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✦ BRUNNHÓLL

A working farm, with a glacier for a back garden.

Brunnhóll sits in the lowlands of Mýrar, right on the Ring Road, with Vatnajökull filling the view behind it and Fláajökull only a few kilometres away. It is a family farm first and a guesthouse second — which is why there is a restaurant, and why the ice cream is made on site.

Check dates

Self-drive · No sighting guarantee · Booked with the guesthouse

Aerial view of the Brunnhóll farm complex among green fields, with a track and river running past
Brunnhóll, Mýrar í Hornafirði. Photographed in summer.

The farm

Brunnhóll is family-run, with 33 en-suite rooms across the complex — singles, doubles, triples and family rooms. There is a restaurant and bar on site, and Jöklaís, the ice cream made from the farm's own milk. Being directly on Route 1 makes it an unusually easy place to reach in winter, which matters more than it sounds when the weather turns.

  • 33 rooms · all en suite — single through family
  • Restaurant and bar · on site
  • Jöklaís · ice cream made on the farm
  • 6 km from Fláajökull · an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull
  • Directly on Route 1 · EV charging · free WiFi

Brunnhóll also offer their own northern-lights wake-up call — if the sky comes alive after you have gone to bed, they will knock. That is their service, not ours; ask them about it when you book.

Where to point the car

This corner of Iceland has the shortest walk from front door to open sky of the three, and some of the best foregrounds in the country within an hour.

Don't have a car yet? Compare rentals and campervans across 30+ Icelandic suppliers — winter tyres and 4x4 matter more here than the price does. We earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.

  1. The farm itself 0 minutes

    Step outside. The farm is rural, the fields are open, and the glacier side of the sky has nothing on it at all. On an active night you do not need the car.

  2. Hoffell hot tubs ~12 km as the crow flies

    Quiet geothermal tubs with a glacier view, and one of the 128 spots the app scores every five minutes. Gravel access road in the final kilometre.

  3. Höfn ~30 km by road

    The nearest town, also scored in the app — the harbour viewpoint is a useful fallback, though the coast brings fog with it more often than the farm does.

  4. Vestrahorn, Stokksnes ~22 km as the crow flies

    The mountain behind the black beach — the most photographed foreground in South-East Iceland, and scored in the app. There is an entry fee at the gate.

  5. Jökulsárlón ~50 km by road

    The glacier lagoon, west along Route 1, with Diamond Beach opposite. Both are scored in the app. A longer drive back in the dark — check the forecast is worth it before committing.

Route 1 through Mýrar is exposed, and South-East Iceland gets some of the country's fiercest wind. Check road.is before every trip, and if it looks wrong, stay in — the farm's own sky is a good one.

What you get

What you are paying for

  • A room at the farm — booked with Brunnhóll, on their terms

Free for everyone, guest or not

  • The Aurora Iceland app — free, no account needed
  • Live scores for the spots around Hornafjörður — refreshed every 5 minutes
  • A recommended self-drive route — the list above, and where to start

Anyone can download the app, guest or not. It is not an extra you are paying for here, and it is not a guided service. You drive, you decide, you watch the sky.

Check dates

Brunnhóll takes bookings directly, where you will find live availability, current prices and their cancellation terms.

Check dates with Brunnhóll

Questions

When is aurora season?

Roughly late August to early April — whenever the nights are properly dark. Midsummer is too bright to see anything, however active the sun is.

Is it easy to reach in winter?

It is directly on Route 1, which is the main road and among the first to be cleared — easier than most rural stays when the weather turns. Always check road.is anyway.

Do I need a car?

Yes. There is no public transport to the door, and the spots worth reaching are spread along the coast.

Will someone take me out to see the lights?

No — this is a self-drive stay, not a tour. Brunnhóll offer their own wake-up call if the sky comes alive overnight, but where you go is your call, and the app tells you when conditions look good.

How many nights should I book?

More than one, if you can. The weather gets more chances to cooperate, and there is no way to schedule a clear sky in advance.

Get the forecast first

Free. 128 spots across Iceland, scored every 5 minutes. No account needed.

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