The Volcano Huts is a hostel, but also a larger tourist center, located in the Húsadalur Valley in the Thorsmork (Þórsmörk) region. The unique nature of the area makes it an ideal place for any nature and hiking enthusiast.
Hut and camping on the edge of Iceland’s most beautiful valley
Husadalur is located on the border of the Thorsmork region, considered by many to be the most beautiful place in Iceland.
Volcano Huts is one of the huts located on the northern side of the Krossa River. This means that only the best prepared (or bravest) tourists can get here by their own or rented car. In practice, most people get here on foot or on one of the coaches that run regularly to the campsite.
Volcano Huts offers a distinctly higher level of service than any other campsite in Thorsmork, although also at a higher price.
The things that distinguish Volcano Huts include:
- possibility to charge your electrical devices without fees or restrictions;
- free wifi (albeit moderately fast);
- showers included in the price of the campsite and available without restrictions (24 hours a day, for any number of minutes);
- hot water is free and also available in washrooms;
- hot spring (or rather: warm spring) and sauna available free of charge and restrictions;
- a fairly large restaurant offering a wide range of dishes;
- large and comfortable glamping tents
In addition, like at most other campsites, we can leave all trash here, tables and benches are set up on the campsite, we have a fairly simple ‘canteen’ tent at our disposal, we can come here by bus, and there is also a small shop in the restaurant building. Unfortunately there’s no camping gas nor freeze-dried foods at the shop, but there is a large selection of alcohol and souvenir t-shirts…
Restaurant
The restaurant at Volcano Huts provides a variety of meals as open buffets:
- Breakfasts
served from 8-10; bread, ham, cheese, jams, breakfast cereals, coffee, tea; price: 2350 ISK (approx. $18); - packed lunch
convenient to take on a trip, issued during breakfast; usually a large sandwich, a candy bar, an apple and a small juice; price: 2800 ISK ($21); lunch pack must be ordered the day before! - Lunch
issued at 11:30-15:00; usually one of the local soups (mushroom, fish) with bread and a selection of pasta dishes, plus coffee, tea and desserts; price: 2900 ISK ($22); - Lunch
between 13 and 17; burgers, fish and chips, chicken wings etc; prices from 1800-2700 ISK ($14 – $21); - Dinners
between 6-9pm; one meat and one vegetarian dish plus potatoes, salad, etc; price: approx. ISK 5,500 ($42);
Volcano Huts also provides off-road vehicle tours (in so-called super jeeps) and various other activities, but the greatest advantage of this resort is the amazing views of the volcanic hills and glacial valleys around and the possibility of hiking in the area. Especially the view from the nearby Valahnukur hill is truly breathtaking.
Although many places are a bit further from here than from other huts and campsites, thanks to the higher standard of the place and additional amenities, Volcano Huts is quite popular among hikers and other tourists.
The Volcano Huts – tips and practical information
- For individual tourists, the hostel is open from mid-May to the end of September. You can read about how to get to the hostel further down.
- Volcano Huts offers private hotel rooms, small cottages, and during the summer season, a mountain hut with multi-bed rooms and a camping area.
- In summer, large, furnished and heated tents for ‘glamping’ are also available.
- The campground requires reservations only for groups of 10 people or more, while other accommodations always require them.
- There is also a restaurant, a bar, a store selling clothing, postcards, camping accessories, snacks, sweets, etc. at the resort. (the assortment and prices are in keeping with the nature of the place…)
- A dining tent is available at the campsite, but all food and utensils (including, for example, pots and pans) must be provided on your own.
| Volcano Huts (Thorsmork) – practical information | |||
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| address | Þórsmerkurvegur Thorsmörk road F249, 861 Hvolsvöllur, Iceland | ||
| GPS coordinates | 63.705923973913904, -19.547942795465833 |
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| Bus access | Trex Þórsmörk River Bus |
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| contact and reservations | Volcano Huts bookings | ||
How to get to Volcano Huts in Husadalur
Volcano Huts is located in one of Iceland’s more inaccessible valleys. Nevertheless, it can be reached both by car and bus, and of course – on foot.
footbridge over Krossa
In summer, special off-road buses of regular tourist lines also reach Volcano Huts. Passing through Krossa on such a bus is an extraordinary experience in itself….
