Djupivogur: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Djúpivogur has been a trading place since 1589, when the Danish king licensed merchants from Hamburg to trade here, and the harbour still shapes the town. In 1627 corsairs from North Africa raided this coast and carried people off into slavery, a story Iceland still remembers. Today the town is the first in Iceland to join Cittaslow, the movement of towns that choose to stay slow. This route walks the old trading street, goes out to the eggs and the birds, takes the boat to the monks' island and ends at a farm café across the fjord. A morning on foot plus a half-day boat trip; the boat sails only in summer and in calm weather.
A short history of Djupivogur
Djúpivogur, "the deep bay", is a small village on the east coast of Iceland. In 1589 merchants from Hamburg received a licence to trade here, and it has been a trading post ever since. In July 1627 pirates from North Africa arrived and abducted dozens of local people, most of whom were sold into slavery in Algiers. The long timber house Langabúð, built in 1790, is one of the oldest houses in east Iceland. In 2013 the village became the first in Iceland to join the Cittaslow ("slow towns") movement.
The ten best sights in Djupivogur
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1Langabúð
The long red warehouse on the harbour; café, two small museums and the town's living room
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2Eggin í Gleðivík
34 stone eggs along the old pier, a ten-minute walk from the centre
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3Búlandsnes
Ponds and marsh on the town's peninsula; paths and birds right outside the houses
4Steinasafn AuðunnsA small private stone collection in town; ring the bell if the door is closed
5Old church of DjúpivogurA wooden church among the old houses; a short stop on the walk
6PapeyPuffin island off the coast; boats leave from the harbour in summer, weather permitting
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7Teigarhorn
A protected farm famous for zeolite crystals; look, but collecting is forbidden
8BúlandstindurThe pyramid mountain over town; best seen from the road along Berufjörður
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9Havarí
Farm café on the north shore of the fjord; check summer opening days
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10Gautavík
Grassy ruins of a medieval trading place; signs explain what you are looking at
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Djupivogur →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Djupivogur:
Free walking tours in Djupivogur
Traders, monks and makers
Djúpivogur has been a trading place since 1589, when the Danish king licensed merchants from Hamburg to trade here, and the harbour still shapes the town. In 1627 corsairs from North Africa raided this coast and carried people off into slavery, a story Iceland still remembers. Today the town is the first in Iceland to join Cittaslow, the movement of towns that choose to stay slow. This route walks the old trading street, goes out to the eggs and the birds, takes the boat to the monks' island and ends at a farm café across the fjord. A morning on foot plus a half-day boat trip; the boat sails only in summer and in calm weather.
- Langabúð · The long log warehouse was built in 1790 by the Danish merchants, and it is the oldest building in town. Inside are a café and rooms for the sculptor Ríkarður Jónsson, who came from this district, and for the politician Eysteinn Jónsson, born in Djúpivogur.
- Eggin í Gleðivík · The artist Sigurður Guðmundsson made 34 granite eggs, one for each bird species that nests around Djúpivogur, and set them on the old pier in 2009. Each egg is shaped and coloured like the real one, only enormous.
- Búlandsnes · The town is built on the Búlandsnes peninsula, and its ponds and marshes are one of the best bird-watching areas in East Iceland. Marked paths lead between the ponds, with divers and waders in summer.
- Papey · The island is named after the papar, Irish monks who are said to have lived in Iceland before the Norse settlers arrived. Later it was farmed for centuries, and its tiny wooden church still stands among the puffin burrows.
- Gautavík · Gautavík was a trading harbour in the Middle Ages, used by foreign merchants long before Djúpivogur. Archaeologists excavated the ruins of its booths in the late 20th century.
- Havarí · The farm Karlsstaðir was taken over by the musician Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson, known as Prins Póló, and his partner Berglind Häsler. They turned it into a café and venue and made bulsur, vegetarian sausages, which are sold all over Iceland.
Stones of the east
East Iceland is made of stacked lava, flow upon flow laid down over millions of years and then cut open by the glaciers into fjords. Gas bubbles in that lava filled with crystals, and this coast is one of the best places in the world to see them. The route follows the stone: a famous crystal farm, the layered fjord, a waterfall up the mountain road, and two collections, one scientific and one made by a single woman. A full day by car, about 90 km north and back; on the Öxi road drive up only to the falls and then return.
- Teigarhorn · Teigarhorn's zeolite crystals are in museums around the world, and the farm is now a protected natural monument. It also holds Iceland's heat record: 30.5 degrees Celsius, measured here on 22 June 1939.
- Búlandstindur · The mountain rises to about 1,070 metres straight from the fjord, and its near-perfect pyramid is cut from the same flat lava layers you see on every slope here. It is the landmark of Djúpivogur from every direction.
- Berufjörður · The stripes along the fjord's walls are individual lava flows, piled one above the other. The glaciers of the ice ages carved the fjord down through them, which is why the layers on both sides match.
- Folaldafoss · The name means the foal's waterfall. It drops beside the Öxi road as it climbs from the head of Berufjörður, a road that is open only in summer.
- Breiðdalssetur · The centre honours the British geologist George Walker, who in the 1950s and 60s mapped the lava pile of East Iceland flow by flow. His work helped explain how Iceland grows apart along the ridge between two plates.
