Traustholtshólmi is a place of stunning beauty, untouched by modern development. It is an island within an island.

Experience ecotourism on a sustainable and restricted island in the wide and historic Þjórsá river. Get close to Iceland’s unspoiled nature and participate in island life.

The aim of Traustholtshólmi is to immerse you in local culture and enable you to experience the island’s unspoiled nature on a personal level. Hákon’s ideology is built on the principles of ecotourism; placing great importance on preserving the island’s natural state, meanwhile offering guests the opportunity to directly contribute to the island’s sustainability and cultural preservation.

Spanning approximately 57 acres, the island is located just 3 miles from the mouth of the glacial river Þjórsá. It has been in Hákon‘s family for generations and its culture is well preserved. He grew up running around the island as a child, harvesting goose and duck down and eggs from its various nesting sites, and observing the nesting ravens who return yearly to raise their young. He has explored the river from an early age and as such has an intimate understanding of its complex ecology and topography. In the past, the island’s seal population was hunted for oil, meat and fur but today the animals are protected, increasing in numbers and are easily observable by visitors. One of Hákon’s favourite activities is to go out on the river late in the evening during summer, shut off the boat engine and just drift out waiting for the seals to swim up to swap stories with him. This is among the various adventures that await guests. On occasion, young seals have lost their mother, and in those cases, Hákon has taken them to the local rural zoo.

Aside from a single stone house recently renovated by Hákon, the island remains untouched. Electricity comes from a windmill, rainwater is harvested, and herbs, spices and vegetables are all grown on the island. Guests are given the opportunity to experience a traditional way of fishing wild salmon, using a net, and then processing the catch by hand. Food, therefore, comes primarily from the island itself and, as much as possible, directly from other local farmers.

It is essential to Hákon to leave as small a footprint on the island as possible and to keep the island and the island experience pristine. Therefore visitors are urged to leave the stress of the mainland behind. Come lie in the tall grasses and experience the true sense of seclusion and peacefulness that only Traustholtshólmi has to offer.