✦ MELAR GUESTHOUSE
A house on the shore, at the quiet end of the north.
Kópasker is a village of little more than a hundred people on Öxarfjörður, and Melar sits right at the water's edge — one of the oldest houses in the village, renovated, with the beach on its doorstep and almost nothing between it and the northern horizon.
Check dates on Booking.comSelf-drive · No sighting guarantee · Booked through Booking.com
The guesthouse
Melar is family-run, in a house originally built in 1930 and since renovated from scratch. There are four rooms and a studio apartment, with a shared kitchen and living room, and a coffee shop — Kaffi Aðalsteinn — on site. It is open all year, which in this part of Iceland is worth saying out loud.
- Four rooms · plus a studio apartment
- Built 1930 · one of the village's oldest houses, fully renovated
- Bakkaböðin hot tubs · geothermal, alongside the guesthouse
- Black-sand beach · on the doorstep, with the fjord beyond
- Open all year · free private parking · free WiFi
Where to point the car
You will need a rental car out here — there is no other way to move around Melrakkaslétta. These are the places we would try, in order.
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.
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The shore below the house 0 minutes
Step outside. The beach is right there and the village is tiny, so there is very little light to walk away from — on an active night this is often all you need, and in winter it is comfortably the safest option.
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Arctic Henge, Raufarhöfn ~28 km as the crow flies
A stone circle on a rise above the village, and one of the 134 spots the app scores every five minutes. Open, exposed and very dark. No services nearby — dress for it and check the road first.
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Ásbyrgi ~37 km
The horseshoe canyon, sheltered from the wind when the coast is being battered. Also scored in the app. Check winter access before setting out.
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Dettifoss ~60 km
Further inland and a longer commitment in winter, but scored in the app like the rest — worth a look at the forecast before you decide.
Roads on Melrakkaslétta are remote and phone signal is patchy. Check road.is before every trip, and if it looks wrong, turn around — the shore below the house is always there.
What you get
What you are paying for
- A room, or the studio apartment — booked through Booking.com, on the guesthouse's terms
Free for everyone, guest or not
- The Aurora Iceland app — free, no account needed
- Live scores for the spots around Kópasker — 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
Melar is listed on Booking.com, where you will find live availability, current prices and their cancellation terms.
Check dates on Booking.comWe earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which stays we list or how the spots around them are scored.
Questions
When is aurora season?
A usable window opens around 16 August and runs to late April — whenever the nights are properly dark. The genuinely dark stretch, with the sun a full 18° below the horizon, is 2 September to 8 April; either side of that you get nautical twilight, which shows a bright display but hides a faint one. Midsummer is too bright to see anything, however active the sun is.
How far north is this?
Kópasker sits on Öxarfjörður, close to the Arctic Circle — about as far north as you can stay on the Icelandic mainland without leaving the road network.
Do I need a car?
Yes. There is no public transport to the door, and the spots worth reaching are spread out. In winter, check road.is before you set off anywhere.
Will someone take me out to see the lights?
No — this is a self-drive stay, not a tour. You get the room, and the app tells you when and where conditions look good. Where you go is your call.
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. 134 spots across Iceland, scored every 5 minutes. No account needed.