Skogar Museum

The Basics

There’s a lot to discover at the Skogar Museum: The Folk Museum displays agricultural and fishery tools, boats and maritime gear, textiles and costumes, musical instruments, rare books and manuscripts, and natural history exhibits. The Open Air Museum includes a traditional turf farmstead, a 19th-century gabled farm home, a home built from driftwood, a multidenominational church assembled from 16 regional churches, and a miniature turf home for elves. The Museum of Transport and Communication houses a collection of automobiles, trucks, highway machinery, and telecommunication, radio, and rescue team equipment used over the last century.

Skip the lines and book your admission ticket online prior to your arrival. Alternatively, consider visiting Skogar Museum as part of a comprehensive guided tour of Iceland’s south coast.

Things to Know Before You Go

• Skogar Museum is a must-visit for travelers interested in Icelandic history.

• There’s a cafeteria and a well-stocked souvenir shop inside the transport museum.

• Guided tours are available—contact the museum in advance.

How to Get There

Around a 2-hour drive southeast of Reykjavik and a 25-minute drive west of Vik, Skogar Museum is located off the Ring Road (Route 1), near Skogafoss Waterfall. Getting there via public transportation is time-consuming, so if you don’t have a car, avoid the hassle and visit on a guided tour of the south coast.

When to Get There

The museum is open every day, year-round, except for December 25. Opening hours vary depending on the season.

A Viking-Age Pendant

Skogar Museum’s vast collection of historical objects includes a Viking-age decorative pendant from the 10th century, found in 2003 near Mount Thrihyrningur, about an hour’s drive from the museum. Decorated in the Jellinge style, the copper pendant is engraved with two long animals woven together. At least seven such objects have been found in Iceland.