Iceland
Akureyri
Iceland's northern capital, a fjord-head town with whales in the water and Myvatn an hour away.
Akureyri is the capital of North Iceland, a small, tidy town of colourful houses at the head of Eyjafjordur, the country's longest fjord, with snow-streaked mountains on every side. It has a steep church above the centre, one of the world's northernmost botanical gardens, a geothermal pool, galleries and a busy cafe street, and humpback whales feed out in the fjord. Above all it is the base for the north: Godafoss is under an hour away and Lake Myvatn about an hour.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Icelandic
Currency
ISK
Timezone
UTC
Why you'll love Akureyri
The fjord Eyjafjordur runs 60 km out to the Arctic Ocean, framed by mountains, and humpbacks feed in it close to town
A proper town a walkable centre of cafes, galleries and a cultural centre on the water, rare outside Reykjavik
Hot water a big geothermal town pool with slides and hot pots, and more lagoon-style bathing within easy reach
Base for the north Godafoss, Lake Myvatn, Husavik and the Trollaskagi fishing towns are all a day out and back
Best time to visit
Jun-Aug
14-15° days
65.684° N, 18.112° W
UTC · Atlantic/Reykjavik
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Weather & when to go to Akureyri
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jun-Aug
Snow prime Feb-Apr
Hiking prime Jun-Aug
Northern lights prime Oct-Mar
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Akureyri
October to April is cold, dark and often icy, and storms can close the mountain pass on the road from Reykjavik. That same dark season is when the northern lights show and when the Hlidarfjall ski slopes above town run, best from February to April as the days lengthen. Highland roads beyond the region stay shut until early summer.
Top things to do in Akureyri
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Akureyrarkirkja - the church at the top of the steps
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularThe town's landmark stands on the hill above the centre, reached by a long flight of steps. Designed by Gudjon Samuelsson, the architect of Reykjavik's Hallgrimskirkja, and finished in 1940, it has twin towers that echo basalt columns. Inside, look for the stained glass and the ship hanging from the ceiling. The view back over the rooftops to the fjord is the town's classic photo.
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Lystigardurinn - the botanical garden near the Arctic Circle
nature wildlife scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedA short walk up the hill from the church, Akureyri's botanical garden is one of the northernmost in the world. It grows most of Iceland's native plants alongside thousands of species from other cold places, in sheltered beds and old trees that feel unlikely this close to the Arctic Circle. It is at its best in high summer, with a cafe in the garden.
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Eyjafjordur - whale watching from the harbour
nature wildlife 👍 PopularBoats leave from the town harbour into the long, sheltered fjord, where humpbacks come to feed and dolphins and porpoises turn up too. Summer is the reliable season. It is a real alternative to Husavik if you would rather not drive, and the ride out, between mountains, is part of the pleasure.
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Sundlaug Akureyrar - the geothermal town pool
wellness 👍 PopularThe town pool on the hill below the botanical garden is one of the best loved in Iceland: outdoor lanes heated by geothermal water, hot pots, a steam room and water slides that make it a family favourite. Showering without a swimsuit before you swim is required, as at every Icelandic pool.
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Innbaer - the old town and Nonnahus
history ⭐ Highly recommendedSouth of the centre along the shore road, Akureyri's oldest quarter is a line of 19th-century timber houses and old merchants' homes. Nonnahus is the childhood home of Jon Sveinsson, the Jesuit priest who wrote the Nonni children's books, and the Akureyri Museum nearby tells the town's story. An easy walk out from the centre.
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Listagil and Hof - art street and the cultural centre
culture artsKaupvangsstraeti, known as Listagil or Art Canyon, climbs from the centre towards the church past the Akureyri Art Museum and small galleries. Down on the waterfront, Hof is the town's concert and cultural centre, home to the North Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
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Hlidarfjall - Iceland's leading ski area
snowIceland's best-known ski area sits on the mountainside a short drive above town, with lifts, groomed runs and wide views down the fjord. The season runs through the dark months and is best from February to April, when the days lengthen. The wider Trollaskagi peninsula is known for ski touring and heli-skiing in spring.
