Nonhamar Cottages Review: Your Ultimate Stay in Southeast Iceland

Looking for a Nonhamar Cottages review for your Southeast Iceland visit?

During our summer trip to Iceland, we spent a couple of nights in the more remote Southeast region. With limited accommodations in the area, we were fortunate to find Nonhamar Cottages, located near Jokulsarlon and Mulagljufur Canyon, two of our must-visit spots. It was the perfect place to stay for this part of our trip! We’re excited to share our full Nonhamar Cottages review with you.

If you’re seeking adventure – or just looking to get off the beaten path – on your Iceland trip but still want the comfort of modern amenities, we’re confident you’ll love Nonhamar Cottages.

Practical Information & Booking Tips

Price & Value

If you’re planning a trip to Iceland, you likely know that it can be an expensive place to visit. We always try to keep price and value in mind in booking accommodations, and we felt Nonhamar Cottages was a great value for the money.

Nightly prices at Nonhamar vary by season, but generally range between $250-350 per night.

Best For…

Nonhamar cottages are best suited for couples or small groups/families of 3 people, or even the solo traveler looking for some space to stretch out. Each cottage offers three twin beds, a small living space, a kitchen, and bathroom.

While listed as two bedrooms, Nonhamar Cottages have one main living space with two twin beds, as well as a separate small bedroom with one twin bed.

Limited Availability

There are only a handful of cottages available to rent at Nonhamar. For the best availability, be sure to book Nonhamar Cottages in advance! They offer free cancellation, so you can secure your spot now and adjust your plans later if needed.

Location & Getting There

Nonhamar Cottages is in Hof, Iceland, conveniently located right off the Ring Road (Highway 1).

Nonhamar Cottages is in a remote area of Southeast Iceland. It’s about a two hour drive from Vik, and about an hour and a half from Hofn.

If you’re traveling from Reykjavik (or the airport), it’s about a 4.5 to 5 hour drive.

Note: If you arrive into Reykjavik airport and make this drive, be sure to drive with caution, especially if you’re jet-lagged. We did this drive, and it made for a long day (especially for Steve, as our designated travel driver). We made lots of stops along the way to make the drive more manageable.

Nearby Attractions & Activities

In our view, Nonhamar’s remote location makes it perfect for those who are looking to get off the beaten path – and away from the crowds – on their trip to Iceland.

Whether you’re traveling the Ring Road all the way around Iceland over the course of a couple weeks, or just venturing along Iceland’s south coast as far as Jokulsarlon, Nonhamar Cottages is ideally located.

Here’s a list of attractions you can reach in less than 30 minutes from Nonhamar Cottages:

• Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon
• Diamond Beach
• Mulagljufur Canyon
• Skaftafell National Park
• Fjallsarlon Glacier Lagoon
• Vatnajokull Glacier
• Svínafellsjökull Glacier
• Hofskirkja (traditional turf church)

We know, it’s a long list! And that’s exactly why we wanted to share this Nonhamar Cottages review with you. It makes for the perfect base for outdoor adventuring in Southeast Iceland.

Key Pros & Cons of Nonhamar Cottages

As we mentioned, we absolutely loved our stay at Nonhamar Cottages, but we’ll always share the good and the bad with you.

Keep reading for our full Nonhamar Cottages review, but if you’re just looking for the highlights, we’ll start with the key pros and cons. Keep in mind, these are our pros and cons – yours may be different based on your travel style and preferences.

Pros

Proximity to top destinations

You’re likely considering a stay at Nonhamar Cottages because you’re planning to visit all that nature has to offer in this area. And that’s probably the biggest pro of a stay here.

At Nonhamar Cottages, you can visit places like Jokulsarlon or Skaftafell and not have to worry about spending so much time in the car getting there.

For this reason, we do recommend staying more than one night at Nonhamar, to get the most out of your time in this part of Iceland.

When we stayed here, we arrived the night before kayaking at Jokulsarlon and hiking at Mulagljufur Canyon. After a day full of activity, it was nice to come back to our cottage rather than needing to spend a few hours on the road.

That said, if you’re traveling the Ring Road and need to get a move on, we get it.

Remoteness

When we visited Iceland, we found ourselves in near constant awe as we visited various glaciers, waterfalls, beaches, and more.

The thing is, in many parts of Iceland (especially closer to Reykjavik), you’re often staying in more urban areas and venturing out to see the beauty of Iceland.

But at Nonhamar Cottages, you’re staying right in the beauty of Iceland. It’s literally outside your door (evidence by our backyard view, below).

Space to stretch out

Finally, one of our favorite things about Nonhamar Cottages was the space we had to stretch out.

Maybe this was partly psychological, given that there were wide open spaces just outside.

But still, while the cottage was small, having a kitchen, one separate bedroom space, and small deck felt a bit luxurious. When you’re used to traveling and staying in hotel rooms, these extra little features can make a huge difference.

Cons

Limited options for food & essentials

We mean this when we say it: there’s no grocery store in the area.

