Þorlákshöfn, a charming fishing village on Iceland’s south coast, offers easy access to many of the country’s most renowned natural and historical attractions. With a population of around 1,600, the village’s primary industries include fishing, fish processing, and retail services.

Þorlákshöfn harbour is one of only two general harbours on the south coast, the other being Höfn in the southeast, over 400 km away. This strategic location makes Þorlákshöfn a key transport hub, with excellent road, sea, and air links.

As the central town of the Ölfus municipality, Þorlákshöfn is surrounded by a diverse array of stunning landscapes. Visitors can explore black sand beaches, cliffs, lava formations, geothermal areas, hot springs, glaciers, waterfalls, historic sites, and geysers all within easy reach.

Tourist services are on the rise, especially in rural areas, offering a variety of accommodations, restaurants, cafés, and horse riding opportunities.

In the heart of Þorlákshöfn, you’ll find essential amenities including a bank, post office, library, and information center. The town also features a guesthouse, café, small restaurants, and a bar. For recreation, Þorlákshöfn boasts a modern, fully-equipped sports facility, a swimming pool spa, and a campsite. Golf enthusiasts can enjoy a challenging 18-hole sand golf course on the outskirts of town, and surfing the waves is a popular local sport.

With its rich natural beauty, strategic location, and growing tourist infrastructure, Þorlákshöfn is an ideal base for exploring Iceland’s many wonders.

Black Beach
Iceland’s south coast is renowned for black beaches, notorious volcanoes, beautiful glaciers, vivid hot springs/geysers, spectacular waterfalls, geothermal spas, Icelandic horses, including breeding shows and riding.

Horses
The Ölfus region is the largest horse breeding area in Iceland, so horse riding across the highlands and vast black sand beaches is a big attraction.
The flat landscape makes it ideal for walking and biking.

Adventure tours
More adventurous tourists can hike into the mountains, bathe in a warm river and go on ATV or RIB tours.

Glaciers and Waterfalls
Þorlákshöfn’s nearest neighbours are the villages of Hveragerði and Eyrarbakki, the latter being one of the oldest villages in Iceland, and Selfoss, the largest town in Árnes county.
Driving along the coast to the east, you are greeted by glaciers, beautiful mountains, black sand beaches, waterfalls and bird cliffs.

You can also visit some very interesting museums and historic sites.
Some of the best known places of interest are Seljalandsfoss, Eyjafjallajökull, Skógafoss and Reynisfjara.

In the autumn and wintertime you can enjoy the northern lights (Aurora Borealis), while warming up in one of the outdoor hot tubs which many of the county´s hotels provide.

Golden Circle
Within reasonable distance there are also other well known tourist attractions, such as the Blue Lagoon, Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir – all within a two-hour drive from the port of Þorlákshöfn.