Where to stay in Akranes: the overlooked commuter town

Who Akranes suits

Akranes suits drivers arriving late at Keflavik with an early Ring Road morning who don’t want to pay Reykjavik prices, hikers targeting Mount Akrafjall (a 643 m peak on the town's edge with two summits and a 3-4 hour loop), and photographers who’ve seen the images of the twin lighthouses at Breidin. The old lighthouse is climbable for a small fee and has become an unlikely wedding and concert venue. Guja (the Icelandic Museum of Rock 'n' Roll) is here — better than it sounds.

It doesn’t suit first-time visitors who could just stay in Reykjavik instead. The town is quiet, restaurants are limited, and there's nothing here that a tour bus stops for. Non-drivers should skip it — bus 57 to Reykjavik runs but infrequently.

Cost and what's walkable

Mid-range doubles run 16,000-24,000 ISK. Guesthouse and apartment stock outweighs proper hotels — Hotel Glymur is technically closer to Hvalfjordur, not the town centre. Airbnbs are honest value here.

Walkable from the centre: the swimming pool, Guja rock museum, Langisandur beach (long sandy beach, cold but occasionally used for swimming), the Sementsverksmidjan silos at the harbour, and Breidin with both lighthouses. Mount Akrafjall's trailhead is a 10-minute drive.