The south coast of Iceland is, hands down, one of the most popular areas of the country for visitors. However, there are a group of islands off the mainland of the country that most people that go to the south coast never visit. The Westman Islands is a 45–50-minute ferry ride away and it’s a fantastic place to explore. The nature, history, landscape, and stories about the locals almost make it feel like you are not even in Iceland anymore.

I was fortunate to partner with Kuku Campers for this episode. Kuku Campers is a campervan company that provides campers of various sizes. I specifically used the AA Campervan because it is large enough for two adults but the width is small enough to fit in the ferry to the Westman Islands along with regular cars. It was great to have my accommodations and transport all in one place because it gave me flexibility regarding when I decided to sleep, eat and so on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekv4ulYRI4I

The campsite on Heimaey (home island), is lovely and it was so easy/affordable to stay there. It was 1700 ISK per person. You have access to several bathrooms, showers, and a communal kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean everything was and the camping area itself is gorgeous. It looks like a naturally made amphitheater.

That isn’t surprising considering the fact that the biggest Icelandic festival of the year, Þjóðhátíð, happens here over the Verslunarmannahelgi (merchant weekend). This year the holiday falls on Monday, August 1st, so it is the last weekend of July.

As the title of this podcast episode explains, there are at least seven reasons to visit. Granted, there are more but here are the ones that come to mind for me.

Vestmannaeyjar – Westman Islands

If you listen to the episode, you can hear how to pronounce this word.

There is a beluga whale sanctuary in the Westman Islands. Keiko, the whale in the movie Free Willy, was taken to this sanctuary to live out the rest of its life.

Thanks again to Kuku Campers for sponsoring this episode. I highly recommend checking them out if you want to rent a camper van in Iceland. Camper vans in Iceland get booked up pretty quickly in the summer, so keep that mind. However, you can use them any time of the year.

Facebook

Thanks for listening.

Þakka þér kærlega fyrir að hlusta og sjáumst fljótlega