town · Iceland · West
On the route
- Time needed
- 20 min – 12 h
- Price
- Free — No charge to stop; the biggest supermarkets and fuel between Reykjavík and Akureyri.
- Season
- Year-round.
- Access
- On the Ring Road at the Borgarfjörður bridge; flat town with supermarkets and fuel on the main road.
- Checked
- not yet confirmed on an official source
64.538, -21.922 · Iceland
Borgarnes
Photograph: Borgarnes on its headland with the long Ring Road bridge across the fjord — Eysteinn Guðni Guðnason / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Borgarnes is the junction town of the West. Every route north, west and inland passes through it: the Ring Road to Akureyri, route 54 out to Snæfellsnes, route 60 to the Westfjords and the Dalir, and route 50 inland to Reykholt, Hraunfossar and the Kaldidalur track. On a seven-day Ring Road it is usually the last night before Reykjavík, an hour away through the Hvalfjörður tunnel; on a Snæfellsnes or Westfjords trip it is the first.
The practical line, confirmed on the operators' lists today: Bónus (bonus.is) and Nettó (netto.is) both have supermarkets on the main road, and Olís has a fuel station (olis.is); other fuel brands may be present but were not confirmed on a station map today. For the Westfjords this is the last big shop and the last competitive fuel: beyond here there is Búðardalur, then nothing of size until Ísafjörður. There is a municipal pool and a campsite on the headland; toilets at the shops.
Timing: an hour from Reykjavík, four and a half to five from Akureyri, two and a half to Stykkishólmur. The Hvalfjörður tunnel is free since 2018. Traffic is heavy on Friday evenings out of the capital and Sunday afternoons back.
Quiet except for those weekends. Winter is reliable here; it is the roads beyond, Holtavörðuheiði to the north and Bröttubrekka to the west, that close, so check umferdin.is before the morning leg.
Something changed here? Tell us; we re-check against the source and print the new date.
What you can do from Borgarnes
- Glymur waterfall hike in Hvalfjörður
About four hours return from Botnsdalur to the rim of a gorge with a high waterfall, river crossing on a log; summer only in practice, 70 minutes from Reykjavík.
hike · Iceland4–4.5 h · Price not publishedadds 4 h 45 to a day - Into the Glacier ice tunnel on Langjökull
A glacier-truck ride and an hour in man-made ice tunnels at about 1,260 m, all year from Húsafell, about four hours, from 24,900 ISK; an hour from Borgarnes.
ice cave · Iceland3.5–4 h · High costadds 6 h 35 to a day - Krauma baths at Deildartunguhver
Five hot pools and a cold one filled from a boiling spring, daily 11:00–21:00, 7,900 ISK adult, children under 13 for 500 ISK; 33 minutes from Borgarnes.
lagoon / hot spring · Iceland1.5–2 h · Mid costadds 2 h 50 to a day - Víðgelmir lava cave near Húsafell
A 1½-hour guided walk on boardwalks through a 148,000 m³ lava tube, 9,000 ISK adult on November dates; 12 minutes from Húsafell, an hour from Borgarnes.
other · Iceland90 min · Mid costadds 4 h 20 to a day
Journeys that pass Borgarnes
- Iceland Westfjords loop in 6 days
Reykjavík to Stykkishólmur, the Baldur ferry to Brjánslækur, Látrabjarg, Dynjandi, Ísafjörður and home by Hólmavík: about 1,020 km, 14.5 hours and one crossing.
6 days · Iceland1,020 km · 14 h 35 driving · 2 h 10 ferryChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland Ring Road in 7 days
Anticlockwise from Keflavík: about 1,555 km and 19.5 hours at the wheel in seven days, with nights in Vík, Höfn, Egilsstaðir, Mývatn, Akureyri and Borgarnes.
7 days · Iceland1,555 km · 19 h 35 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland Ring Road in 10 days with Snæfellsnes
The 7-day loop plus Snæfellsnes, a second east night and the full Diamond Circle: about 2,160 km and 27.5 hours of driving, with a half-day kept for weather.
10 days · Iceland2,160 km · 27 h 40 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026
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