Fagrafell Hostel is a small guesthouse at Fagrafelli, 641 Húsavík, Iceland, in the Goðafoss valley, on the Ring Road (Route 1). The map pin is 65.73215, −17.58094. Phone +33 6 28 26 17 94. Email 2013.fagrafell@gmail.com.
Not Borgarnes. Not Snæfellsnes. Not downtown Húsavík. The postal town is 641 Húsavík, but the house sits on a hill in the valley, 45 km from the harbour. From the kitchen window you see the mist of Goðafoss. That is why two nights work: waterfall in the evening, Diamond Circle the next day.
| Place | From Fagrafell |
|---|---|
| Goðafoss, west bank | 4 km · 8–11 min · 2WD · parking at the fall |
| Eyjardalsá Icelandic horses | 15 km · Route 1 · 1 h river or up to 4 h to Goðafoss |
| Húsavík whale watching / GeoSea | 45 km · about 40 min |
| Lake Mývatn, Nature Baths, Akureyri | 50 km · about 45 min |
| Dettifoss (road 862, west bank, in season) | 100 km |
| F26 highland track (gate) | about 5 km · 4x4, season only |
Search engines and a few listing sites still pin us in Borgarnes or on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, on the other side of Iceland. That is wrong. Fagrafell is in North Iceland, in the municipality whose postcode is 641 Húsavík, on Route 1 between Akureyri and Egilsstaðir, in front of Goðafoss. If your map shows Borgarnes, discard it and use the coordinates above.
We are not a harbour guesthouse in Húsavík town either. The drive to the whale-watching dock is 45 km. You sleep in the valley: quiet at night, dark enough for northern lights from late August to October, and 8 minutes from the waterfall.
Drive the Ring Road. Coming from Reykjavík you typically sleep once on the way, then reach us the next afternoon for check-in from 17:00. Coming from the east (Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður ferry) you stay on Route 1 westbound until the Goðafoss signs; the house is on the hill just before the fall if you are heading west, just after it if you are heading east.
Akureyri Airport is about 50 km / 45 minutes. There is no bus at the door. You need a rental car. Taxis from the airport exist but they are expensive for this distance; almost every guest arrives in their own hire car.
Check-in is 17:00–22:00, check-out 08:00–10:00. If you land later than 22:00, write first — a late arrival is possible when we have agreed it. The season is 1 May – 31 October; the house is closed in winter.
No, not for Fagrafell, Goðafoss, Húsavík, Lake Mývatn or the west bank of Dettifoss in summer on road 862. The house itself is on Route 1, a paved national road. You need a 4x4 only for F-roads: F26 into the highlands, and the long day to Askja. Check road.is before you leave the valley.
The nearest fuel and a small shop are at Fosshóll, by Goðafoss, and in Laugar. A full supermarket (Bónus, Krónan, Nettó) is in Akureyri or Húsavík, both about 45–50 km. Buy dinner ingredients on the way in: there is no restaurant at the house, and no breakfast — you cook in the shared kitchen or grill outside.
One night is a stop. Two nights is the reason people book us. Evening one: walk Goðafoss (west bank, 45 minutes on site, back for the barbecue). Day two: Diamond Circle — Húsavík whales, or Mývatn and the Nature Baths, or Dettifoss if the 862 is open — and you still sleep 4 km from the fall, not in a sold-out lake hotel. A third night opens the horses at Eyjardalsá (15 km) or a highland day on F26.
Ratings after more than ten years: 9.7 / 10 on Booking.com (61 reviews, location 9.8) and 4.91 / 5 on Airbnb (542 reviews). The location score is the valley, not a marketing line.
The four rooms · Goðafoss from the house · FAQ · Check dates
The west bank is the closest from Fagrafell: 4 km, a small car park, short paths along the rim, about 45 minutes if you walk without rushing. The east bank is a few extra minutes by car and a different angle on the horseshoe. You do not need a coach tour. You do not need to sleep in Akureyri “to be close” — you already are. After the walk you are home for the barbecue while the mist is still on the valley.
A typical Diamond Circle day from this door: leave after breakfast you cooked yourself, Húsavík harbour for whales (book the morning slot), or Mývatn pseudo-craters and the Nature Baths on the way back. Dettifoss is the long option (100 km, road 862 west in season). Come back to the same kitchen window. That is the owner fact no town hotel can copy.