Ölfus, Iceland


Member since
2013The member has not specified any exchange dates
House in south of Iceland, Ölfus, Iceland.
Hi!
We live in a single family house at the countryside in Ölfus which is a municipality in the south site of Iceland. Driving distance to Reykjavík is about 40 kilometers or about 35-40 minutes. Driving distance from Keflavík airport is 90 kilometers or about 1 hour 20 minutes. There are many popular tourist attractions within 1 hour reach of our house such as Þingvellir (40 minutes) and Geysir (50 minutes) so the location is ideal if you are planning some sightseeing or day trips.
Our house is situated midway between two small towns called Selfoss and Hveragerði (5 minutes to Hveragerði and 12 minutes to Selfoss). In both towns there are petrol stations, discount supermarkets, convenience stores, bakeries, restaurants, post offices, banks, health services, swimming pools, café´s etc.
As our house is in the countryside the nature is just outside of the door. The location is quite private as nearest house is about 1 km away, where Þorbjörg´s parents live. They are farmers and rent out summer houses.
There is a small stream just 50 meters from the house and just next to it there are Icelandic sheep’s from the farm running wild, Icelandic horses and a lot of bird life in the wild nature. At bright summer nights we often fall to sleep listening to the birds and the relaxing sound from the stream. There is a small river also few hundred meters away from the house and the river runs through a rocky canyon with a lot of waterfalls, bird life and beautiful rocks. It is ideal to take a walk through this canyon on a sunny day if you like hiking. Also there are many opportunities to hiking just by walking out of the door as nearest mountain is just outside of the kitchen window and also there are many market hiking routes in the neighborhood of Hveragerði, including Reykjadalur where you can bath in a hot stream. In Hveragerði there is a lot of hot springs to take a look at and it is easy even to take a walking trip to Hveragerdi from our house as it is only a 40 minutes’ walk. There are two horse rentals in the neighborhood and at the South part of Iceland there are many wonderful places to visit on your own such as Gullfoss, Geysir, Þingvellir, Vestmannaeyjar, Reynisfjara and many more.
Our house is a modern one floor wooden house built in 2005 (265 m2). It has 5 bedrooms, a large kitchen/dining room, a living room, television room, double garage and a wooden veranda with hot tub, two bathrooms and a laundry room.
Our garden is quite big and partly wild nature as the piece of land belonging to the house is more than 80.000 m2. Closest to the house we have the actual garden with flowers, lawn, trees, sandpit and a play house. Also we have our own small football field with one football goal and a trampoline with a safety net.
If you like a good view there is a wide panorama view from the house overlooking the Ölfus - region in SW - Iceland towards the coast and the villages Eyrarbakki, Stokkseyri and Þorlákshöfn, Skálafell and Hellisheiði.
There are a lot of things to do for families in Iceland; especially of you are found of the nature (see below).
Best regards,
Þorbjörg and Stefán
http://www.hveragerdi.is/English
https://www.south.is/
/https://www.facebook.com/Iceland099/videos/1999321600318622/
https://www.facebook.com/Iceland099/videos/1993179380932844/
https://www.facebook.com/Iceland099/videos/1964448310472618/UzpfSTE0MDMwNjM5MjQ6MTAyMTExNDg3MTgzMzk0ODU/https://perlan.is/
Our Family
- 2 Adults
- 4 Children
- 7 Exchanges made
Occupation
- Teacher
- Marketing Director
Our Home
- House Type: House
- Floor: 0
- Environment: In the country
- Bedrooms: 5
- Bathrooms: 2
- Sleeping Capacity: 6
- Total Area: 265 m2
References
In my house
- Pets - Not allowed
- Small children - Allowed
Exchange Types
- Non-simultaneous exchange
- Home exchange
- Hospitality exchange
Indoor
- Free internet access
- Hot tub or jacuzzi
- Central heating
- Baby equipment
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Clothes dryer
- Television
- Piano
- Other musical instruments
Outdoor
- Garden
- Terrace or deck
- BBQ
- Garage
- Private swimming pool
- Bicycles: 4
Facilities
- No smoking
- Car necessary
- Use/Exchange of car
- Pet care wanted
Our Destination Wish List
- Open for all offers
- Portugal
- Spain
- Italy
- Germany
- Austria
Spoken Languages
- English
- Islenska
Our Neighbourhood

Occupation
- Teacher
- Marketing Director
Children
- Boy - Age: 27
- Boy - Age: 24
- Boy - Age: 15
- Girl - Age: 20
Pets
- 2 dogs and 2 cats
About Our Family
We are Þorbjörg (49) and Stefán (50) Þorbjörg works as a Teacher in the primary school in Hveragerði, the nearest town. Stefán works as a Marketing Director at a beverage company in Reykjavík.
We have 4 kids; Our oldest child is Magnús Baldvin, 26 years old. Next in age is Jón Lárus at 23 years of age. Then it is Signý Ólöf the only girl in the group, at age of 19. Youngest is Stefán Gunngeir at age of 14. Our oldest boys have their own plans so probably we travel 4 next summer.
As we live in the contryside we have some pets. We have 2 dogs and 1 cat. The dog´s and the cat home is the garage where they sleep and eat. The house is therefore a pet free zone. The dog's and cat are allowed to be free outside of the house, once a day we give them new food and water. Þorbjörg parents can help take care of them if needed.
Lifestyle
We love to travel and like doing family outdoor activities, especially hiking.
Þorbjörg and Stefán are both doing crossfit training in a local crossfit centre in Hveragerði. Þorbjörg is a great fan of the Irish band U2 and we have traveled two times with our friends abroad to see the band playing at concerts. Þorbjörg enjoys a lot to read. Stefán enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and barbequing in the garden.
The 3 boys are all into football, both as players, and supporters. Signý Ólöf is learning to play piano and having singing lessons.
We have tried exchange once before in 2013, when we went to Wales in the United Kingdom. It was very pleasant.
References
This member has completed 7 home exchanges. Those referenced below may contain feedback/impression from its exchange partners:

Blainville-Crevon, France
FR030607C'était un bel échange de maisons. nous avons adoré revenir en Islande et la faire découvrir à nos enfants et petits enfants dans ces conditions. La maison est très agréable, bien placée pour faire des expéditions dans la région du Sud. Nous avons apprécié le SPA extérieur en rentrant de nos balades. Stefan nous a donné de bons conseils et nous avons été toujours en lien pendant l'échange. Nous avons eu la chance de voir l'éruption volcanique de l'été dernier .. Un échange à recommander +++