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Northern lights over Eyjafjordur
auroraFrom autumn to early spring, clear dark nights bring the aurora over the fjord. You only need to leave the town lights, and tours from Akureyri drive out to wherever the sky is clearest. North Iceland's weather often splits from the south's, so it can be clear here when Reykjavik is clouded over.
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Sulur - the mountain behind town
hikingThe twin-peaked mountain above Akureyri is the town's classic hike, a steady climb from the Glerardalur valley to a summit looking over the whole fjord. The valley itself has longer trails deeper into the Trollaskagi mountains. Walk it in summer, once the snow has gone.
Best areas to stay in Akureyri
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Midbaer (town centre)
First-time visitors $$Compact centre of cafes and shops
Explore hotels in Midbaer (town centre) →
Innbaer
Quiet and historic $$Old timber houses along the shore
Explore hotels in Innbaer →
Brekkan
Families and apartments $$Residential hill by church and pool
Explore hotels in Brekkan →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Akureyri
Getting to & around Akureyri
Getting there
Fly from Reykjavik to Akureyri Airport in about 45 minutes, or drive Route 1 north in about five hours
Flight
Akureyri Airport (AEY)
Akureyri Airport sits on the fjord shore just south of town, with domestic flights from Reykjavik's city airport and some seasonal flights from Europe. The centre is a few minutes away by taxi, and hire cars are collected at the terminal.
Drive
Route 1, the Ring Road, from Reykjavik takes about five hours over the Oxnadalsheidi pass, which can close in winter storms; Lake Myvatn is about an hour further east
Coach
Town centre
Straeto's long-distance bus runs from Reykjavik along Route 1, a long day's ride; summer coach services also link Akureyri with Myvatn and Husavik
Cruise
Akureyri harbour
One of Iceland's busiest cruise ports in summer, with ships docking close to the town centre
Getting around
Walking
The centre, harbour, old town and church hill are all walkable, though the climb up to the church, pool and garden is steep
Free
Town bus
Akureyri's yellow town buses are free to ride and link the centre with the residential districts
Free
Taxi
A small taxi fleet serves the town and airport; book ahead for early flights
TBC
Hire car
The easy way to reach Godafoss, Myvatn and the Trollaskagi towns; in winter check road and weather conditions before every drive
TBC
Day trips from Akureyri
Godafoss
Half dayHorseshoe waterfall
The Skjalfandafljot river pours over a wide curved ledge in one of Iceland's most famous waterfalls. Saga tradition says the lawspeaker threw his pagan idols in here after Iceland accepted Christianity in 1000. Paths run along both banks, and it sits on the road to Myvatn, so most people see it on the way.
Getting there
car | tour
About 35-45 min east on Route 1 by car or tour
Lake Myvatn
Full dayVolcanic lake landscape
A shallow lake set in lava fields, pseudocraters and steaming ground. Walk the rim of the Hverfjall crater, explore the lava pillars of Dimmuborgir, see the boiling mud pools at Namafjall and finish in the Myvatn Nature Baths. In summer, midges rise off the water in clouds.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr east on Route 1 by car or tour
Husavik and the Diamond Circle
Full dayWhale town and canyons
Husavik is Iceland's best-known whale-watching town, with boats out into Skjalfandi Bay and a whale museum on the harbour. A long day loops on to the horseshoe canyon at Asbyrgi and to Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall, though some of the roads to Dettifoss close in winter.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr northeast by car or tour, through the Vadlaheidi tunnel
Hrisey
Half dayCar-free fjord island
A small, largely car-free island in the middle of Eyjafjordur, with a quiet village, walking tracks over the island and plenty of birdlife, including ptarmigan and nesting terns in summer. A gentle half day out on the water.
Getting there
car | ferry
About 35 min north by car to Arskogssandur, then a short ferry crossing
Siglufjordur and Trollaskagi
Full dayFishing towns and tunnels
A drive up the west shore of the fjord and through tunnels in the Trollaskagi mountains to Siglufjordur, once the capital of the Icelandic herring boom. The Herring Era Museum brings the boom years back, and the fishing villages of Dalvik and Olafsfjordur make good stops on the way.
Getting there
car
About 1-1.5 hr north by car via Dalvik, Olafsfjordur and the mountain tunnels
Grimsey
Full dayArctic Circle island
Iceland's northernmost inhabited island, a speck in the Arctic Ocean that the Arctic Circle crosses. People come to step over the line and, in summer, to see puffins and other seabirds nesting on the cliffs.
