Isafjordur, Iceland

Safety: The drive to Ísafjörður includes mountain passes that can close in winter. Check road.is before departure. Domestic flights can be delayed or cancelled by weather — build in buffer days. Hornstrandir requires full self-sufficiency. Language: Icelandic is the official language. English spoken widely. Currency: Icelandic Króna (ISK). Cards accepted everywhere in Ísafjörður. Carry some cash for very remote Westfjords stops.

Ísafjörður feels like the end of the road — and in many ways it is. The town occupies a flat sandbank jutting into the fjord, with mountains rising steeply on three sides and the sea on the fourth. It is reached by a 5-6 hour drive from Reykjavik through some of Iceland's most dramatic scenery (or a 40-minute domestic flight that threads between mountain walls for one of Europe's most spectacular approaches). The old town centre — a row of restored 18th and 19th-century timber buildings on Aðalstræti — houses the Westfjords Heritage Museum and some of the best seafood restaurants outside Reykjavik: langoustine, cod, Arctic char, and sea trout pulled from the surrounding fjords. ��safjörður is the base for Hornstrandir nature reserve — a roadless peninsula accessible only by boat, with no permanent residents, Arctic foxes, and multi-day hiking through some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Iceland. The town also serves as a launching point for Dynjandi waterfall (2 hours south), the Látrabjarg sea cliffs (3 hours southwest), and kayaking excursions into the surrounding fjords. The Aldrei fór ég suður music festival (Easter weekend — the name means 'I never went south') draws Icelanders from across the country.