free island map (tarifa: ninguno · format: QR code download)
Qué hacer
atv volcano tour
boat tours
explore 1973 eruption lava landscape (ubicación: Heimaey)— areas where lava reached the town
golfing
golfing 18-hole course, par-3 17th over sea (course: Vestmannaeyjar Golf Course · layout: front nine Herjólfsdalur, back nine ocean-side · signature: par-3 17th requires shot over the sea)
puffin watching breeding season (especies: frailecillo atlántico)— important breeding area, present during breeding season
rib safari
volcano hiking (ubicación: Eldfell, Heimaey)
wildlife viewing seabirds and marine life — seabirds and, depending on conditions and season, marine wildlife around the islands
Servicios
multiple museums (venues: Eldheimar, Folk, Maritime, Sea Life Trust)
swimming pool
Mejor época para visitar
late summer evenings (for: Stafsnes peninsula views · temporada: late summer)
Eventos y temporadas
goslok festival (temporada: anual)
hljómey music event (temporada: anual)
matey seafood festival (temporada: anual)
puffin run (temporada: anual)
þjóðhátíð festival (temporada: anual · ubicación: Herjólfsdalur valley)
Características
15 islands, numerous skerries
1973 Eldfell eruption reshaped Heimaey (effect: forced evacuation, covered parts of town with lava and ash)
Eldfell crater cross commemorates 1993 worker (ubicación: inside Eldfell crater · commemorates: 1973 eruption and worker who died there in 1993)
name from Viking-Age Irish slaves (origen: Ingólfur Arnarson pursued Irish slaves called 'west men' to these islands)
only heimaey inhabited — year-round settlement
pysjur puffling rescue tradition (description: young puffins disoriented by town lights; residents collect and release them toward the sea)
settlement began ~920 AD (crown property: Norwegian then Danish Crown after 1400, until 1874)
three major population shocks (events: 1627 Turkish raid (~300 captured), 18th-century infant mortality, 1973 eruption (population 5,100 to 200 for six months))
Datos útiles
advance car reservations advisable — especially for travelers taking a vehicle on the ferry
alternate ferry via Thorlakshofn (condition: when Landeyjahofn unavailable due to weather)— considerably longer crossing
do not swim at stafsnes
ferry carries passengers and vehicles (ferry: Herjolfur)— passengers may travel with or without a vehicle
ferry Landeyjahofn ~35 min (ruta: Landeyjahofn to Vestmannaeyjar · duración: approximately 35 minutes · operador: Herjolfur)
population ~4,300
stóra-klíf requires local advice (motivo: very challenging, loose rock)
