Discover Bíldudalur: Fjord Tours, Museums and History

Located on Arnarfjörður, Bíldudalur offers a variety of reasons to visit: boat tours on the fjord, museums about music, history and legends, and a nine-hole golf course. If you’re looking for a holiday apartment or house in the village, you can plan your trip around the experiences you’re interested in. Bíldudalur is part of the municipality of Vesturbyggð.

Boat Tours on Arnarfjörður

Beffa Tours is based in Bíldudalur and offers private, customizable boat tours. These include whale watching, sea fishing, and nature and fjord cruises. The private boat experiences are designed for groups of no more than seven passengers. The different activities and timings can help you choose a tour: the whale-watching tour lasts two hours; the journey from the harbor in Bíldudalur to the viewing area takes 15 to 20 minutes.

The sea-fishing tours also last two hours and depart from the harbor. The fishing grounds in Arnarfjörður are reached after approximately 15 minutes. The tours therefore offer two distinct options: whale watching or sea fishing. From Bíldudalur, it is also possible to take a trip to the sites associated with Gísli Súrsson in Geirþjófsfjörður.

Workshop History, Music and Legends

A glimpse into the village’s past leads to Gamla smiðjan, also known as Járnsmiðjan. Pétur J. Thorsteinsson had the workshop built before 1900. At the time, it was the country’s first iron and metal workshop, and it has a significant historical legacy. A visit to the village can therefore include a chapter in Icelandic workshop history.

Music is at the heart of the Melódíur minninganna museum, which opened on June 17, 2000. It houses numerous items connected to well-known Icelandic musicians, including Haukur Mortens and Ellý. Those interested in Icelandic music will find a different way to explore Bíldudalur’s culture here than at the historic workshop.

The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum, known in Icelandic as Skrímslasetrið, explores legends and sightings of mythical sea monsters from the Westfjords. Texts, images and videos, as well as artifacts and detailed accounts, present these stories in a variety of ways. At the end of the exhibition is an interactive platform, said to be the first of its kind in Iceland. The museum thus adds the legendary traditions of the Westfjords to the story of the village.

Festival and Golf Course

The family festival Bíldudals grænar takes place every two years in Bíldudalur on the last weekend of June. The program includes a play, concerts, a magic school, a foam party, monsters, face painting, bouncy castles and plenty of music. If you’re planning a visit around the festival, keep in mind its biennial schedule and the specified date on the last weekend of June.

For a different activity, Bíldudalur has the nine-hole Litlueyrarvöllur golf course. The golf club was founded in 1992. Golf and boat tours offer different ways to spend your time here: a round on the course, or an excursion on Arnarfjörður or in Geirþjófsfjörður.

Getting There and Further Village Research

Bíldudalur can be reached by air from Reykjavík. A Flybus connects the village with the neighboring towns of Tálknafjörður and Patreksfjörður.

For further research into the area, you can also find information here about Holt, Súðavík, Keflavik, Borðeyri, Ísafjörður, Tálknafjörður, Hólmavík and Reykhólar.

For the broader travel overview: Westfjords.