Where To Stay in Iceland on a 7-Day Road Trip

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There are plenty of accommodations to choose from in Iceland, but which one is right for you? We decided to do a mixture of hotels, cottages, and Airbnbs on our 7-day road trip. Our Airbnb stays were by far our favorite places to stay at and we will probably book more Airbnb accommodations the next time we're in Iceland because they were so awesome!

Here are some of our favorite (and not so favorite) places we stayed at throughout our road trip in Iceland:

STOP 1: Reykjavik
Airbnb - Downtown, Designer Attic Apartment

Airbnb in Reykjavik

Wow, just wow. This place was the most gorgeous Airbnb place we've ever stayed at. The designer furniture, modern decor, stone bathroom and spacious rooms were absolutely beautiful and I wished we could have stayed here longer and enjoyed the apartment a bit more.

One minor issue we had was that the apartment was up on the third floor with no elevators, so if you have huge luggage, you will struggle a bit. Other than that, this place is the perfect place to stay in Reykjavik because you're close to all the restaurants, bars and shops, but not too close to hear all the noise.

COST: $163/night
PROS: Awesome decor, great location, helpful staff, great views, and comfy bed.
CONS: On the third floor with no elevators and a bit pricey.

*UPDATE* This particular Airbnb is not listed at the moment, but check out other great Iceland Airbnbs HERE.

STOP 2: Vik
Volcano Hotel

Volcano Hotel is located in between the Sólheimasandur plane crash and Reynisfjara Beach, so it was the perfect place to stay the night to rest.

We read so many reviews that this was a wonderful hotel near Vik and they were right. It's a small, family-owned hotel and the staff goes above and beyond to make you feel welcome. The room was nice, practical, and spacious with a comfortable bed. They also offered free coffee, tea, and cookies in the lounge 24 hours a day, which was really nice. Breakfast was great with fresh fried eggs and a traditional Icelandic breakfast buffet with coffee, juices, cheese, ham, cereals, pastries, and fruits. Really enjoyed our stay here.

Breakfast buffet at Volcano Hotel

COST: $159/night
PROS: Great location, friendly staff, free coffee & cookies and great breakfast.
CONS: None that I can think of.

STOP 3: Jokulsarlon
Hali Country Hotel

This was one of our least favorite hotels because the lounge was messy, the room smelled like mold and there was really nothing special about this place except for the scenery and location. We wanted to stay near the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and there really aren't many options nearby, so this was the best place we found. It's not that bad, it just wasn't as enjoyable as the others. On the plus side, we did have a very large room and it came with a complimentary breakfast.

Hali Country Hotel main entrance

COST: $166/night
PROS: Great location and large rooms.
CONS: Messy lounge, mold-smelling room, and a bit expensive.

STOP 4: Myvatn
Dimmuborgi Guesthouse

This location was wonderful. It’s very remote so make sure you have some food with you because there really aren’t very many places to eat nearby. The "cabin" we stayed in was the tiniest place I've ever stayed in. It was also very cold when we walked in and took forever to heat up the room. I let all that go when we saw the Northern Lights for the first time here!

This is another small, family-owned place and the owner was very helpful in letting us know the best location to shoot the sunset. They have 2 friendly dogs that are absolutely adorable and follow you around sometimes when you're exploring outside around the cabin.

I would love to stay here again but next time, I would probably go for the bigger cabins and pay the extra bucks. The tiny room was just so cramped that I felt a little claustrophobic. If you’re okay with just having a place to sleep, the normal tiny cabins will work.

Amazing Northern Lights at Dimmuborgi Guesthouse

COST: $98/night
PROS: Excellent location (especially for Northern Lights), friendly staff, cute dogs and awesome shower pressure.
CONS: Thin walls and tiny space (get the cottage that fits more than 2 people).

STOP 5: Hvammstangi
Hvammstangi Cottages

Loved this cabin at Hvammstangi Cottages

This cabin was the cutest thing! It came with a little kitchen with portable electric stove, kettle, dishes, pots and pans. The bunk beds were comfortable and there were plenty of outlets. The bathroom area was really small, but great shower pressure and heat. There are 8 or so other cabins near you. We saw the Northern Lights around 11pm and it was a fantastic show!

Second night of Northern Lights at Hvammstangi Cottages

COST: $94/night
PROS: Great secluded location (especially for Northern Lights), well-equipped, and lots of outlets.
CONS: Small bathroom and no hair dryer (I know, I'm spoiled).

Booking.com

STOP 6: Stykkisholmur
Airbnb Cottage

Awesome Airbnb cottage

Another great stay from Airbnb. I loved this place so much that I didn't want to leave! We loved the cabin we stayed in the night before, but this one was even better.

We wanted to stay in this area to be near Kirkjufell, which was about a 40-minute drive.

Cooking our food in the cabin was the best!

The cabin is pretty spacious with a couch, dining table, kitchen, a modern bathroom and a separate bedroom with a bunk bed. Even came with a BBQ grill which we used to our advantage and grilled up some Icelandic seasoned pork that we bought at a nearby grocery store. Highly recommend this place.

COST: $125/night
PROS: Awesome secluded location, well-equipped, modern bathroom and comes with a BBQ grill
CONS: Nothing. I want to live here!

STOP 7: Reykjavik
Room with a View

Room with a View hotel comes with a kitchenette

We loved the modern decor in our room at Room with a View hotel, but ironically, the view wasn't so great as there was a bunch of construction going on. The location is superb, right in the middle of downtown, but the noise from the drunk neighbors was unbearable. Reykjavik is known for rowdy night owls and I didn’t know how bad it was until we stayed here.

All the rooms at this hotel are different and ours was across the street from the main hotel. We had to go through 3 gates with a set of keys to unlock them, which was kind of a pain; especially since the main gate was pretty hard to open. There are also no elevators, so we struggled to go up 3 flights of stairs with our huge suitcases. The shower was nice and the bed was comfy, but we got little sleep due to our rowdy neighbors.

If you’re not keen on partying, this is probably not the hotel for you. I suggest staying at Fosshotel Reykjavik or at an Airbnb where there is far less noise. You won’t be in the center of downtown Reykjavik but you will still be close enough and it will only be a 10-15 minute walk since Reykjavik is a very small and walkable city.

Cool, modern bathroom at the Room wtih a View hotel

COST: $133/night
PROS: Great location and beautifully designed room with a kitchenette
CONS: No elevators and noisy neighbors

Booking.com

FINAL THOUGHTS

None of the places we stayed at were terrible (except maybe for the last place because we barely got any sleep) and we were pretty happy with most of our accommodations. The Airbnb stays were clearly the winner and we'll definitely take note of that the next time we visit Iceland.