Höfn is a small fishing town on the southeastern coast of Iceland, perched on a narrow spit of land with views across Hornafjörður bay to the immense white expanse of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier. The town serves as the gateway to the glacier and its surrounding national park, and most travellers driving the Ring Road stop here for at least a night.
The local economy runs on fishing, and Höfn has made langoustine its claim to fame. The annual Humarhátíð (Lobster Festival) in late June celebrates the catch, but you can eat excellent langoustine year-round at the town's restaurants. Beyond the food, there is not a great deal to do in Höfn itself — it is a working town of about two thousand people — but the setting is spectacular, and the surrounding landscape is the real draw.
From Höfn, the glacier lagoons of Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón are about an hour's drive west along the Ring Road. Glacier hikes, ice cave tours, and boat trips among the icebergs can all be arranged from town. To the east, the remote Stokksnes peninsula offers one of Iceland's most photographed mountain views, the dramatic pyramid of Vestrahorn rising from black sand.