- Petra's Stone Collection · Petra Sveinsdóttir collected stones from the mountains around Stöðvarfjörður for most of her life, until they filled her house and garden. She opened the collection to visitors in 1974, and it became one of the most visited sights in East Iceland.
South to Lón
South of Djúpivogur, Route 1 swings around two shallow fjords and then crosses into the wide lagoon country of Lón, under mountains of coloured rhyolite. It is one of the emptiest stretches of the Ring Road, and the history here is old: the missionary who brought Christianity to Iceland spent a winter on this road. The route takes the drive slowly, from the swans to the lighthouse to the farm where the wilderness tracks begin. About 60 km each way, all on the main road except short side stops; the scree slopes south of Hvalnes are windy, so hold the wheel.
- Búlandstindur · Seen from the south road the mountain closes the end of Hamarsfjörður like a wall. At about 1,070 metres it stands almost straight up from sea level.
- Álftafjörður · The name means swan fjord, and whooper swans gather on its shallow water in large numbers, especially in spring and autumn. A gravel bar almost closes the fjord from the sea.
- Þvottá · The missionary Þangbrandur, sent by the king of Norway, spent a winter at Þvottá around the year 1000. Síðu-Hallur, the chieftain who hosted him, was baptised in the river, and its name, washing river, is said to come from that baptism.
- Hvalnes lighthouse · The dark mountain over the lighthouse, Eystrahorn, is made of gabbro, rock that cooled slowly deep inside an old volcano. Erosion stripped the volcano away and left its hard core standing by the sea.
- Lónsfjörður · Lón simply means lagoon: a long gravel spit, ending at Hvalnes, has sealed the old fjord off from the sea. The water behind it is shallow and brackish, and birds feed along its edges.
- Stafafell · Stafafell is the old church farm of Lón and the gateway to Lónsöræfi, a wilderness of coloured rhyolite mountains behind it. The tracks inland need a 4x4 and the river crossings are serious.
Getting to Djupivogur and getting around
- Djúpivogur bus stop · By Hótel Framtíð; the coastal bus passes only a few times a day, and not every day in winter
- Öxi road (939) · The steep gravel shortcut to Egilsstaðir, about an hour shorter than the coast; summer only
Cheap eats in Djupivogur
Djúpivogur is a fishing town, so lunch is fish: cod, haddock or whatever the boats brought in, usually with potatoes and butter. There are only a handful of places to eat, most of them open longer in summer than in winter, and on this coast the next café can be an hour away. Iceland is expensive, so soup with bread refills and a shop picnic are the way to keep the bill down.
- Langabúð café · Cakes, soup and coffee in the 1790 warehouse, about 1,500-3,000 ISK
- Hótel Framtíð · Lunch at the harbour hotel; fish of the day about 3,000-5,000 ISK
- Við Voginn · Simple meals by the harbour, about 2,000-4,000 ISK
- Kjörbúðin Djúpavogi · Picnic from the village shop, about 1,000-2,500 ISK
- Havarí · Farm café across the fjord; soup and bulsur about 2,000-3,500 ISK
- Kaupfjelagið · Café-restaurant in Breiðdalsvík, on the stone route north
Museums in Djupivogur
- Langabúð · Sculptures of Ríkarður Jónsson and local history in the old warehouse
- Breiðdalssetur · Geology of the east and the British geologist who mapped it
- Petra's Stone Collection · A lifetime of stones in a house and garden
- Steinasafn Auðunns · Small stone collection in the middle of town
- Gautavík · Ruins of a medieval trading place by the fjord
Nature and day trips near Djupivogur
- Papey · Puffins, seals and an empty farm island; summer boats from the harbour
- Teigarhorn · Zeolite crystals and Iceland's heat record
- Búlandstindur · The pyramid mountain of the east fjords
- Folaldafoss · A waterfall by the Öxi road, summer only
- Hvalnes lighthouse · Lighthouse, black beach and the gabbro mountain Eystrahorn
- Lónsfjörður · A lagoon sealed off by a gravel spit, with birds at its edges
- Álftafjörður · Swan fjord, shallow and quiet
Things to do in Djupivogur with kids
- Eggin í Gleðivík · Giant stone eggs to walk between and match to birds
- Petra's Stone Collection · Thousands of shiny stones inside and out
- Papey · A boat trip to see puffins, in summer
- Búlandsnes · Easy paths and birds on the ponds
- Havarí · A farm café with space to run around
Where to eat in Djupivogur
- Hótel Framtíð · Dinner in the harbour hotel, the main restaurant in town
- Havarí · Evening events and food in summer; check the programme
- Bragðavellir · Farm restaurant in Hamarsfjörður, 15 minutes south
- Kaupfjelagið · Dinner in Breiðdalsvík, 25 minutes north
- Beljandi · Craft brewery and pub in Breiðdalsvík
Frequently asked questions about Djupivogur
What is there to see in Djupivogur?
The top sights in Djupivogur are Langabúð, Eggin í Gleðivík and Búlandsnes. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Djupivogur?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Djupivogur without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Djupivogur?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Djupivogur, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Traders, monks and makers.
How do you get to Djupivogur and get around?
The main ways are Djúpivogur bus stop and Öxi road (939). Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Djupivogur, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Djupivogur that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Djupivogur for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.