Hofn: The Langoustine Capital of Iceland

Hofn (pronounced roughly "hup" — the p and f combine into a sound with no English equivalent) is a town of 2,200 people on the southeastern coast, built on a narrow spit of land between two lagoons with the Vatnajökull ice cap filling the entire northern horizon. It is a functional fishing and service town that handles langoustine processing and serves as the main accommodation hub for the eastern Vatnajökull area. It is also the most convenient base for Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon (80km west), Diamond Beach, and the glacier outlet valleys accessible from Route 1.

Langoustine

Hofn's langoustine fishery is Iceland's finest, and the langoustine themselves — caught in the cold waters of the Denmark Strait — are exceptional: firm, sweet, and far superior to warm-water equivalents. Every restaurant in town serves them. Humarhöfnin (The Lobster Harbour) is the most dedicated and most celebrated langoustine restaurant in Iceland. The annual Humarhátíð (Lobster Festival) in June draws visitors from across the country for several days of langoustine-focused events, cooking demonstrations, and music. Book accommodation far ahead if visiting during the festival.

Getting To and From

Hofn is 5 hours from Reykjavik on Route 1. Eagle Air operates summer flights between Reykjavik domestic airport and Hofn (45 minutes). The Ring Road through the East Fjords continues east from Hofn — the fjord section begins approximately 30km east of the town. West of Hofn, Route 1 crosses the Skeiðarársandur outwash plain, the site of the catastrophic 1996 jökulhlaup that destroyed the Ring Road bridges in a single day.

Hiking from Hofn

The Stafafell area (40km east of Hofn) provides access to one of Iceland's most underrated hiking landscapes — the Lónsöræfi wilderness, a remote area of rhyolite mountains, glacial rivers, and deep gorges accessible only on foot. The Stafafell to Múlaskáli mountain hut route (30km, 2 to 3 days) traverses the heart of the wilderness and is one of the most challenging and rewarding multi-day hikes in Iceland. The area is not promoted heavily and visitor numbers are very low compared to Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk — for experienced hikers seeking solitude, this is the alternative to consider.

The Jökulhlaup Plain

The outwash plain between Hofn and Vik — the Skeiðarársandur and Mýrdalssandur — is one of Iceland's most powerful landscape demonstrations. The Skeiðarársandur plain was created and is periodically reshaped by jökulhlaup (glacial outburst floods) from Vatnajökull. The 1996 Grímsvötn eruption under the glacier generated a jökulhlaup that destroyed three Ring Road bridges in an afternoon — the bridge remnants, twisted by the force of the flood, are preserved as a monument on the roadside. Driving across the flat black plain with Vatnajökull visible to the north is one of Iceland's most distinctively desolate landscapes.

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