West Iceland · 192 km from Reykjavik
Black beaches, basalt villages and Kirkjufell, around a volcano capped with ice. This guide helps you decide how to see it: which tour, or which way to drive, and what the light and the wind will do.
192km
Reykjavik to Arnarstapi
All paved, about 2 h 50 min without stops.
479km
Round the peninsula
Reykjavik and back via both coasts: a long day.
1,446m
Snæfellsjökull
A glacier-capped volcano; last eruption about 1,800 years ago.
ISK 1,100
National park parking
One fee per car covers every park car park until midnight.
IThe day everyone comes for
Tours and self-drivers follow the same loop, one way or the other. Here it is clockwise from the south coast, the way we’d drive it.
South coast
Harbour seals on the rocks at low tide; the black church of 1847–50 on the lava.
Under the glacier
Basalt cliffs, the Gatklettur arch and a 2.5 km coastal path between two old fishing villages.
National park
Two volcanic sea stacks, and a lava tube you can walk into with a guide.
National park
Black pebbles, the 1948 Epine wreck and four lifting stones from 23 to 154 kg.
The western tip
A cinder cone with a stairway to the rim; an orange lighthouse on black cliffs.
North coast
The arrowhead mountain and its waterfall: the view everyone comes for.
North coast
Harbour town, lighthouse island, and boats out among the islands of Breiðafjörður.
Home
172 km over Vatnaleið and through Borgarnes.
In winter you won’t fit everything into the daylight: on 15 December the sun is up for under four hours.
IIWithout a car
Every tour does roughly the same loop in 11–12 hours. What differs is group size, time at the stops and whether lunch is included.
We earn a commission on bookings through these links. How this works.
Coach · BusTravel Iceland
from €126 per person
Best for: the lowest price, with the full loop
Small group · Troll Expeditions
from €135 per person
Best for: a full hour in Arnarstapi and Gatklettur
Small group · Gateway to Iceland
from €198 per person
Best for: lunch in Arnarstapi itself
Every tour, prices side by side → All Snæfellsnes tours on GetYourGuide ↗
IIIWhere to stop
And what each one costs, closes or forbids.
Snæfellsjökull National Park → Village & coastal walk
South coast
Stone giant, rock arch, kittiwake cliffs and the path to Hellnar.
192 km from Reykjavik
Mountain & waterfall
North coast
The classic photo from the bridge above Kirkjufellsfoss. Don’t climb it.
Paid parking by road 54
Black beach
National park
Lifting stones and shipwreck iron on black pebbles. Never paddle here.
Park fee covers parking
Seals
South coast
Harbour seals all year, best at low tide. Keep 50 m away.
ISK 900 parking, under 10 min free
IVBefore you go
01
At Arnarstapi the sun is up for 3 h 49 min on 15 December and over 21 hours in mid-June. In winter, plan fewer stops. Daylight month by month.
02
The south coast averages around 7 m/s of wind from November to February. Check umferdin.is and vedur.is every morning, or call 1777, and hold car doors with both hands.
03
Parking in the national park costs ISK 1,100 a car for the day (Parka app or QR code). Ytri Tunga (ISK 900) and Kirkjufellsfoss charge separately. Arnarstapi is outside the park.
Wind & weather at Arnarstapi, next four days
Loading forecast…
Forecast: MET Norway (yr.no), updated every 30 minutes. Wind in metres per second, daytime maximum. Before driving, check umferdin.is and safetravel.is.
VThe village under the glacier
Above the harbour stands Bárður Snæfellsás, the half-troll of the sagas who vanished into the glacier: six metres and nearly 300 tonnes of stone.
Below him, the basalt cliffs of Arnarstapi are full of nesting kittiwakes from spring to autumn, and a 2.5 km path follows the shore past the Gatklettur arch to Hellnar, about 45 minutes each way. The village is outside the national park, has a 24-hour fuel pump and places to eat, and makes the best base on the south coast.
VIPlan the rest
Driving
Official road distances, the bus (not to Arnarstapi), fuel stops and prices, winter roads.
Weather
Met Office averages for both coasts, sunrise and sunset every month, the northern-lights season.
Money
A break-even calculator: how much a rental car can cost before the tour is cheaper.
Our comparison covers every day tour from Reykjavik: what each includes, how long it stops where, and what it costs.
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