What's a good 3-day itinerary for Vestmannaeyjar?

Three days on Heimaey covers the whole island without rushing. The town is about 2 kilometres end to end, so you'll walk everywhere. Day 1 stays in town and the 1973 lava field. Start at Eldheimar at 10 AM. The museum was built around a house buried under tephra when Eldfell erupted on January 23, 1973. The fissure ran 1.5 kilometres, 400 metres east of town, and it opened at 1:47 AM while 5,300 residents slept. The excavated walls still carry a faint whiff of sulphur. From Eldheimar, walk 15 minutes south through the cooled lava to Skansinn, where the Heimaey stave church stands. Norway gifted the timber kit in 2000. The tarred pine walls feel warm even in a 10°C headwind. Lunch at Tanginn near the harbour, where a fresh-catch fish plate runs about 3,500 ISK ($28). Spend the afternoon along Strandvegur watching trawlers unload at the fish processing sheds. The salt-and-diesel smell is thick here. Dinner at Slippurinn, the seasonal restaurant in a converted machine shop that opens mid-May. The tasting menu runs roughly 14,900 ISK ($120). Book at least two days ahead.

Day 2 climbs Eldfell and continues south to Stórhöfði. The trail starts behind the lava field, a 30-minute walk from town. The scoria underfoot is loose and reddish-black, and the ground near the 221-metre summit is still noticeably warm. Dig 5 centimetres into the gravel and the heat rises against your palm. On a clear day you can see Surtsey, 20 kilometres southwest, the island that formed from undersea eruptions between 1963 and 1967. Descend via Helgafell, the older cone next door, and loop back through Herjólfsdalur, the valley where the Þjóðhátíð festival draws around 16,000 people each August bank holiday weekend. The amphitheatre in Herjólfsdalur is eerily quiet the other 51 weeks. After lunch in town, walk the 4 kilometres south to Stórhöfði, one of the windiest spots in Europe. Between mid-May and mid-August, Atlantic puffins nest along the clifftops. Bring a windproof layer, because Stórhöfði wind regularly hits 60 km/h and will cut through a fleece in seconds.

Day 3 moves to the water around Heimaey. The Ribsafari boat tour leaves from the harbour at 11 AM most summer mornings and runs about 90 minutes. The rigid inflatable rounds the island's sea stacks and enters Klettsvík bay, where Keiko the orca from Free Willy was held in a sea pen from 1998 to 2002. You'll pass Elephant Rock from the water side, where the basalt profile of an elephant dipping its trunk into the North Atlantic is clearest. Spray off the bow is cold, roughly 8-10°C, and the provided overalls earn their keep. Back on shore, walk to Sæheimar, the small aquarium and natural history museum at the south end of town. The staff rehabilitate injured puffins and might let you get close to the calmer birds. Finish the day along the eastern shore past Hásteinsvöllur, the football stadium built in 1912 where ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar plays home matches. The pitch sits in a natural bowl of lava, with rock walls on three sides and the ocean behind the fourth.

A few logistics before the Herjólfur crossing. The ferry from Landeyjahöfn takes 35 minutes and costs about 1,600 ISK ($13) one way for a walk-on passenger. Eagle Air flies from Reykjavik's domestic airport in about 20 minutes, but flights cancel in wind, and Vestmannaeyjar gets plenty of wind. Book the ferry as a backup. In June, expect 8-12°C with rain likely on at least one of your three days. A packable rain jacket matters more than any other single item you bring. Mobile coverage on Síminn and Vodafone is solid across Heimaey but patchy on the boat tour. An eSIM activated before you leave Reykjavik saves fumbling on the ferry. Mind you, the island has maybe six restaurants total, and only Slippurinn needs a reservation. The rest seat walk-ins without trouble.