Last updated September 16, 2026

Reykjahlíð's white church with a green steeple, lit in golden evening light beside the shore of Lake Mývatn with mountains behind

Andreas Tille / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mývatn

Where to Stay in Reykjahlíð Village, Mývatn

Reykjahlíð is small enough that there's really only one place to stay: the village itself, a loose cluster of guesthouses, a supermarket, a filling station, and a church strung along the lake's north shore and the Ring Road as it curves past. There's no separate walkable district worth treating as its own Area — the village core, from the church and camping ground on the lakefront out to the hotel at Reynihlíð on its eastern edge, covers only a few hundred meters, and everything genuinely famous about the wider Mývatn area (Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, Hverir, the Nature Baths) sits several kilometers away by road. The whole of walkable Reykjahlíð functions as one compact overnight base.

What it's actually like to stay here

Quiet, sparse, and functional rather than picturesque — a scattering of low houses and guesthouses on a strip of lava-field green between the Ring Road and the lake, with wide views of Lake Mývatn, surrounding hills, and (in winter) snow-capped mountains in almost every direction. The village has little in the way of streetscape or shops beyond the essentials; its appeal is proximity to the surrounding volcanic landscape, not charm in the village itself.

Stay here if

Best for road-trippers who need a compact, walkable base for one or two nights near Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, Hverir, and the Nature Baths, and for nature and geology enthusiasts happy to spend an evening in a small, quiet service village between days of exploring the wider lake area.

Walkability
Very walkable within its small footprint. Hotels in the village center sit within roughly a 7-minute walk of each other, and within a few hundred meters of the village's supermarket, filling station, and church — Eldá Guesthouse is closest to the shops (around 300 meters), while the hotel at Reynihlíð sits a similar short walk further along the lakeshore. None of the outlying sights (Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, the Nature Baths) are within walking distance.
Noise at night
Quiet. Reykjahlíð has essentially no nightlife and very little traffic once the Ring Road's through-traffic thins out in the evening; rooms directly on the main road can pick up some passing-car noise during the day in peak summer.

Best Hotels in Reykjahlíð Village, Mývatn

Fosshotel Mývatn

★★★★
  • 🏆 Our overall pick

Our take The most comfortable room at Mývatn, in an area with little hotel choice — floor-to-ceiling glass onto the lake, a proper restaurant, and a sauna after a day on the lava fields.

Highlights

  • Directly on the lake shore, with the water framed from the restaurant
  • A restaurant and bar on site, in an area with few evening options
  • Sauna, bike hire and free parking, with Hverir about 10 km away

What to know

  • It's at Grímsstaðir, about 3.7 km by road from Reykjahlíð village and its supermarket
  • It's the priciest bed on the lake, and rooms are modern rather than characterful
Check availability on Booking.com

Mývatn - Berjaya Iceland Hotels

★★★
  • 📍 Best location

Our take The pick for setting and amenities — a lakefront hotel with hot tubs, a proper restaurant, and design-forward rooms, in a village where none of that is a given.

Highlights

  • Sits directly on Lake Mývatn's shore with water views from many rooms and public areas
  • An on-site restaurant and adjoining tavern, more dining than anywhere else in the village
  • Outdoor hot tubs to end a day of driving between Mývatn's sights

What to know

  • At Reynihlíð on the village's eastern edge, and the largest hotel here — busiest in peak summer
  • Rooms are comfortably sized rather than spacious, with the larger Junior Suites the exception
Check availability on Booking.com

Transportation & practical information

Everything within the village is a short walk, not a drive. Onward travel to every other sight in the area — Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, Hverir, the Nature Baths, Krafla, Dettifoss — is by rental car, since nearly every visitor is here as one stop on a self-drive Ring Road itinerary.

Mývatn is a Ring Road stop people reach by car, and a car is what actually gets you to the sights once you're there — Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall, Hverir, the Nature Baths and Krafla are short drives apart rather than any kind of walking network. There's no practical way to see the area without one.

Frequently asked questions

Is there more than one area to choose between in Reykjahlíð?
No — the village is small enough that it functions as a single walkable base, with no separate district to compare it against.
Can I walk to Dimmuborgir or the Nature Baths from Reykjahlíð village?
No. Both sit several kilometers away and require a short drive (roughly 5-10 minutes) — they're not within walking distance of any hotel in the village.
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