Nature And Outdoors in Akureyri

Akureyri sits deep in Eyjafjörður, the country's longest fjord, and serves as the base for the whole Icelandic north. Lake Mývatn is about an hour away: a volcanic basin of pseudocraters, frozen lava fields and boiling mud pools, with Godafoss on the road there — the waterfall into which, by tradition, the carvings of the pagan gods were thrown when the country turned Christian.

The day routes differ in reach. The run to Mývatn with Godafoss takes four hours at 158 dollars; the combined day adding the Dettifoss and Selfoss waterfalls, seven hours at 294. The Diamond Circle, the northern counterpart of the Golden one, runs eight hours at 327 dollars. There is also a private version for cruise passengers: five hours, 1682 dollars for the group.

The winter programme is different. Northern lights are watched from September to April: a private two-hour run costs 336 dollars, while a six-hour version pairs the hunt with the GeoSea geothermal sea baths at Húsavík for 210. In summer, whale-watching sailings leave from Árskógssandur, half an hour away. GetExperience lists 7 outdoor programmes in Akureyri, from 109 to 1682 dollars.