Where to Stay in Höfn
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
Höfn í Hornafirði — the name simply means “harbour” — is a town of around two thousand people on a low spit in a lagoon at the south-eastern corner of Iceland, with the white bulk of Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Europe, filling the sky behind it. It is six hours from Reykjavík and roughly an hour east of the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón, which is the whole reason to know about it: staying here turns the single most punishing day trip in Iceland into a civilised overnight. Add the black peninsula at Stokksnes fifteen minutes east, one of the most photographed places in the country, and a working harbour with a genuine sense of the edge of things, and Höfn earns its night rather better than most people expect.
Choosing Your Ground
The town on its spit, or one of the country hotels strung out along the road towards the glacier.
In Höfn, or out along the glacier road?
Höfn itself is flat, tiny and entirely walkable — harbour, swimming pool, supermarket, a handful of restaurants, and the long view across the lagoon to the ice. If you want to park the car and walk to dinner, stay in the town; this is the only place for forty miles in either direction where that is possible. West along Route 1 towards Jökulsárlón lie the country hotels and farm guesthouses — Hali, Smýrlabjörg, Skaftafell further on — which put you closer to the glacier lagoon and further from anywhere to eat that is not the hotel’s own dining room. That is a fair trade if your plan is to be at the lagoon at eight in the morning. Wherever you sleep here the skies are dark, the horizon is enormous, and this is one of the better corners of Iceland for the aurora between September and March.
The best beds in town
Two full-service hotels, both with proper restaurants — which matters in a town where the alternative closes at nine.
Fosshótel Vatnajökull
A comfortable modern hotel a few minutes from Höfn with an uninterrupted view towards Vatnajökull and the mountains, and one of the better hotel restaurants in the south-east. Rooms are generous and the position — away from the town lights, looking at the ice — is exactly what you want for an evening of aurora watching. You will want the car; the town is a short drive.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Hotel Höfn
The town hotel, in Höfn itself, within a few minutes’ walk of the harbour, the pool and the restaurants. It is straightforward and well run, with a restaurant of its own, and it is the sensible choice for anyone who would rather not get back in the car after a long day on Route 1. Ask for a room on the lagoon side.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Small & characterful
Two of the more interesting places to sleep in this corner of the country, both a good deal more memorable than a chain room.
Milk Factory
A converted dairy in the middle of Höfn, turned into a small design hotel with high ceilings and a quiet, modern hand — the sort of building conversion Iceland does unusually well. It is central, it is different, and it is a genuine pleasure to arrive at after six hours of glacier and gravel.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Seljavellir Guesthouse
A well-regarded country guesthouse in the farmland outside Höfn, with big windows, mountain views and an outdoor hot tub — which, on a clear night in this part of Iceland, is a rather good place to be sitting when the sky decides to perform. Breakfast is generally a strength at places like this. A car is essential.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Budget & value
Simple, clean and central — and considerably cheaper than the same night on the south coast in summer.
Guesthouse Dyngja
A small, long-established guesthouse in Höfn, walking distance from the harbour and the pool, and the kind of straightforward Icelandic accommodation that costs a fraction of a hotel and gives you a host who will tell you what the road east is doing. Check which rooms have a private bathroom when you book.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Höfn Hostel
The cheapest bed in town, with private rooms as well as dormitories and a kitchen you can use — which in a corner of Iceland where dinner is expensive and options are few is worth more than it sounds. Central, simple, and perfectly comfortable for a night on the way round.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Out towards the glacier lagoon
If your priority is being at Jökulsárlón before the coaches, sleep west of town rather than in it.
Hali Country Hotel
A country hotel on the farm at Hali, out along Route 1 west of Höfn and appreciably closer to Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach. It has its own restaurant, which is essential out here, and a small museum next door devoted to the writer Þórbergur Þórðarson, who was born on this farm. The skies are as dark as anywhere in Iceland. There is nowhere to walk to; that is the point.
Book Me on Trip.com ›Adults-only & grown-up quiet
No adults-only property here that Trip.com sells, and we are not going to invent one. In Höfn the quiet is simply the geography: the country guesthouses and farm hotels outside town have no neighbours, no traffic and no light, and several have a hot tub outside the door. Seljavellir and Hali, both above, are the two we would pick for a quiet couple of nights. Use the browse link to filter the district by rating and property type for your dates.
Browse quiet stays near Höfn ›Pet-friendly
We could not verify a pet-friendly hotel in Höfn through our Trip.com partner, so there is no booking button here rather than a guess. As elsewhere in rural Iceland, the pet-friendly accommodation in this district is mostly self-catering cottages on the farms. The honest browse link below applies the pet-friendly filter to whatever is genuinely available on your dates; confirm the policy with the property before you travel.
Browse pet-friendly stays near Höfn ›Don’t see your perfect fit?
Every hotel in Höfn on Trip.com, with live prices and availability. Booking through our links supports Destinations Guild at no extra cost to you.
Browse all Höfn hotels ›Höfn Hotel FAQ
Why stay in Höfn at all?
Because it breaks the drive. Reykjavík to Jökulsárlón and back in a day is around ten hours of driving for perhaps an hour at the lagoon, and people do it, and they regret it. Sleep at Höfn or on the road west of it and the glacier lagoon becomes a morning rather than an ordeal — and you get Stokksnes, the harbour, the ice cap and a proper dinner into the bargain.
How far is Höfn from the glacier lagoon?
About eighty kilometres, or an hour, west along Route 1. Diamond Beach is directly opposite the lagoon across the road. Skaftafell and the national park visitor centre are about two hours west, and Reykjavík is roughly six hours — 460 kilometres — which is why nobody sensible drives it in one go.
What is Stokksnes and is it worth it?
Stokksnes is the black-sand peninsula fifteen minutes east of Höfn beneath the sawtooth peak of Vestrahorn, and it is one of the most photographed places in Iceland. It is private land: you pay a modest entry fee at the Viking Café at the gate, which also runs a small film set built for a production that was never made. On a still day the reflections are extraordinary. On a windy one, the sand blows hard enough to sting.
Is Höfn walkable?
The town is, easily — it is flat, small and laid out along a spit, and you can walk from most accommodation to the harbour, the pool and the restaurants in a few minutes. Everything outside the town needs the car, and there are no footpaths on Route 1.
What about the langoustine?
Höfn built its name on langoustine, holds a summer festival in its honour and still has restaurants devoted to it. Be aware, though, that Icelandic langoustine stocks have been poor in recent years and the catch has been much reduced, so what is on the plate is not always what it once was. Ask what is fresh, and do not be disappointed if the answer is the local fish instead — it will be excellent.
Is the road to Höfn difficult?
In summer, no — it is paved Route 1 the whole way, with a few narrow bridges. In winter it is a different proposition: this stretch crosses open sandur plains where wind and drifting snow close the road with little warning, and it can shut for a day at a time. Check road.is every morning without exception, and build a spare day into any winter itinerary that includes this corner.
Can I see the northern lights from Höfn?
It is one of the better places in the country to try. The town is small enough to escape in five minutes, the horizon is wide, the ice cap reflects what light there is, and the south-east often has clearer skies than the south coast. Season is roughly late September to March; the country hotels outside town are darker still.
Do I need to book ahead?
In June, July and August, yes — there are only a few hundred beds in the whole district and they fill months in advance, because everyone driving the Ring Road needs a bed at roughly the same point on the map. Outside those months you will usually find something, but the choice narrows and some places close for the winter.
Ready to book your night in Höfn?
Compare every Höfn hotel on Trip.com, with live prices and availability. Booking through our links supports Destinations Guild at no extra cost to you.