Akureyri town on the Eyjafjörður

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Visit Akureyri describes the town as the second largest urban area in Iceland after the capital area and as the centre of trade and services for the north. Statistics Iceland counted 20,284 people in the municipality at the start of 2026, a figure that includes the islands of Hrísey and Grímsey. The town lies near the head of the Eyjafjörður, one of the longest fjords in the country, and the mountains around it reach 1000 to 1500 metres.

Akureyri is compact. The cruise quays, the Hof cultural centre, the shopping streets and the church are all within a few minutes of each other on foot, and the airport is only about 3 km south of the centre.

The church and the botanic garden

Akureyrarkirkja stands on the slope above the centre, and Visit Akureyri calls it the symbol of the town. The Lutheran church was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson and consecrated in 1940.

A short walk further up, Lystigarður has been a public park since 1912. Its botanical section was added in 1957, the garden has been extended three times and now covers about 3.6 hectares. The town calls it the most northerly botanic garden in the world.

Hof, the harbour and the museums

Hof, at Strandgata 12, is the cultural and conference house by the water. The theatre company Leikfélag Akureyrar and the North Iceland Symphony Orchestra are based here, and the tourist information desk is here too. It closes in winter, and its opening hours change from season to season.

Most cruise ships tie up very close to the centre or about ten minutes' walk away. The season runs mainly from May to the end of September, with single ships at other times of year. Passengers get free wifi on the Tangabryggja and Oddeyrarbryggja quays. The Akureyri Art Museum in Kaupvangsstræti is 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the port.

In Aðalstræti, the Akureyri Museum is at number 58 and Nonnahús at number 54. The aviation museum is at the airport, and the motorcycle and industry museums are at Krókeyri. In past winters several of them opened only one or two afternoons a week, so check the current list on visitakureyri.is.

Whale boats from the town centre

Humpbacks are the main species in the Eyjafjörður, according to Elding, and you can look for them without leaving town. Elding's classic boat sails all year from the centre; in December and January it leaves at 11:00. The trip takes 2.5 to 3.5 hours, the boat carries up to 200 people and has a heated indoor area, and overalls come in children's sizes too.

Reviews of the large boats keep returning to the same points: on busy days it is crowded at the rail, and some trips find whales only at a distance. The RIB alternatives take 12 passengers and need you to be at least 10 years old and 145 cm tall. Elding runs its express RIB from April to October; Ambassador meets at its ticket office by the Oddeyrarbót pier next to Hof. Special Tours sails a catamaran timed for cruise passengers and gives you a ticket for a second trip if you see no whales. More departures from Dalvík, Hauganes and Húsavík are on our whale watching page.

The Glerá gorge and the forest

The river Glerá runs through the town, mostly in a steep gorge, and Zipline Akureyri strings five lines across it. The tour lasts about 90 minutes, starts a few minutes' walk from the base and ends with a ten-minute hike back. Children must be at least 8, and the weight limit is 120 kg.

Kjarnaskógur is the town's favourite outdoor area: about 800 hectares with more than 1.5 million trees, most of them planted over the last 50 years. A guided e-bike tour starts at the Forest Lagoon, rides through Kjarnaskógur and the old streets of the centre and ends with entry to the lagoon. The Forest Lagoon itself lies in the Vaðlaskógur woods, about five minutes' drive from the centre.

From the water, a two-hour tandem kayak trip follows the shore of Akureyri and passes under a geothermal waterfall. It is not suitable for non-swimmers.

Food walks and guided walks

The Akureyri Food Walk lasts three hours and stops at local restaurants for lamb, fish, a hot dog and ice cream. Several reviewers counted four stops instead of the five in the description, and one mentions a long wait at the first. Saga Travel's three-hour city walk starts at Hof or at the cruise port and includes food at two restaurants. A private two-hour walk covers the harbour, the town square Ráðhústorg, the street Gilið, the church and the botanic garden.

Snow, pools and the town calendar

The ski area at Hlíðarfjall starts about 5 km outside town and runs from 500 to 1000 metres above sea level. It has had snowmaking since 2006, and the 2025/26 season opened on 4 December. Back in town, the outdoor swimming pool is, in Visit Akureyri's words, one of the most popular in Iceland.

In winter the days are short but not dark all day: on 21 December the sun rises at 11:38 and sets at 14:42 over a flat horizon, and the mountains hide it for longer. In June it sets for only about half an hour around 1 am, but because Akureyri lies south of the Arctic Circle there is no true midnight sun here. That you find on Grímsey.

The town festival Akureyrarvaka takes place on the weekend closest to 29 August, the date the town was founded. Before Christmas a market is held on Ráðhústorg. The children's ski race Andrés Önd is held in April.

The free city buses run as loops from the stop Miðbær, about 6:30 to 23:00 on weekdays and from midday to early evening at weekends. How to get here and around is on our pages getting to Akureyri and getting around.