Getting to Husadalur by car requires crossing the Krossa, and I really recommend extreme caution here.
Volcano Huts on foot
The hike to Volcano Huts on foot is beautiful, and not difficult.
It is best to leave your car Basar on the south bank of the river (without crossing it) opposite the Skagfjordsskali hut. There are very convenient footbridges set up on Krossa.
The best trail from Skagfjordsskali to Husadalur leads via the Valahnukur mountain. This trail is about 2.5 km long, with about 200 m of ascents, giving you a little over 1h walk. You do need to add more time, as you’ll be taking in the spectacular views from Valahnukur for quite a while, certainly.
The view from Valahnukur
You can also return by the western trail, is already approx. 1:30h of walking and about 7 km. However – if you want – you can certainly count on a bus ride or hitchhiking on this route, so you may be able to do it faster. Ask at Volcano Huts what is most worth doing in the current weather conditions.
Volcano Huts by your own car
You can get here on foot from various directions, but the only road for motorists leads from the south. It deviates from the F249 road and crosses the Krossa River by ford – without a bridge.
Crossing the Krossa
Even in favorable weather conditions crossing this ford with an ordinary off-road vehicle is difficult, and in unfavorable conditions it will be very dangerous or even impossible. Besides, due to the capriciousness of the Krossa, the entire F249 road is sometimes closed to traffic for several days even in the middle of summer.
The F249 road starts still as paved road 249 and bounces off Iceland’s main ring road – Road 1 – just past the bridge over the Markarfljót River, where we turn to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. The road to Volcano Huts (Husadalur) bounces off the F249 to the north after about 25 kilometers, but the exact course of the ford through Krossa changes constantly, even in a single day, so if you want to drive it yourself take the absolute utmost caution.
Bus access to Volcano Huts in Husadalur
During the summer (usually from May 1 to October 15), there are special mountain buses with both axles that run once a day from downtown Reykjavik (from under the Harpa building), which will take you to Volcano Huts / Husadalur.
Krossa bus crossing
The offerings (prices, times, routes) change every year, but it’s always worth checking the three primary companies: Trex, Sterna and the Volcano Huts website, which understandably makes sure there are plenty of connections. Rides are usually available from May to October, but depending on the weather and the number of tourists, they can start earlier and/or end later.
TREX
Trex offers 2 rides a day from Reykjavik (stop at Vonarstræti 4), with stops in Hella and Hvolsvöllur. The bus reaches Basar Hut campground and Langidalur. So you have to walk about 30 minutes by road or about 1 hour on a beautiful trail through the mountain to Volcano Huts itself.
A one-way ride costs 7900 ISK (from Hella or Hvolsvollur) to 9400 ISK (from Reykjavik), and two-way is 15,800 ISK and 18,800 ISK respectively.
The company also offers a Hikers Bus Pass option, in which we don’t have to return from the same place. We can get to Thorsmork, Landmannalaugar or Skogar, and return from any other of these places. This is perfect if you want to hike one of the famous trails – Laugavegur or Fimmvörðuháls.
The Hikers Bus Pass costs 16,900 ISK, and carrying a bicycle is an additional 3,000 ISK fee, but the company does not guarantee the availability of a bicycle seat….
Booking page: Trex (Thorsmork)
Þórsmörk River Bus
Thorsmork River Bus is an offer to go directly to Volcano Huts (Husadalur). From June to September, buses run on a route from Reykjavik (BSI Terminal), and from May to November on a slightly shorter route from Hvolsvöllur.
Here, too, it is possible to return from a different place than the one we first reach. That is, we can, for example, drive to Skogar, walk the Fimmvörðuháls trail and return from one of the campsites in Thorsmork or, for example, drive to Thorsmork, walk through Laugavegur and return from Landmannalaugar.
Booking page: Thorsmork River Bus
