule. A seasonal Strætó bus does reach Höfn from Reykjavík along the South Coast in summer, but on too limited a schedule to plan around, and it can't stop at the roadside sights on the way.

Frequently asked questions

Is there more than one area to choose between in Höfn?
Not really. Höfn is small enough that the town center — including its harbor — covers essentially the whole walkable settlement, so there's no second neighborhood to compare it against.
Can I walk to Jökulsárlón or Diamond Beach from the town center?
No — both are well outside Höfn, about 78 km (roughly an hour's drive) west along the Ring Road. They're stops on the way into town, not something reachable on foot from here.
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