Last updated September 16, 2026

Aerial view of Varmahlíð village on the floor of the Skagafjörður valley, with a forested hill and farmland around it and mountains behind

Steinninn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Iceland

Where to Stay in Varmahlíð

Varmahlíð is a crossroads village of about 155 people (January 2026) at the junction of the Ring Road (Route 1) and Route 75 into Skagafjörður, in North Iceland. It began in 1931 as a travelers' rest stop on the road north and has stayed one ever since — today it's one of the most-used stopping points on the entire Ring Road, with a filling station, grocery store, restaurant, outdoor swimming pool, and tourist information center clustered around the junction, plus the Miðgarður cultural and sports center. The village sits in the middle of Skagafjörður, the one county in Iceland where horses outnumber people and long regarded as the cradle of Icelandic horse breeding; Varmahlíð itself is home to Hestasport, one of the region's best-known riding-tour operators, working with the Icelandic horse's distinctive four-beat tölt gait. On a Ring Road self-drive trip, Varmahlíð is a natural overnight stop between North Iceland's coast and the routes west or south — reached either directly from Akureyri (about 95 km, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes on Route 1) or via the longer, more scenic Route 76 detour through Siglufjörður and the Tröllaskagi (Troll Peninsula) coastline, which alone runs about 107 km from Varmahlíð to Siglufjörður and a further 77 km on to Akureyri. From the village, Route 75 continues north to the Glaumbær turf-house museum (about 7.5 km) and on to Sauðárkrókur (about 25 km), Skagafjörður's largest town.

Quick facts

Best time to visit
Summer (June-August) brings the mildest weather, nearly round-the-clock daylight, and the easiest driving conditions for the Route 76 coastal detour through Siglufjörður and Tröllaskagi. Shoulder season (September) trades some daylight for thinner crowds. In winter, Route 1 through Varmahlíð itself is kept open as a priority road, but the Tröllaskagi coastal route and other mountain roads in the wider area can be affected by snow and wind, so build in flexibility if driving then.
Renting a car
Varmahlíð is a Ring Road junction more than a destination, and everything worth stopping for is a drive from it — Glaumbær, Sauðárkrókur, and the Route 76 coast road through Siglufjörður and Tröllaskagi. Nothing in the area is reachable on foot.

Where to stay

Best for road-trippers who need a compact, no-fuss overnight base with real services at a Ring Road junction, and for anyone who wants an actual connection to Skagafjörður's horse country rather than just driving past it — Hestasport's farm sits right at the edge of the walkable village.

The Svartá river winding through green farmland beside Varmahlíð, with a red-roofed farmhouse and layered mountains behind

Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Varmahlíð Village Center

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

Our picks for Varmahlíð

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.

📍 Best locationHotel VarmahlíðVarmahlíð Village Center

A couple of hotels in Varmahlíð Village Center

Varmahlíð Village Center is the top-recommended area to stay in Varmahlíð.

Glaumbær III

Our take A farm guesthouse six minutes' drive from the village, next door to the Glaumbær turf houses. Each room has its own bathroom and kitchen, so it works as a self-sufficient Ring Road stop.

Highlights

  • Minutes from the Glaumbær turf-house museum, one of Skagafjörður's main stops
  • Private bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen in each room
  • Terrace with open views across the Skagafjörður valley

What to know

  • This is a guesthouse on a farm, not a hotel — no restaurant, bar or staffed front desk
  • It's a six-minute drive from Varmahlíð, so a car is assumed rather than optional
Check availability on Booking.com

Hotel Varmahlíð

★★★
  • 📍 Best location

Our take The practical, no-nonsense choice for a Ring Road overnight — genuinely the most central address in Varmahlíð, with everything the village offers within a short walk.

Highlights

  • Right at the Route 1/Route 75 junction, walkable to the filling station, shop and pool.
  • All rooms have private bathrooms, a step up from a typical rural guesthouse layout
  • On-site restaurant and bar, so dinner doesn't mean getting back in the car.

What to know

  • The restaurant keeps seasonal hours and is more limited outside summer — worth checking ahead if arriving late or off-season
  • Road-facing rooms can pick up some daytime traffic noise from Route 1
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 itinerary. The village itself has a filling station, a grocery store, a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, a bank machine, and a tourist information center, plus the Miðgarður cultural and sports center. The nearest airport with scheduled flights to Reykjavík is in Akureyri, about 95 km (roughly 1 hour 15 minutes) away via Route 1.

Tips

  • The forested hill Reykjarhóll, right above the village (reached via Birkimelur street), has an easy, well-marked walking trail to a hilltop viewpoint over the Skagafjörður valley — doable in under an hour round trip and a good legs-stretch between driving stints.
  • If you're detouring via Route 76 through Siglufjörður and the Tröllaskagi coast instead of driving straight to Akureyri, budget real extra time — that route alone runs about 107 km to Siglufjörður plus a further 77 km on to Akureyri, well beyond the roughly 95 km direct run on Route 1.
  • Glaumbær, a well-preserved 19th-century turf-house farm and folk museum, is a worthwhile stop about 7.5 km north of the village on Route 75 toward Sauðárkrókur.

Frequently asked questions

Is Varmahlíð worth an overnight stop, or just a quick fuel break?
It works well as an overnight stop on a Ring Road itinerary — it has real services (fuel, food, a swimming pool) and sits at a useful junction, but it isn't a scenic destination in its own right the way some other Ring Road stops are. Most travelers use it as a functional base for a night between driving stretches.
How far is Varmahlíð from Akureyri?
About 95 km (roughly 1 hour 15 minutes) via the direct Route 1. Taking the scenic Route 76 detour through Siglufjörður and the Tröllaskagi coast instead is considerably longer — about 107 km to Siglufjörður alone, plus another 77 km on to Akureyri.
Is Skagafjörður really known for horses?
Yes — it's the only county in Iceland where horses outnumber people, and it's widely considered the historic center of Icelandic horse breeding. Varmahlíð itself is home to a well-known riding-tour operator, Hestasport.
What's within walking distance of the village center?
The filling station, grocery store, restaurant, swimming pool, and Hotel Varmahlíð all sit within a couple of hundred meters of each other at the Route 1/Route 75 junction. Hestasport's horse farm and cottages are a short walk further out, about 900 meters from the village center.

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