town · Iceland · East
On the route
- Time needed
- 1–4 h
- Price
- Free — No charge for the Hafnarhólmi puffin platforms is listed on the village's site or Visit Austurland's page (read 2026-11-01).
- Season
- Year-round village; puffins at Hafnarhólmi from mid-April to mid-August; the campsite from the beginning of May to the end of September, by Visit Austurland.
- Access
- About 72 km and 70 minutes from Egilsstaðir by OSRM on OpenStreetMap; a dead-end fjord, the same road in and out.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
65.527, -13.805 · Iceland
Borgarfjörður eystri (Bakkagerði)
Photograph: Aerial view of the village of Bakkagerði at Borgarfjörður eystri, its harbour and green fields below dark mountains — Eysteinn Guðni Guðnason / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Borgarfjörður eystri is a fjord in the north of the Eastfjords, and Bakkagerði is its village, at the end of its own road from Egilsstaðir. It is about 72 km and 70 minutes from Egilsstaðir by OSRM on OpenStreetMap, which makes it a separate day rather than a stop on a Ring Road ledger: nothing continues beyond it, and the drive back is the same road.
Most visitors come for Hafnarhólmi, the islet at the small-boat harbour a short drive east of the village, where the village's site estimates 8,000–10,000 puffin pairs nesting from mid-April to mid-August, watched from a shelter and wooden platforms. Visit Austurland, the regional tourist office, puts the village population at about 100 and lists a campsite open from the beginning of May to the end of September, a café, a turf house called Lindarbakki, and the church near Álfaborg. The Hafnarhús building at the harbour, opened in 2020, has art exhibitions and a café. The village's own site also promotes marked hiking trails from the village.
The practical line: plan fuel and food in Egilsstaðir unless a service in the village is confirmed for your date; none was checked for this page. Safety: safetravel.is points drivers to umferdin.is for road conditions and vedur.is for the forecast, and in bad weather advises waiting somewhere safe for conditions to improve rather than driving on.
Something changed here? Tell us; we re-check against the source and print the new date.
What you can do from Borgarfjörður eystri (Bakkagerði)
- Puffins at Hafnarhólmi, Borgarfjörður eystri
Wooden platforms on a harbour islet among 8,000–10,000 nesting puffin pairs, mid-April to mid-August; no charge listed, 75 minutes each way from Egilsstaðir.
wildlife · Iceland45–90 min · Freeadds 4 h 15 to a day
