Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum: Tasting Fermented Shark (Hákarl) 25 Minutes from Stykkishólmur

A Working Farm, Not a Tourist Set

Bjarnarhöfn is a real, working farm on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and the family that runs it has been curing Greenland shark into hákarl for generations. The small museum sits right on the farm, alongside the drying sheds where the shark is actually hung, so the smell that greets you at the door is not a gimmick — it is the working end of the process. Fishing boats, old processing tools, and photographs of the family’s history fill the exhibit space, and the farm still supplies hákarl to restaurants and shops around Iceland.

How Hákarl Is Made

Greenland shark is poisonous to eat fresh — its flesh carries high levels of urea and trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), which is toxic to humans until it breaks down. The traditional cure starts with burying the shark for several weeks, then hanging the strips in an open-sided shed for months while they dry and a dark, crusted skin forms. That slow fermentation is what neutralizes the toxins and turns an inedible fish into hákarl. You can walk through the drying shed at Bjarnarhöfn and see the shark in different stages of the process, from fresh-hung to fully cured.

The Tasting (and the Smell)

Every visit ends with a small cube of hákarl on a toothpick. The taste is milder than the smell suggests, but the ammonia hit on the first breath is the reason this dish has a reputation. Tradition pairs it with a shot of brennivín, the Icelandic schnapps sometimes called “black death,” which is offered as part of the tasting. It is a quick, memorable stop rather than a full meal — most visitors are in and out within half an hour to an hour, including a look at the exhibits.

• Getting there: About 25 minutes’ drive from Stykkishólmur along Route 54, on the north side of Snæfellsnes toward Grundarfjörður.
• Duration: Roughly 30–60 minutes for the museum, drying shed, and tasting.
• Hours: Open daily, roughly 10am–5pm.
• What to bring: An open mind and, if you’re squeamish about smells, something to hold to your nose on the way in.
• Timing tip: Combine it with a Snæfellsnes loop drive — it sits conveniently between Stykkishólmur and Grundarfjörður.

Where to Stay

The Stykkishólmur Inn is the natural base for this trip: it sits in the walkable old town of Stykkishólmur, about 25 minutes from the Bjarnarhöfn farm, so you can fit the shark museum in as a short detour before or after exploring the harbour and the rest of Snæfellsnes. Book direct on Ourhotels.is for the best rate.

Photo: Bri from Philadelphia, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.