South Iceland
Westman Islands
A puffin-and-volcano day trip done honestly: the 35-minute Herjólfur ferry, why the Eldfell climb is free but the Eldheimar museum is not, and why you should give the island a full day rather than a coach-tour dash.
In short
Westman Islands at a glance
The Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) are a cluster of fifteen volcanic islands off Iceland's south coast, but only one — Heimaey — is inhabited and visited, reached by the 35-minute Herjólfur car ferry from Landeyjahöfn. It is the south coast's best half-day-to-full-day detour: a town that was half-buried by the 1973 Eldfell eruption, the world's largest Atlantic puffin colony on the cliffs in summer, and a harbour entrance squeezed between two lava walls. Most UK visitors come on a rushed coach day trip and see almost none of it — give Heimaey a full day, or better an overnight, and walk or cycle the small island yourself.
The Westman Islands are the bit of the south coast most UK visitors photograph from the mainland and never actually set foot on. There are fifteen of them, but only Heimaey is inhabited and open, and the whole island reads like a geology lesson you can walk through: a harbour town that was half-buried under the 1973 Eldfell eruption, the lava the islanders famously hosed with seawater to save the port, and cliffs that hold the largest Atlantic puffin colony on earth through the summer. The town museum, Eldheimar, is built straight over a house dug out of the ash — it is the single most affecting thing on the whole south coast, and most coach itineraries skip it entirely.
The mistake first-timers make is treating it as a two-hour stop. A typical day-trip coach delivers you to the harbour, marches you round the lava walls and herds you back onto the next ferry before you’ve done the volcano or the puffins. The honest move is to give Heimaey a full day at least, and ideally an overnight: the island is tiny, so a bike or your own legs cover everything, and an evening here — quiet harbour, a langoustine dinner, puffins on the cliffs at golden hour — is the version of this trip worth crossing for. Just plan around the ferry first, because when Landeyjahöfn silts up the crossing jumps from 35 minutes to nearly three hours from the other port.
The route
Heimaey is small — about 13 km² — so a day on foot or a bike covers the headline sights, and an overnight lets you slow down for the puffins and the harbour at golden hour. Times below are walking or short-drive estimates from the ferry harbour; the ferry crossing itself is the part to plan around.
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Morning
Ferry over and Eldheimar
Catch an early Herjólfur from Landeyjahöfn (about 35 minutes when that harbour is open; a foot-passenger fare is about £16 / 2,700 ISK each way, a car under 5 m about £24 / 4,050 ISK on top). Walk 15 minutes up from the harbour to Eldheimar, the eruption museum built around a house excavated from the 1973 lava and ash — adult admission is about £21 (3,550 ISK) with an audio guide included; allow 1–1.5 hours. Foot passengers don't need a car booking; only bring the hire car if you want it on the island.
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Midday
Climb Eldfell
From Eldheimar it's a short walk to the base of Eldfell, the 200-metre cinder cone the eruption threw up in 1973. The climb is free and unticketed; the loose red-scoria path takes about 40 minutes up, the ground is still warm in places near the top, and the summit looks down over the lava field that nearly closed the harbour.
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Afternoon
Stórhöfði puffins and the town
Drive or cycle roughly 10 minutes south to the Stórhöfði headland hide for the puffin colony (mid-May to mid-August) — it is also the windiest measured place in Iceland, so hold onto the door. Back in town, see the lava-bordered harbour entrance and Skansinn before the late-afternoon boats.
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Overnight (optional)
Stay over on Heimaey
Catch the last ferry back, or far better, stay a night. An evening on Heimaey gives you the quiet harbour, a langoustine dinner and a sunset puffin walk without the day-tripper crowds, and a relaxed second-morning boat tour of the sea caves before the ferry home.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Heimaey town
££ mid-rangeThe only place to stay in the islands and the obvious base — the harbour, restaurants, Eldheimar and the Eldfell trailhead are all within a 20-minute walk. Beds are limited (a couple of small hotels and guesthouses plus apartments), so book well ahead in the mid-May-to-August puffin and festival season.
Best for: Doing the volcano, museum and puffins at your own pace
Hvolsvöllur / south-coast mainland
££ mid-rangeIf the island beds are full, base on the south coast near Hvolsvöllur, about 25 minutes' drive from Landeyjahöfn, and do Heimaey as a long day trip. This also keeps you in range of Seljalandsfoss and the wider south coast on the same trip.
Best for: A day trip when the island is booked out, plus south-coast waterfalls
Reykjavík (day-trip base)
££ mid-rangeMany UK visitors do the islands as a day return from the capital, but it is a long day — roughly 1h45 drive each way to Landeyjahöfn before the ferry. Only sensible if you have a car and start early; an island overnight is far less rushed.
Best for: A car-based long day trip if you can't stay over
Getting around Westman Islands
The whole trip hinges on the Herjólfur ferry, run by the public operator: from Landeyjahöfn on the south coast it's about 35 minutes and the new ferry sails several times a day, but when that shallow harbour silts up (most often in winter or after storms) it diverts to Þorlákshöfn, a far longer 2h45 crossing nearer Reykjavík — so always confirm the day's departure port and book the car deck ahead in summer. On Heimaey itself you barely need a vehicle: the island is roughly 13 km², the town sights are walkable, and bike hire or a short taxi covers Stórhöfði and the further headlands. Bring your hire car across only if you're touring the south coast in the same trip; foot passengers save the car-deck fare. There are no flights for general visitors and no buses worth the name on the island.
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