What Akureyri Offers on a Port Day
Akureyri is Iceland's northern capital, a town of around 19,000 people at the head of Eyjafjörður, the country's longest fjord. It is the second most useful cruise call in Iceland after Reykjavík and the only northern port with real infrastructure.
Ships berth close to the centre, so the town is walkable from the gangway. That is unusual in Iceland, and it gives you a genuine choice between exploring on foot and taking an excursion.
The excursions reach Goðafoss, Lake Mývatn and the whale watching at Húsavík, all of which are among the strongest sights in North Iceland. What you cannot reach is the Golden Circle, which sits a full day's drive south.
Where Ships Dock
Akureyri has a central berth at Oddeyrarbryggja and a larger deep-water quay at Krossanesbryggja for bigger vessels.
From the central berth the town is a 5- to 10-minute walk. From Krossanes it is about 3 kilometres, and shuttles usually run on call days.
Either way the town is easy to reach, and the pier area has coach parking where both ship and independent excursions collect.
Check your day sheet for which berth you are using, since it changes whether you walk or take the shuttle.
Walking Akureyri
Two hours covers the town comfortably, and it is a pleasant walk.
Akureyrarkirkja, the hilltop church, is the landmark, reached by a flight of steps from the centre and designed by the same architect as Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík.
The botanical garden, Lystigarðurinn, is one of the most northerly in the world and holds a surprising range of plants for the latitude. Free entry, and 45 minutes is plenty.
The pedestrianised Hafnarstræti has cafés, bookshops and the red heart-shaped traffic lights the town put up as a morale gesture after the 2008 financial crash.
The Akureyri Art Museum and the town's swimming pool, one of the best public pools in Iceland, both sit within walking distance.
Goðafoss
The most booked excursion and the easiest to fit into any call length.
Goðafoss is a horseshoe-shaped waterfall on the Skjálfandafljót river, about 12 metres high and 30 metres wide, and it sits 45 minutes east of Akureyri on Route 1.
The name means waterfall of the gods, from the story that the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw his pagan idols into it after Iceland's conversion to Christianity around the year 1000.
There are viewpoints on both banks, connected by a bridge downstream, and the west side gives the classic angle. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours for the round trip, including time at the falls.
The paths are surfaced near the car park and rougher further along, which is worth knowing if walking is difficult.
Both banks have viewpoints, and the west side gives the classic horseshoe angle.
Lake Mývatn
The bigger day, and the one that fills a full call.
Mývatn is a shallow lake in an active volcanic zone about 90 minutes east of Akureyri, surrounded by pseudocraters, lava formations and geothermal fields.
The standard excursion covers Goðafoss on the way, then Dimmuborgir's lava pillars, the Skútustaðagígar pseudocraters and the steaming ground at Námaskarð. Some add the Mývatn Nature Baths, the northern equivalent of the Blue Lagoon.
Allow 7 to 8 hours for the round trip. That is most of a standard call, and it is the excursion people remember.
The lake is a protected area with internationally important birdlife, particularly ducks, and the Environment Agency of Iceland manages it.
Midges give the lake its name, and they are genuinely dense in June and July. They do not bite, and a head net costs very little and is worth having.
Whale Watching at Húsavík
Húsavík calls itself the whale-watching capital of Iceland, and it has a reasonable claim.
The town sits 90 minutes northeast of Akureyri on Skjálfandi Bay, where humpbacks, minke whales and white-beaked dolphins feed through the summer.
A tour takes 3 hours on the water plus 3 hours of driving, so allow 6 to 7 hours. Sightings are common between June and August and never guaranteed.
Akureyri also has its own whale watching from the town pier, which cuts out the drive entirely and covers Eyjafjörður instead. Around 3 hours in total, and it is the same format as our Reykjavík whale watching combination further south.
If your call is short, take the Akureyri option. If you have a full day and whales are the priority, Húsavík is the better bay.
Timing Your Call
Akureyri calls typically run 8 to 12 hours, and the options sort cleanly by length.
Under 4 hours ashore: the town, the church, the botanical garden and lunch.
4 to 6 hours: Goðafoss, or whale watching from Akureyri itself.
6 to 8 hours: Húsavík whale watching, or a Goðafoss and countryside combination.
8 hours or more: the full Mývatn day, which is the standout excursion from this port.
All-aboard is your deadline rather than departure, and it falls 30 to 60 minutes earlier. On the Mývatn run in particular, the margin matters.
The Weather Up North
North Iceland has a different climate from the south, and it usually works in your favour.
The area sits in the rain shadow of the highlands, so it is drier and often sunnier than Reykjavík on the same day. Summer temperatures in Akureyri regularly beat the capital's.
Wind is the variable rather than rain. Route 1 east towards Mývatn crosses open ground and closes occasionally in winter, though that rarely affects the cruise season.
Check SafeTravel for alerts and dress in layers with a waterproof shell. The geothermal ground at Námaskarð is exposed, and the boat at Húsavík is colder than the shore.
What You Cannot Do From Akureyri
The distances are worth stating plainly.
Reykjavík is about 5 hours away by road. There is no day-trip version.
The Golden Circle is a further hour beyond that, so Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss belong entirely to your Reykjavík call.
Jökulsárlón and the South Coast are similarly out of reach, at 5 to 7 hours.
Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall by volume, is reachable at about 2 hours each way, and it is usually sold as part of a longer Mývatn day rather than on its own.
Eyjafjörður is 60 kilometres long, so the sail in and out of Akureyri is a scenic hour in itself.
Practical Points
A few things that make the day easier.
Book excursions ahead. Akureyri has more capacity than Ísafjörður and less than Reykjavík, and Mývatn tours sell out in July.
Take a card rather than cash, since Iceland is close to cashless everywhere, and dress as our shore excursion clothing guide suggests rather than for the forecast temperature.
Use the town's swimming pool if you have a spare hour. It is cheap, it is where locals actually go, and the hot pots are excellent after a long sailing.
Bring a midge net for Mývatn in June and July, or buy one locally for very little.
Allow for the shuttle if you are at Krossanes. It adds 15 minutes at each end that people routinely forget.
Is It Worth an Excursion?
Yes, and the choice depends on how long you have.
With a full call, Mývatn is the strongest excursion from any Icelandic port outside Reykjavík. Volcanic landscape, geothermal ground and a lake that looks like nowhere else.
With a medium call, Goðafoss plus the town is a satisfying day that never feels rushed.
With a short call, or in poor weather, Akureyri itself is one of the few Icelandic towns worth several hours on foot.
The one thing not to do is treat this as a spare day. North Iceland is a genuinely different region from the southwest, and this is your only chance to see it. Our guide to what a port call actually allows applies here as much as in the capital.
Save the Classic Sights for Reykjavík
Akureyri is a North Iceland day, and Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss belong to a different port on your itinerary. When your ship reaches the capital, our small-group Golden Circle tour from the cruise port collects at Skarfabakki and works backwards from your all-aboard time. Send us your call date and we will confirm the timing before you book anything.
Compare Golden Circle Tours
Check each selected product for its current operator, guide, itinerary, meeting point, and terms.
View Our Tours
