These adorable cabins are an absolute gem in northwest Iceland. Throughout our 2-week trip to Iceland, we stayed in an assortment of guesthouses and cottages. One of these charming little spots was Hvammstangi Cottages, named for the charming little town where it's located.
I'm really glad that we chose to stay in one of these small wooden huts. Often times, Justin and I reached our accommodation late at night and left early in the morning.
In June, it stayed light out nearly all night long - thank you, midnight sun! This always extended our days for more exploring and adventures. Needing only a place to rest our heads and stretch our bodies after lengthy car rides, cozy cottages were a blessing.
Our Stay at Hvammstangi Cottages
At Hvammstangi Cottages, you'll find a cluster of several cottages near a small campsite. However, you won't need to worry about your privacy.
While the cottages were all booked up, we rarely saw anyone else. The buildings are staggered and spread out enough that you'll never feel like crowds of people are around.
Inside the cabin, there was everything we needed for a comfortable overnight stay with additional perks. Justin and I thought it was cute that there was a bunk bed.
The most difficult decision of the day was deciding who would sleep on the top or bottom bunk. All bed linens and towels were included in our stay. There was also a couch, a kitchen table with chairs, and a small flatscreen TV.
One of the most important factors in booking our accommodations was having access to a kitchenette. We cooked most of our meals as we traveled using ingredients from the grocery store. While these meals weren't anything too fancy, it saved us a lot of money.
Restaurants are expensive in Iceland, and the cost for two weeks worth of meals would definitely add up. While we treated ourselves a few times, we mostly bought groceries and prepared our own meals. Hvammstangi Cottages had a small fridge, a cooking hob, plates, cutlery, pots and pans, and a coffee maker.
The bathroom was small, but had everything we needed: a shower, toilet, and sink. The cabin was equipped with Wi-Fi and heating.
A Self-Service Accommodation
We booked our stay at Hvammstangi Cottages online and it is a self-serve accommodation. This meant that we opened a lock-box to obtain our key, followed the short list of rules of the cottage (clean your dishes and throw away your garbage), and locked up the cabin and the key when we were ready to leave.
We didn't interact with any staff members or anyone during our stay. The cottage was very easy to book and stay overnight without any issues. If we had any problems, we could easily get in touch with the owners.
Hvammstangi Cottages: The Location
Hvammstangi is a small town, about 7km off the Ring Road (main highway of Iceland). There is one main street that runs through Hvammstangi, and the cottages are just a short distance away.
Nearly everything is centrally located in this town as it's such a small place, and it doesn't take any time to navigate through it. Most famous for seal tours and seal watching, it's also a great stopover on a tour around the Ring Road.
We spent a day in Hvammstangi. There was plenty to see and it was the perfect place to stop between Akureyri and the Westfjords.
Things to Do in Hvammstangi
We spent one day exploring Hvammstangi and the surrounding area. First, Justin and I drove up the Vatnsnes peninsula to look for seals. This is one of the best places in Iceland to go seal watching, even from the shore.
Next, we drove a short distance from Hvammstangi in the opposite direction to admire the Kolugljufur Canyon and Kolufossar Waterfall. This is a really beautiful gorge with a waterfall flowing down the middle of it. It's not to be missed.
Back at Hvammstangi Cottages, I decided to take a stroll around the property of the cottages. The rolling grassy hills and the small creek that ran alongside our cottage was so captivating.
Walking down the road past the campsite, I stumbled upon a small historic church. Kirkjuhvammskirkja was constructed in 1882, though the oldest reference to a church being in this spot dates back to 1318.
The church hasn't been in use since 1957, and it is now maintained by the national museum. There was also a small wooden bridge and more gorgeous scenery, as always.
We adored these cabins and highly recommend that you stay here during your visit to northwest Iceland. Even better, spend a day in Hvammstangi searching for seals, and exploring canyons and waterfalls.
After an adventurous day, settle down at Hvammstangi Cottages for a restful night. Book your stay here.
A List of Everywhere We've Stayed in Iceland
We've visited Iceland on a couple of occasions now and I'm pleased to present a list of everywhere we've stayed. We have blog posts on most of them and will hopefully have reviews on the rest of them soon.
Please feel free to use this list to plot out your 2-week road trip around the Ring Road like we did. Or even if you're planning a shorter stay, like only 3 days in Iceland, you can stay at one or two of these properties.
- Old Charm Apartments, Reykjavik
- Grandi by Center Hotels, Reykjavik
- Gesthus Selfoss Cottages, Selfoss
- Lambhus Glacier View Cabins, Hofn
- Fljótsdalsgrund Guesthouse, East Iceland
- Skutustadir Farm Guesthouse, Myvatn
- Ytri Vik Cottages, Akureyri
- Hvammstangi Cottages, Hvammstangi
- Fosshotel Westfjords, Patreksfjörður
- G4 Apartment, Grundarfjordur
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Christina says
Looks so adorable and perfect! I'll have to think about staying there when I go to Iceland! :)
Trisha Velarmino says
I haven't been to Iceland but I think I need to plan now since I don't have to worry about the wifi in those cabins. LOL. Thanks for sharing this.
Swati & Sam (The Tales of a Traveler) says
Iceland definitely has some pretty cottages. This cottage looks so cosy and cute , would love to plan a stay here. We are planning to do Iceland in September this year.
Megan Jerrard says
These cabins look incredible - especially for having WiFi! This was the type of accommodation we stayed in on our trip of Iceland too - but we only had 7 days to do the ring road so want to head back again to spend proper time and have the chance to stray a bit from the ring road. Will make a note of Hvammstangi and the cottage stay :) Thanks!
Sandy N Vyjay says
The Hvammstangi cottages look so cute and adorable. The interiors are great and the amenities too look adequate to have a great stay. This is probably a great way to relax and embark on your exploration of the white wonderland of Iceland. Also, I feel the small village would give one an opportunity to get closer to the local life and culture.
Barbara says
This looks like a veery cool and authentic place to stay. I will take some notes here for my visit to Iceland in the future.
Rhonda Albom says
We haven't made it to Iceland yet, but when we do, I think these adorable cabins will be on our accommodation list. Although, I am not sure we will find the bunk beds as "cute" as you did, but the bottom one looks large enough for two. I am not sure why, but I was surprised it has wifi.
Laura Lynch says
So often we wish there was a simpler place to stay when doing a trip like that. You don't need something fancy for a quick overnight, and these look like the perfect way to do that. They really have everything you need and they look clean and nice.
Dave says
It looks like a great place to stay. Clean and the kitchenette is a big plus. Restaurants are expensive in Iceland so it is always nice to be able to prepare your own meals.
Wiebke says
Looks very nice and I love Iceland! I would love to be locked up in one of these cottages for a month, just with a book and chilling :)
Kavey at Kavey Eats says
These cottages look great! We did a self-drive tour in Iceland a few summers ago, spending two weeks driving around the N1 route, with some meanders off onto coastal roads instead... love the look of these pretty cottages, nicely furnished too.