Borgarnes, Iceland

City church in Borgarnes, Iceland (cc)

Borgarnes Travel Guide

Introduction

Borgarnes is famously the home of Reyka Vodka, a handcrafted green-grain lava-rock-filtered vodka, the first to be distilled and bottled entirely in Iceland. Borgarnes is also rich in saga literature, occupying a place in the seminal Icelandic saga, Egils Saga, which is right up there with Njals Saga and which traces the life of Viking, Icelandic farmer and skald, Egill Skallagrimsson, covering a long period of time in Icelandic history, all the way back to 850 AD. The town itself is small and unpretentious, situated at the center of a farming area on the shores of the fjord, Borgarfjör_ur, the second-largest lowland area in Iceland, which abounds in not only farmlands but also hot springs, lakes, rivers and waterfalls, with scores of summer homes dotting the countryside around the town. Borgarnes, by the way, means "Borg's Peninsula," named for Borg, the farm-cum-home of Egill Skallagrimsson, Borgarnes' first settler.

Location

Borgarnes is located on the Borg Peninsula in West Iceland, some 35 miles (60 km) – about a 40-minute drive – north of Reykjavik. It sits at the intersection of the roads that lead to the western and northern parts of Iceland.

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Borgarnes can be reached from Reykjavik by taking Route 1 (the Ring Road that goes around Iceland) northward from the capital, passing through the Hvalfjardargong Tunnel, and thus connecting with Borgarnes via the nation's second-largest bridge, Borgarfjar_arbrú. It's approximately a 40-minute drive.

Sightseeing

Main Neighborhoods