Once an important fishing post, the village has recently experienced growth in tourism.

Hellissandur is one of the first and oldest fishing villages in Iceland and is traced back to the 16th century.

[1] One of the points of interest near Hellissandur is the Snæfellsjökull glacier, made famous by Jules Verne in his science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Just outside the village, there is the northern entrance to the Snæfellsjökull National Park, which surrounds the western and southern sides of the glacier.

Nearby is the 412 m (1,352 ft) tall Gufuskálar radio mast, the tallest structure in Western Europe, located 2 km (1.2 mi) westward.