Travel Iceland with Iceland Travel Travel Snæfellsnes Snæfellsnes is the peninsula pointing west like an arm outstretched towards Greenland. The pearl of the peninsula is the Snæfellsjökull glacier with its beautiful ice cap visible from as far south as Reykjanes, and as far north as the Westfjords. Every kind of volcano is to be found in the West of Iceland, but this perfectly formed crater with its glacial cap is the most recognised in the region. The peninsula’s rugged and beautiful coast is home to thousands of birds. There are golden beaches and black beaches, and lava fields swathed in shimmering green moss. Breiðafjörður alone accounts for a staggering 65% of Iceland’s rocky shoreline and 40% of its mudflats, inviting birds and birdwatchers alike. Frequently spotted are a wide variety of seabirds, waders, geese and white-tailed eagles. For some expert guidance, Seatours offers nature cruises of Breiðafjörður. As well as birds, you’re likely to see seals, and may be offered a taste of shellfish as it’s pulled straight from the water. Seatours runs fishing tours and can hook you up with fishing equipment. Besides fishing, the combination of Breiðafjörður’s many islands and its shallow waters also make it a sea kayaking paradise.
TRAVEL SNÆFELLSNES
Flatey If you’re catching the Baldur ferry from Brjánslækur, Flatey Island will be your first stop en route to Snæfellsnes (you can choose to stay on the ferry and keep going if you don’t want to explore the island). Breiðafjörður Bay has almost 3,000 islands, islets and reefs, but only Flatey is populated, and only a handful of residents stay the whole year round. It was the commercial hub and fishing center of Breiðafjörður for most of Iceland’s history up to the 20th century. Old houses, shops and warehouse buildings on Flatey reflect the prosperity of the period around 1900, and the brightly colored houses today still carry this sense of optimism. In the 16th century, the Hanseatic League in Germany ran a trading post here. The first Icelandic trader received a temporary licence in 1589 and, reflecting the island’s prosperity, Flatey received a charter as a town in 1777, nine years before Reykjavík.
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