Icelandic Sea Monster Museum

The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum (Skrímslasetur) in the tiny Westfjords village of Bíldudalur is built around the remarkable fact that the Arnarfjörður area has one of the highest concentrations of documented sea-monster sightings anywhere in the world. Since the seventeenth century, fishermen in these fjords have reported encounters with creatures from the deep that resist easy explanation.

The museum presents the eyewitness accounts with scholarly seriousness while maintaining an impish sense of wonder, inviting visitors to form their own conclusions. Life-size monster reconstructions based on descriptions lurk in darkened corridors. The building itself occupies a dramatic waterfront setting with views straight down Arnarfjörður.

Bíldudalur is accessible by road or by domestic flight from Reykjavík (Bíldudalur Airport is one of the smallest commercial airports in Iceland). The museum is open from June to September. The village has a small guesthouse and fuel station.