ICENAVI BASE FIT · WESTFJORDS
Two bases buy you different days
These scores compare how well each base fits common routes; they do not rate hotel quality or the day’s road conditions.
Restaurants, supermarkets, medical care and activities are more concentrated, making two nights in one place easier to use around the weather.
Dynjandi, Látrabjarg and Rauðisandur are easier to plan separately, without crossing a long fjord every day.
Mountain passes, ferries and daylight all constrain transfers, so neither base should promise a fixed sightseeing day.
One fixed base means one less pack-up, but it saves real time only when it is close to that day’s sights.
The Westfjords have no useful middle base
Ísafjörður and Patreksfjörður may both sit in the Westfjords on a map, but deeply cut fjords and mountain passes separate them. From Reykjavík, official Westfjords visitor information lists the road distance as about 455 km to Ísafjörður and about 392 km to Patreksfjörður. Those are total distances to the towns; they do not mean that the sights can be swapped between them on the same day.
The southern base serves a peninsula reaching west. The northern base serves Ísafjarðardjúp, the Bolungarvík direction and sea-based activities. Treating the two towns as an “A hotel versus B hotel” choice hides the costliest item: driving back to the same base every day.
Patreksfjörður suits a southern sightseeing loop
Patreksfjörður is useful because it breaks the southern long spurs into a more natural plan. Route 60 brings you towards Dynjandi waterfall; after parking, allow about one hour for the uphill walk there and back. Rauðisandur and Látrabjarg require separate plans for the gravel roads around Routes 612 and 614, as well as for the weather. Putting all three into one day makes a beautiful arrow on the map, but not a short day in the car.
Patreksfjörður has basic restaurants and supplies, so you can leave the morning for the beach and decide in the afternoon, according to visibility, whether to continue to the cliffs. Returning to base after one sight gives you a clear retreat point; that is more comfortable than discovering fog across a cliff after staying at a more remote property and still having to drive on. For the trade-off between driving Route 612 and visiting the cliffs, read Látrabjarg: self-drive or day tour? while preparing the day, because that choice changes the base you need.
Rauðisandur is not a “quick photo stop”. Tides, sand, wind and low cloud can extend the visit; if you have one night, the accommodation must allow you to try again the next day, or the long return drive may buy only a white view through the windscreen. Summer activity tours leave from the southern towns. If you would rather not manage the car and the spurs yourself, compare how to judge a tour’s meeting point and time cost, then look for a Westfjords product running on your dates.
Ísafjörður keeps northern routes and bad-weather plans flexible
Ísafjörður is one of the Westfjords’ more concentrated towns, with a wider choice of accommodation, restaurants, supermarkets and indoor activities. That difference matters during consecutive wet days or a late flight arrival: you can eat, stock up and leave the next day for the fjord roads without chasing a mountain road after dark to reach a remote property.
From Ísafjörður, a northern day can link Suðavík, Bolungarvík or the Flateyri area; in summer, it is also easier to find sea or outdoor activities leaving from town. If whale watching, sea angling, kayaking or a guided outing is the priority, the meeting point’s accessibility often matters more than the room-price difference. Activities may not run every day, so work backwards from the activity date when choosing accommodation rather than booking the room with the best view first.
Ísafjörður is not a sensible base for forcing a southern day trip. Dynjandi can work as a stop during a north–south transfer, but a return from the north to Látrabjarg would stack mileage, sightseeing and the return drive into one day. Use the Ísafjörður destination page as your northern starting point, confirm food and supplies, then decide whether to give the south a night; the link belongs at the next decision, not appended at the end.
Compare these four ways to split your nights
| Arrangement | Route it suits | What you give up | My call |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 nights in Patreksfjörður | Rauðisandur, Látrabjarg and the southern Dynjandi loop | Northern fjord activities require a long extra transfer | The cleanest choice for three to four Westfjords days when southern scenery comes first. |
| 2 nights in Ísafjörður | Northern fjords, town supplies and activity departures | Do not force the southern cliffs and Rauðisandur into the plan | More valuable when you have activity dates or leave from the north. |
| 1 southern night + 1 northern night | Entering via 62/60, then heading north through Dynjandi | Daily packing makes weather changes harder to absorb | Worth doing even with two nights, provided the transfer day has daylight. |
| 2 nights in a middle base | A quiet fjord stay where few sights are essential | Supplies, restaurants and wet-weather alternatives | Not my default unless the accommodation itself is the reason for the stay. |
Plan the transfer day so the base earns its keep
Entering from the south, put the first night in Patreksfjörður, visit Rauðisandur or Látrabjarg the next morning according to the weather, then continue via Dynjandi to Ísafjörður on day three. Each accommodation move also completes the next sightseeing leg, so you do not return to the fjord you have just left. From the north, reverse the logic: stock up and rest in Ísafjörður, explore the northern fjords in good weather, then place Dynjandi on the southbound transfer day.
Allow more time than the navigation estimate for Routes 60, 61 and 62. Official Westfjords transport information gives five to six hours between Ísafjörður and Patreksfjörður in good conditions; that excludes photos, parking, toilet stops and the sudden roadside pause for sheep. If you leave the capital in the afternoon, Hólmavík or Reykhólar is a more sensible first night than forcing the southern roads. See where to stay on your first night in western Iceland for the late-arrival decision.
Season changes the answer: activities in summer, escape routes in the shoulder season
June to August brings long daylight. Patreksfjörður suits a southern sightseeing loop, while Ísafjörður suits staying put until activities depart. May and September can still bring excellent weather, but fog, wind and rain can switch faster across the passes. Choose cancellable accommodation where possible and give each base one buffer night. From October to the following April, road conditions and opening days narrow the choice; four-wheel drive cannot turn a closed road into an open one, so read the Westfjords winter self-drive guide before going deeper into the region.
If you go in winter, Ísafjörður’s supply advantage becomes more useful; in the south, choose one sight according to that day’s roads rather than treating Rauðisandur, the cliffs and the waterfall as three must-reach stops. This is a way to keep a route back to your accommodation, not a reason to lower the trip’s standards. Transport information, ferry timetables and activity departure times can change by season. Use the pages for the day of travel as your final check; this guide does not present unconfirmed departures as fixed times.
Clear on which base fits?
Compare Westfjords accommodation by route
Enter your actual dates first, then weigh the base location, cancellation terms, breakfast hours and parking in the same decision.
Related reading
If you have not chosen which end to enter from, start with entering the Westfjords from the south or north; your approach changes the first night directly.
More reading
Westfjords destination hub, three or four nights in the Westfjords and the Westfjords without a car cover the next decisions on nights and transport.
Q&A: choosing a Westfjords base
Where should I stay for one night?
Choose Patreksfjörður when southern sights come first; choose Ísafjörður for northern activities or a next-day departure from the north. Do not choose the middle solely to average the distances.
Can I drive from Ísafjörður to Látrabjarg and back in one day?
It can be planned on paper, but it concentrates the long spur, sightseeing and return drive into one day. Unless you accept cutting other sights, it is not recommended.
Does Patreksfjörður have enough supplies?
There are basic restaurants and supplies, but fewer choices. Before the long approach, refuel and buy food in a larger town.
Which is safer in winter?
There is no fixed answer. Ísafjörður has more concentrated services and supplies; in the south, access depends on road openings and daylight. The town name alone cannot decide it.
References
- Westfjords transport and entry information (roads, distances and approaches).
- Iceland road and weather information (conditions on the day of travel).
- Patreksfjörður destination information (context for the southern sights).
- OpenStreetMap contributors (map tiles and attribution).