Top 10 things to do in Akureyri, ranked
Akureyri town centre with the church on the hill
Ten things to do in the north's capital, ordered by whether they’d survive a rainy Tuesday.
The top five
1. Forest Lagoon (Skogarbodin) — the newer geothermal pool at the fjord edge, 6,900 ISK, cheaper and less busy than Myvatn Nature Baths. 2. Akureyri swimming pool (Sundlaug Akureyrar) — 1,300 ISK, three hot pots, waterslide, the local answer to everything. 3. Godafoss, 35 minutes east — the north's best waterfall and free. 4. The Botanical Gardens (Lystigardurinn) — free, one of the world's northernmost, and beautifully kept from May to September. 5. Akureyrarkirkja, the stepped-basalt church on the hill, free and 15 minutes.
Six through ten
6. Kaffi Ilmur for a proper Icelandic buffet lunch around 3,900 ISK. 7. The Christmas House (Jolagardurinn) 10 minutes south — silly but committed, and open year-round. 8. Whale watching from Akureyri harbour — humpbacks in the fjord from June to August, around 11,900 ISK. 9. The Motorcycle Museum on Krokeyri — small, personal, weirdly great. 10. Hlidarfjall ski area in winter, 20 minutes from town, day pass 6,500 ISK and rarely crowded.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Akureyri.
Two nights. One is just enough to drive there and drive away without seeing Godafoss or the pool properly.
Beautifully snowy and much quieter than Reykjavik. The road from the ring road is well maintained; the mountain pass is not always.
