Where to Stay at Lake Mývatn: Villages, Farms and the Case for Two Nights
Almost everyone books one night here and wishes they had booked two. The lake has three places to sleep: Reykjahlíð on the northeast shore, where the fuel, food and most beds are; the farms and hotels scattered around the south and west shore; and Akureyri, 100 km west, where the choice is wider and the prices lower. Rooms run from around $110 for a guesthouse to $160 and up for the larger hotels, with July the one month you must book ahead. Here is what each area gives you and the argument for staying at the lake rather than commuting to it. The Lake Mývatn trips from Akureyri compared sit on the homepage.
Quick answer
Stay in Reykjahlíð on the northeast shore if you want services within walking distance, or on the south shore around Skútustaðir for quiet and the pseudo-craters at your door. Akureyri, 100 km west, is the budget and choice option at the cost of a 75 minute drive each way. Rooms at the lake run from about $110 for a guesthouse to $160 and up for a hotel, and July books out weeks ahead.
Key takeaways
- Reykjahlíð has the fuel station, supermarket, cafés and most of the accommodation, plus the geothermal lagoon 6 km east
- The south shore around Skútustaðir is quieter, closer to the pseudo-craters and 15 minutes from Dimmuborgir
- Akureyri gives the widest choice and the lowest prices, at 75 minutes each way on Route 1
- Expect roughly $108 to $161 a night at the lake in season, with peak July rates well above that
- Two nights is the right length: one covers the classic ring, the second buys Krafla, Húsavík or a slow morning
- Winter rooms are the cheapest of the year and the aurora is the reason to take them
The Three Areas
Reykjahlíð, the northeast shore
The village is small enough to cross on foot in ten minutes and holds everything practical: the fuel station, a supermarket, cafés, a swimming pool and the tourist information. The geothermal lagoon sits 6 km east on Route 1, Hverir is 7 km, and Grjótagjá is 5 km down the turn.
This is where most visitors sleep and where you want to be if you are arriving late, leaving early or travelling without a car. The trade is that it is a working village on a main road rather than a lakeside idyll.
The south shore, around Skútustaðir
Quieter, greener and closer to the water. The pseudo-craters are a walk rather than a drive, Dimmuborgir is 15 minutes away and the view north across the lake at 22:00 in June is the reason people book this side.
What you give up is convenience: no fuel station, limited food beyond your hotel's own restaurant, and a 17 km run to the supermarket. Farms here serve their own produce, and the smoked trout and geothermally baked rye bread are worth planning a dinner around.
Akureyri, 100 km west
Iceland's northern capital has the hotels, the restaurants, the airport and the prices that come with competition. If your trip is a broader northern loop rather than a Mývatn stay, basing here makes sense: the lake is a 75 minute drive or a guided day trip away, and the Forest Lagoon is ten minutes from town.
The cost is 200 km of driving on any day you go to the lake and back, which eats the early morning and the late evening when the sights are at their best.
The three compared
Drive times are to Dimmuborgir, the stop most people want to reach first in the morning.
| Area | To the sights | Services | Nightly from | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjahlíð, northeast shore | 12 minutes | Fuel, supermarket, cafés, pool | About $147 | Late arrivals, no car, first visit |
| South shore, Skútustaðir | 15 minutes | Hotel restaurants only | About $108 | Quiet, views, dinner |
| Akureyri, 100 km west | 75 minutes | Everything, plus an airport | Lower than the lake | Late July bookings, wider trips |
| Campsites, Reykjahlíð | 12 minutes | Village services on foot | Lowest | Summer camper drivers |
What It Costs
Rough nightly rates
Figures below are indicative summer rates for a double room, gathered in July 2026. Iceland prices move with season and availability, so treat them as the shape rather than the number.
| Where | Type | From, per night | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vogafjós, south shore | Farm guesthouse with restaurant | About $108 | Food first, quiet nights |
| Fosshotel Mývatn | Modern hotel, lake views | About $147 | Comfort, late arrivals |
| Hótel Laxá | Summer hotel, lava and lake views | About $161 | Design, long evenings |
| Sel-Hótel Mývatn | Family hotel, Skútustaðir | From about $155 | South shore, pseudo-craters |
| Berjaya Mývatn | Larger hotel, Reykjahlíð | Varies by season | Groups, tour packages |
| Campsites at Reykjahlíð | Tent and camper pitches | Lowest option | Ring road drivers, summer only |
The July problem
There are only a few hundred beds in this whole basin and the ring road delivers a full season's worth of drivers through it in eight weeks. In July that means booking weeks ahead or sleeping in Akureyri by default.
Outside July the picture inverts. In February you can call the same hotels on the day and negotiate. The month guide sets out what else changes with the calendar.
