Ytra Lón Farm Retreat

This farm offers so much more than a place to stay in the country. Check out their tours! All are nicely explained and laid out on their website. We did the 2.5 hour birdwatching tour to Langanes, specifically to see the Northern gannet nesting colony. It was incredible! The gannets are such beautiful, elegant birds. They were sitting on their nests at this time of year and also gliding in from the sea. We watched a Grey seal below them in the water as well. We walked along amazing sea cliffs with many nesting birds and close up views of kittiwakes, fulmers, puffins, razorbills, and thousands of Common murres (the locals call them guillemots but In North America we know these sleek black and white seabirds as murres). Despite the hunting/egg collection culture in the area which our tour guide, Mirjam explained, there are some awesome eco-tour features for birdwatchers. These include a large viewing platform constructed above the gannet colony for an amazing, dramatic view of the birds! There is also an elaborate shelter/ bird blind constructed a short distance away. We also stopped at a beach on the way back to the farm where we saw various wading birds including Ringed plovers (a ‘lifer’ for me!). Mirjam was a knowledgeable tour guide, she knows the names of the birds in 3 languages! (Dutch, Icelandic, and English). She gave us a very interesting and informative tour in her capable Land Cruiser. She explained the local history and farming culture of the area where many families have left but ironically, the road has been much improved after that. We did not stay overnight so I can’t comment on the rooms but the large dining area where we could stay for coffee was a beautiful space. I highly recommend taking a birding tour with Mirjam. We got much more out of a guided tour than if we had driven the peninsula on our own.