Northwest Iceland
Westfjords
Iceland's least-visited corner, done honestly: the gravel-road reality of the Dynjandi–Látrabjarg loop, why you need a 4x4 even off the F-roads, and whether it's worth peeling away from the Ring Road for it.
In short
Westfjords at a glance
The Westfjords are the part of Iceland the Ring Road skips entirely — a clawed peninsula of fjords, switchback gravel passes and almost no other tourists in the far northwest. The headline sights are Dynjandi, a 100-metre tiered waterfall, the Látrabjarg bird cliffs (Europe's westernmost point and one of its biggest puffin colonies), and the uninhabited Hornstrandir reserve reached only by boat. It's a slow region: roads are mostly gravel, distances feel longer than the map suggests, and you need at least 3 days and a high-clearance car. Most people base in Ísafjörður and loop out from there.
The Westfjords are the bit of Iceland almost no one sees, and that is precisely the appeal. While the Ring Road funnels the coaches around the south coast and the Golden Circle, this clawed peninsula in the far northwest sits off the route entirely — a place where you can stand at the base of Dynjandi or eye-level with a puffin at Látrabjarg with barely another soul in sight. The trade-off is honesty about how you get there: this is a slow region of gravel switchbacks and fjords that have to be driven around rather than across, where a 70-kilometre hop can eat half a morning.
The mistake first-timers make is treating it like another Ring Road stop and giving it a single day on the way past. It doesn’t work that way — the detour alone is most of a day each way, and the sights are strung along dead-end gravel roads that punish a tight schedule. Give it three or four days, base yourself in Ísafjörður, and consider the Baldur ferry across Breiðafjörður to save the long drive in. And come in summer: this is the most weather-locked corner of the country, and outside June to early September half of it is simply shut.
The route
A three-to-four day loop out of Ísafjörður that covers the southern fjords, Dynjandi and the Látrabjarg cliffs without backtracking. Drive times are gravel-road estimates and run slower than equivalent paved distances elsewhere in Iceland; the Baldur ferry from Stykkishólmur to Brjánslækur is the time-saving way in or out.
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Days 1–2
Ísafjörður
Base in the region's main town (population around 2,600): the old timber houses, the Westfjords Heritage Museum and the best restaurants and fuel for a hundred kilometres. Use it as the launch point for a Hornstrandir boat day or the Ísafjarðardjúp fjords. From Reykjavík it's roughly 5–6 hours by road, or take the Baldur ferry to cut the driving.
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Day 3
Dynjandi & the southern fjords
Drive south over the Dynjandisheiði pass (about 1h45 from Ísafjörður on gravel) to Dynjandi, the 100-metre 'bridal-veil' waterfall that fans out over a cliff — climb the path past six smaller falls to its base. Carry on toward the Bíldudalur or Þingeyri side and overnight on the southern peninsula.
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Day 4
Látrabjarg & Rauðisandur
Push out to Látrabjarg, the bird cliffs at Iceland's westernmost tip, where puffins nest within arm's reach in June and July (about 2–2h30 from the southern fjords on gravel, much of it slow). Detour to the red-and-gold sands of Rauðisandur beach, then either loop back or catch the Baldur ferry at Brjánslækur to head south.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Ísafjörður
££ mid-rangeThe natural base: the only real town in the region, with hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, a supermarket and the harbour for Hornstrandir boats. Beds are limited and book out fast in July and August, so reserve early. Most of the region is within a long day's loop from here.
Best for: First nights, Hornstrandir boats and the northern fjords
Þingeyri & the Dýrafjörður side
££ mid-rangeA quieter handful of farm guesthouses on the way to Dynjandi, useful for breaking the southern loop so you reach the waterfall and Látrabjarg without one marathon driving day. Sparse but characterful, with the Sandafell viewpoint nearby.
Best for: Splitting the Dynjandi and Látrabjarg run
Patreksfjörður & the southern peninsula
££ mid-rangeThe cluster of villages closest to Látrabjarg and Rauðisandur, and the handiest base if you arrive on the Baldur ferry at Brjánslækur. Guesthouses, a pool and the GeoSea-style sea baths at Reykjafjörður within reach. Best for a south-first route.
Best for: Látrabjarg, Rauðisandur and the ferry
Getting around Westfjords
You drive yourself — there is no useful public transport in the Westfjords beyond a sparse summer bus, and tours mostly run only from Ísafjörður for Hornstrandir boat trips. The roads are the whole story: large stretches, including the approach to Látrabjarg and the Dynjandisheiði pass, are gravel, narrow and unsealed, with blind summits and single-lane bridges, so allow far more time than the kilometres suggest. A 2WD can manage the main summer routes but a high-clearance car or 4x4 is the sensible choice, and the same Iceland rules apply: add gravel-and-sand protection because wind-thrown grit isn't covered as standard, and the per-kilometre road tax introduced on 1 January 2026 is billed on distance at the end of the hire. The Baldur car ferry across Breiðafjörður (Stykkishólmur to Brjánslækur, around 2h30) is the popular shortcut in or out, saving hours of driving. Fuel stations are far apart — fill up in Ísafjörður or Patreksfjörður and don't run low.
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