What you are paying for
Rooms at the lake cost more than rooms in Akureyri and give you less: smaller bathrooms, shorter breakfast hours, fewer places to eat after 21:00. What the premium buys is position. From a bed at Reykjahlíð you can be inside Dimmuborgir at 09:00 before a single coach arrives, in the lagoon at 21:30 with the sky going dark, and back at Hverir the next morning when the steam is at its most photogenic.
From Akureyri each of those costs you 75 minutes of driving in each direction, which in practice means you skip them. That is the whole argument, and it is why people who have done both usually book the lake the second time.
Where to Book
If You are arriving late or leaving at dawn
Reykjahlíð, for the fuel, the food and the lagoon 6 km away
If You want the view and a good dinner
The south shore around Skútustaðir
If You are travelling in July and booking late
Akureyri, and take a guided day trip east
If You are chasing the aurora
Two nights at the lake between September and April, not one
If You are driving the ring road with a camper
The Reykjahlíð campsites, open in summer
If Budget is the deciding factor
Akureyri hotels plus the $132 guided day, which beats most lake rooms
The Case for Two Nights
What the second night buys
One night gets you the classic ring: Goðafoss, the pseudo-craters, Dimmuborgir, Hverfjall and Hverir, which is what the six-hour tours cover. That is a good day and it is also everything most visitors see.
The second night buys the parts that need time: the Krafla caldera and the Víti crater in summer, the Lofthellir ice cave, a run north to Húsavík for whales or northeast to Dettifoss. It also buys the two hours that make this place different from a coach stop, which are 22:00 in June with the light still on the water, and 22:00 in January with the aurora over it.
- Day one: the classic ring, finishing at the lagoon
- Day two: Krafla and Víti in summer, or Húsavík and Dettifoss
- Either evening: the lagoon, open until 23:00
- Either morning: Dimmuborgir before 09:30, when the trails are empty
Eating here
Options are few and better than the number suggests. The farm restaurants on the south shore serve their own lamb and trout, one of them bakes rye bread in geothermal ground, and Reykjahlíð has cafés plus a supermarket for anything self-catered. Book dinner when you book the room in July, since kitchens here are small and close early.
Booking, cancellation and the campsite option
There are only a few hundred beds in this basin against a ring road that delivers a full season of drivers through it in eight weeks. That imbalance is the whole story of accommodation here.
In June and July, book weeks out and read the cancellation terms, since the flexible rate is often only a little higher and Icelandic weather changes plans more than most countries do. In September the same rooms open up a week ahead. From November to March you can arrive and ask.
Campers have it easiest: the sites at Reykjahlíð open in the summer season, cost a fraction of a room and put you within walking distance of the supermarket and the pool. The wind is the catch, since there is nothing between the pitches and the open ground. Anyone in a tent should pick a pitch behind a building and peg out properly rather than trusting a calm evening to stay calm.
Our recommendation
🎯 Two nights at the lake, one of them on the south shore
Sleep at Reykjahlíð for the practical night and on the south shore for the one you will remember. Between them you get services, a view and dinner worth sitting down for.
If July has already sold out, do not force it. Book Akureyri, take one of the guided Lake Mývatn day trips east, and use the evenings for the Forest Lagoon and the harbour. The day at the lake is the same either way. What you lose is the late light, which the full guide to the area explains is half the point.
Accommodation Questions
Where is the best place to stay at Lake Mývatn?
Reykjahlíð on the northeast shore for services and convenience, with the fuel station, supermarket, cafés and the geothermal lagoon 6 km away. The south shore around Skútustaðir is quieter and closer to the water, with farm restaurants that are worth the drive on their own.
How much does a hotel at Mývatn cost?
Roughly $108 to $161 a night for a double in season, depending on whether you take a farm guesthouse or a hotel with lake views. July runs well above that and books weeks ahead. Winter is the cheapest window of the year.
Should I stay at Mývatn or in Akureyri?
Stay at the lake if you have two nights and want the early mornings and late evenings, which is when the sights are empty. Stay in Akureyri if you are booking late in July, want restaurant choice, or plan to combine the lake with whale watching and the town. The drive between them is 75 minutes each way.
Is there camping at Lake Mývatn?
Yes, at Reykjahlíð, with pitches for tents and campers through the summer season. It is the cheapest way to sleep at the lake and the most exposed, since the wind here has nothing in its way.
How many nights do you need at Lake Mývatn?
Two. One covers the classic ring, which is what a guided day trip does in six hours. The second buys Krafla, Lofthellir, Húsavík or Dettifoss, plus the late hours that day visitors never see.
Do hotels here have restaurants?
Most do, and outside Reykjahlíð they are effectively your only option for dinner. The farm kitchens on the south shore serve their own lamb and trout, and one bakes rye bread in geothermal ground. Book the table when you book the room in July.
Can you stay at the lake without a car?
Yes, if you sleep in Reykjahlíð. The bus stops in the village, the lagoon is 6 km away and bicycles can be hired locally for the lake loop. The gaps and the timings are covered in how to get there.