If you’re staying at Nonhamar Cottages, be sure to stop for groceries (in Vik or Hofn, depending on the direction you’re traveling from).

If you need something, there is a small convenience store in Freysnes, about 10-15 minutes from Nonhamar. This convenience store is also a gas station and a small restaurant. We dined here one of our two nights.

For a higher-end dining experience, you can also go to the restaurant at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon.

We ate the remainder of our meals at the cottage. Breakfast with a view!

Main bedroom is also the living room

While Nonhamar Cottages have enough beds for 3 people, the main bedroom (two twin beds) is also the living room – there is no wall separating the two spaces.

For those who may be looking for a bit more separation of living and sleeping spaces, this might be an important factor to consider.

That said, when your other options are a traditional hotel room, this isn’t much of an issue, especially because there is one dedicated small bedroom, giving at least a little bit of separation for anyone in your party who may be desiring a bit more privacy.

Very small bathroom

Finally, we found the bathroom to be quite small, especially the shower. If you’re looking for a more luxurious or spacious bathroom experience, Nonhamar Cottages might not be the place for you.

However, we managed just fine. That’s the thing about staying in a cottage in remote Iceland. You start to realize how much you don’t need!

Our Detailed Nonhamar Cottages Review

First Impressions & Check-In Experience

Although we’d researched Nonhamar Cottages quite a bit before booking, nothing prepared us for arriving there and experiencing it in person.

There’s something about staying in your very own small cottage in middle-of-nowhere-Iceland that makes you think, “wow, I’m really out here, traveling the world!”

The check-in process was very smooth with a key code and lockbox, allowing us to easily get in to our cottage immediately upon arrival. Because of the self check-in process, we didn’t have any direct communication with the hosts, but they were available if we needed anything.

Nonhamar Cottages are exceptionally clean and modern, striking the perfect balance between providing all the amenities you need while still feeling warm and cozy.

We didn’t request it, but our cottage was the furthest from the road, giving us uninterrupted views of the surrounding fields and pasture. We literally had sheep as our neighbors.

Cottage Features

As a family of three fully-grown people, we found Nonhamar Cottages to be the perfect size.

Sure, the cottages are fairly small, at less than 400 square feet. But you also have to remember that you’re staying here primarily so that you can explore all the nature has to offer right outside your door.

That said, for such a small space, the cottage had a number of features we enjoyed:

• Kitchen: While small, the kitchen had enough space for us to cook breakfast and dinner each day (we had lunch while out adventuring). There were plenty of dishes and utensils, and there was a microwave, stove, fridge/freezer, kettle, and French press for making coffee.
• Living room/main bedroom: This is where things start to get cozy. The main bedroom – which features two twin beds side-by-side – is also the living room, with a couple of comfy chairs to lounge in while enjoying the views of remote Iceland out the large windows.
• Small bedroom: When we say small bedroom, we mean small. But this was a fun little nook for Zoey to have her own space during our stay.
• Bathroom: The bathroom has all you need and not much more – shower, sink, and toilet. The shower was quite small, but we found this to be true in most of the places we stayed in Iceland.
• Deck/porch: In addition to indoor space, each cottage has a deck, allowing you to sit outside if the weather cooperates. Since we visited in the summer, we took full advantage of this, especially given the seemingly endless amount of daylight to enjoy.
• Blackout curtains throughout: If you are visiting in late spring or summer, you can take comfort in knowing Nonhamar Cottages has blackout curtains. They’re a complete necessity when you’re going to bed and it’s still fully light outside!
• Free WiFi: We didn’t have any issues accessing the Internet during our stay at Nonhamar. In fact, we had to share the beautiful views with family back home and frequently FaceTimed them over the WiFi!
• Free Parking: It seems sort of odd mentioning this, given how remote the cottages are. But paying for parking in Iceland is often the norm, so it’s worth mentioning that parking at Nonhamar is free.

Views & Atmosphere

We’ve stayed in some pretty unique places over the years, but Nonhamar Cottages ranks high on our list of great stays.

Okay, we’ll just say it. These cottages feel like they were plucked straight from an Ikea showroom and dropped onto a stunning Icelandic movie set.

And we loved that!

What makes Nonhamar Cottages truly special is the view from your window (or porch). There’s nothing out there – yet somehow, it’s everything. Distant mountains, wide-open fields, and sheep as your only neighbors.

In our view, this makes it an ideal – no, the ideal – place to stay in Iceland. It’s the perfect place to come back to and unwind after a day full of adventure.

Wrapping Up: Nonhamar Cottages Review

If you’re planning a trip to Southeast Iceland, Nonhamar Cottages is an incredible place to stay. With its unbeatable location near Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Mulagljufur Canyon, cozy modern design, and breathtaking views, it offers the perfect blend of adventure and comfort.

We loved the peaceful remoteness, yet still had all the amenities we needed. Whether you’re exploring glaciers, hiking scenic trails, or just soaking in Iceland’s natural beauty, Nonhamar provides an unforgettable home base.

Ready to book your stay?  Click here to check prices and book your stay at Nonhamar Cottages. We know you’ll love it!