Getting there
flight | ferry | car
Short flight from Akureyri, or about 3 hr by ferry from Dalvik
A little history of Akureyri
Eyjafjordur was settled around 890 by Helgi the Lean, a Norse settler who, the Book of Settlements says, trusted in Christ but called on Thor at sea. He farmed at Kristnes, just south of today's town. For centuries the fjord was a farming district, and Akureyri began as a trading spot on a sandy spit where Danish merchants, holders of the royal trade monopoly, came each summer.
It received a trading charter in 1786 and grew slowly into a real town through the 19th century. The Eyjafjordur cooperative, founded in 1886, came to dominate its trade and industry, and the herring boom of the early 20th century brought money to the whole north coast. Akureyri is now Iceland's largest town outside the capital area, with a university, a hospital, a symphony orchestra and a strong sense of itself as the capital of the North.
Helgi the Lean settles Eyjafjordur and farms at Kristnes
Akureyri receives a trading charter, one of six new market towns in Iceland
Akureyri becomes a self-governing town
The Eyjafjordur cooperative is founded, later a dominant force in the town's economy
Local women found the park that becomes Lystigardurinn, the botanical garden
Akureyrarkirkja, designed by Gudjon Samuelsson, is completed
The University of Akureyri is founded
Hof cultural centre opens on the waterfront
The Vadlaheidi tunnel opens under the mountain east of the fjord, shortening the drive to Husavik
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+354
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Akureyri
▸ When is the best time to visit Akureyri?
June to August is the best weather, with long light days, the botanical garden in bloom, whales in the fjord and every road in the region open. October to April is cold and dark with icy roads, but it is when the northern lights appear and when Hlidarfjall's skiing runs, best from February to April. May and September are quieter shoulder months.
▸ Is Akureyri a good base for Lake Myvatn and the Diamond Circle?
Yes. Godafoss is under an hour away, Lake Myvatn about an hour and Husavik about an hour, so the whole region works as day trips with a car or tour. Akureyri has far more places to eat and stay than Myvatn or Husavik, though a night at Myvatn saves driving if you want to see Dettifoss as well.
▸ Can you see the northern lights in Akureyri?
Yes, on clear, dark nights from about September to early April. You only need to drive a few minutes out of town to escape the street lights, and tours from Akureyri go looking for the clearest sky. North Iceland is often clear when the south is cloudy, and the reverse, so it pays to be flexible.
▸ How do you get from Reykjavik to Akureyri?
The quickest way is a domestic flight from Reykjavik's city airport, about 45 minutes. Driving Route 1 takes about five hours through the west and over the Oxnadalsheidi pass, which can close in winter storms. The long-distance bus takes most of a day. From Keflavik, most people drive or connect through Reykjavik.
▸ Can you ski in Akureyri?
Yes. Hlidarfjall, on the mountainside just above town, is Iceland's best-known ski area, with lifts and groomed runs looking down the fjord. The season runs through winter and is best from February to April, when there is more daylight. The Trollaskagi mountains to the north are known for ski touring and heli-skiing in spring.
▸ How many days do you need in Akureyri?
One day covers the town itself: the church, the botanical garden, the old town, the pool and a whale-watching trip. Plan two to four days in total so you can use it as a base for Godafoss, Lake Myvatn, Husavik or the Trollaskagi fishing towns.
▸ Is Akureyri expensive?
Like everywhere in Iceland, yes: eating out, tours and car hire all cost well above most of Europe. Self-catering from the town's supermarkets, swimming in the town pool and walking in the hills keep costs down, and the town buses are free.
More in Iceland
East Fjords (Egilsstadir)
The quiet end of the Ring Road: deep fjords, small fishing villages and Iceland's only wild reindeer, with a fraction of the south coast's traffic.
✓ best Jun-AugReykjavik
A pocket-sized capital with a big-city scene, hot pools on every corner and the Golden Circle on the doorstep.
✓ best May-SepWestfjords (Isafjordur)
Iceland without the coach tours: fjord after empty fjord, Dynjandi, puffin cliffs and a reserve with no roads at all.
✓ best Jul-Aug