Goðafoss, the waterfall of the gods

5 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

According to Visit Akureyri, the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði declared Christianity the official religion of Iceland in the year 1000. Visit North Iceland adds that he made the decision under pressure from other European countries, above all Norway. Tradition says that he then threw the statues of the old Norse gods into this waterfall, and the name Goðafoss comes from goð, the Icelandic word for gods.

The falls lie on the Skjálfandafljót, beside the farm Fosshóll in the municipality of Þingeyjarsveit. The Environment Agency gives the height as 9 to 17 metres, depending on how much water the river carries, and the width as roughly 30 metres; Visit Akureyri and Visit North Iceland give 12 metres. Goðafoss became a protected natural monument on 11 June 2020, and the protected area covers 0.224 square kilometres.

Arriving by car or bus

The Ring Road passes right by the falls, 35 km from Akureyri. By car that takes about 35 minutes, and the shortest route goes through the Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel, which charges a toll you pay online within 24 hours of driving through. There are car parks on both sides of the river, connected to paved paths and viewing platforms. The shortest walk to the water is from the west side. A café, a souvenir shop and toilets are at Goðafoss Café by Fosshóll, and Hotel Goðafoss stands directly in front of the falls.

Without a car you can take Strætó: line 79 to Húsavík stops at Fosshóll, and line 56 towards Mývatn and Egilsstaðir has a stop called Goðafoss. Check the return times before you leave.

Short tours from town and from the port

The trips that only go to Goðafoss take two to four hours. Soleil de Minuit runs a two-and-a-half-hour bus trip from Akureyri that comes back over the old mountain road and stops at a viewpoint above the town and the fjord. Reviewers mention an old bus without air conditioning, some confusion at the cruise terminal and guiding that was only in German on some days, so check which language your departure uses. The tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.

Saga Travel's version from the cruise port includes coffee and kleina, the Icelandic doughnut, at Hotel Goðafoss and comes with a return-to-ship guarantee. Afterwards it can drop you at the Forest Lagoon, the botanic garden or in the town centre. Reviewers point out that the drive takes about half an hour each way and the stop is about an hour, and that the paths are tiring for older visitors. BusTravel's three-hour small-group trip adds Geitafoss, which the operator calls the hidden waterfall, and a fjord viewpoint. Star Travel's two-hour express by minibus is built for the time before or after a whale watching trip.

Laufás and the Christmas garden

The Traveling Viking combines Goðafoss with two stops on a four-hour half day with pickup in Akureyri. Laufás is an old turf farm about 30 km from Akureyri, and the entry fee for the heritage site and museum is included. The Christmas garden, which the tour calls the Christmas House, is a different place: it stands at Hrafnagil, about 15 km south of the town, is open every day of the year. Some reviewers found the Christmas stop unnecessary and would have liked more time at the falls and at Laufás.

If you go on your own, check the opening times first. The Akureyri Museum, which looks after Laufás, writes that the heritage site opens again in June 2027 and takes pre-booked groups all year. Visit North Iceland lists the Christmas garden as open from 10:00 to 18:00 in June to August, from 12:00 in September to December and from 14:00 in January to May.

Goðafoss in winter

The falls draw visitors all year, and Saga Travel runs a three-hour winter tour by minibus with pickup in Akureyri and guiding in English, French, Spanish and German. If you drive yourself, the Ring Road is paved and open to all vehicles all year, weather permitting. Check umferdin.is or call 1777 for road conditions, and look at the warnings on safetravel.is.

Daylight is the other limit. On 21 December the sun rises in Akureyri at 11:38 and sets at 14:42, so a winter visit works best around midday. By early March the day is already about ten hours long.

Goðafoss is also part of most day trips to Lake Mývatn and on the Diamond Circle, a loop of roughly 250 km. Those longer days are compared on our Goðafoss and Diamond Circle page.