Whale Watching from Akureyri
2 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 14.490 ISK
North Iceland
Akureyri
Most people drive into Akureyri expecting a sleepy fishing village and find traffic lights. Not many, mind you, and the red ones are shaped like hearts. There's a high street, a ski hill, an ice cream shop with a queue in January, and a proper cinema. For North Iceland, that counts as a metropolis.
Akureyri is Iceland's largest town outside the capital area, home to around 20,000 people at the head of Eyjafjörður, the country's longest fjord. It's the practical base for almost everything in the north: whale watching, Goðafoss, Lake Mývatn, the Diamond Circle and, in winter, the northern lights. We send a lot of people here and nobody has yet complained about being bored.
Tours that visit Akureyri
What to see in Akureyri
Start at the top. Akureyrarkirkja, the church at the top of the long staircase above the town centre, was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, the same architect behind Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík. The central stained-glass window above the altar came from Coventry Cathedral in England and was removed before the cathedral was destroyed in the Blitz. It's a strange thing to find this far north.
A short walk away is Lystigarðurinn, the botanical garden, one of the northernmost in the world and free to wander. On a sunny July afternoon it's where half the town seems to be eating lunch. The heart-shaped red traffic lights date from 2008, when the town wanted to give people something to smile about after the financial crash. They stayed.
Then there's the water. Eyjafjörður is a long, sheltered fjord and humpback whales feed in it regularly, which is why whale watching boats leave from Akureyri itself as well as from Dalvík and Árskógssandur further up the fjord. The shorter sailing from the outer ports gets you to the whales faster. From the town harbour, you get a longer, calmer trip with fjord scenery the whole way.
Pro tip: go to the town swimming pool, Sundlaug Akureyrar, in the evening. It's where locals actually go, the hot tubs have mountain views, and it costs a fraction of the fancy lagoons. Afterwards, join the line at Brynja for soft-serve ice cream. The line moves fast. Even in sleet.
How to get to Akureyri from Reykjavík
The drive is just under 400 km on Route 1, the Ring Road, and takes about five hours without stops. It crosses Holtavörðuheiði and Öxnadalsheiði, two mountain passes that can close in winter storms, so check road.is and safetravel.is before you set off between October and April. Domestic flights from Reykjavík take about 45 minutes and are often the smarter choice in the dark months.
Best time to visit Akureyri
June to August brings long, bright nights, the best weather in Iceland (the north is often drier and warmer than the south in summer) and the full whale watching programme. Winter is darker and snowier, but that's when Hlíðarfjall ski area opens above town and the northern lights come out, roughly from September to April on clear nights. Drive five minutes out of town and the sky gets properly dark.
Day trips from Akureyri
Goðafoss is about 40 minutes east on Route 1, through the Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel, which charges a toll. Lake Mývatn is about an hour away, with its lava pillars, steaming vents and the geothermal lagoon. Húsavík, the whale watching town, is about an hour north. Link them with Dettifoss and Ásbyrgi canyon and you have the Diamond Circle, a long but rewarding day loop. Closer to home, the Forest Lagoon sits just across the fjord, and there are horse riding farms and a zipline through the Glerárgil canyon right in town.
Tours from Akureyri are below: whale watching from the town and the outer fjord, Mývatn and Goðafoss day trips, horse riding and more. Many of them offer pick-up in town, so you can leave the car parked and let someone else deal with the tunnel toll.
More tours that visit Akureyri
Mývatn, Goðafoss & Grjótagjá Half Day Tour From Akureyri
6 hours · From Akureyri
From 16.990 ISK
Akureyri Northern Light Tour
2 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
4.6(309)
From 17.000 ISK
Lake Myvatn and Godafoss Waterfall Day Tour from Akureyri
8 hours · From Akureyri
From 23.000 ISK
Zipline Adventure Through Glerárgil River Canyon in Akureyri Town
1 hour and 45 minutes · From Akureyri
From 11.900 ISK
Goðafoss Waterfall & Fjord Viewpoint from Akureyri
3 hours · From Akureyri
4.7(26)
From 13.990 ISK
Goðafoss Waterfall and Akureyri Botanical Gardens, Shore Excursion
3 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
4.9(295)
From 19.900 ISK
Diamond Circle Day Tour from Akureyri or Lake Myvatn
9 hours · From Akureyri
From 38.900 ISK
Akureyri Port: Small Group Diamond Circle Express Shore Excursion
8 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 30.150 ISK
Akureyri Port: Small Group Godafoss Waterfall and Laufas Turf House Tour
3 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 20.100 ISK
Forest Lagoon & Goðafoss Waterfall Tour from Akureyri
5 hours · From Akureyri
From 20.990 ISK
(RS) Northern Lights 4x4 Tour from Akureyri
2 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 34.799 ISK
(RS) Northern Lights Classic Tour from Akureyri
2 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 19.900 ISK
Goðafoss and Akureyri Botanic Garden Shared Shore Excursion
3 hours and 30 minutes · From Akureyri
From 19.900 ISK
Akureyri Private Walking Tour
2 hours · From Reykjavík
From 39.490 ISK
Private Half Day Tour in Akureyri
5 hours · From Akureyri
From 169.380 ISK
Private Northern Lights & GeoSea Geothermal Baths Tour (from Akureyri)
5 hours · From Akureyri
From 220.000 ISK
Askja Caldera and Viti Crater 4x4 Tour from Akureyri or Lake Myvatn
10 hours · From Akureyri
From 79.900 ISK
Northern Lights & GeoSea Geothermal Baths Tour (From Akureyri)
5 hours · From Akureyri
From 49.900 ISK