Hrísey and Grímsey, the islands of Akureyri

5 min read Updated October 2026

Akureyri reaches far beyond its fjord. The municipality includes two islands: Hrísey in the middle of the Eyjafjörður, with 164 registered residents at the start of 2024, and Grímsey, about three hours north by ferry, where 53 people were registered in 2022. Both work as a day out from Akureyri if you plan around the ferry times.

Hrísey in the Eyjafjörður

Visit Akureyri calls Hrísey the second-largest island in Iceland after Heimaey, and the island's own website calls it the pearl of the Eyjafjörður. Around 40 bird species nest here, and the ptarmigan is one of the most common. There are four marked trails between 2.3 and 5 km long, and each takes about one to two and a half hours of easy walking.

The village is about five minutes on foot from the ferry. It has a swimming pool, a restaurant, a café, a shop and a campsite, and a museum tells the story of shark hunting from the island and of its history. A short airstrip takes light aircraft only.

The ferry from Árskógssandur

The ferry Sævar leaves from Árskógssandur, about 35 km from Akureyri; drive towards Dalvík and turn off before the town. The crossing takes 15 to 20 minutes. Boats run all year, roughly every two hours between about 7:00 and 23:00, with up to 9 departures a day. Early departures at weekends run only on request, there is no 7:00 boat on Sundays, and from September to May the 23:00 boat sails only if someone orders it. The crew can be reached on board on +354 695 5544. The island's website recommends buying tickets online and links to the timetable and ticket page on ferjur.is.

By bus, take Strætó line 78 towards Dalvík and Siglufjörður to Litli-Árskógssandur. The bus does not drive down into the village, so allow time for the 2 km walk to the harbour. North Sailing's whale watching boats also sail from Árskógssandur, and our whale watching page covers them.

Grímsey on the Arctic Circle

Grímsey is the northernmost part of Iceland, and the Arctic Circle runs across it. The line is not fixed but keeps moving, and stones on the island mark where it lay in 1717, 1817 and 1917. Since 2017 a sphere called Orbis et Globus has stood on the line. The artist Kristinn E. Hrafnsson designed it with Studio Grandi after a competition held in 2013; it measures about three metres across and weighs about eight tonnes. On 27 June 2024 it was moved to the circle's new position, and the plan is to keep moving it until the Arctic Circle leaves the island, which is expected around 2047.

The sphere is about 3.7 km on foot from the harbour and about 2.5 km from the airstrip. The Arctic Coast Way suggests around three hours for the walk there and back. Birdwatching is one of the main reasons to come, and the bird season runs from the end of April to the beginning of August.

Ferry or plane

The ferry Sæfari sails from Dalvík, about 45 km from Akureyri, and takes around three hours each way. The Icelandic Road Administration runs it all year, always leaving Dalvík at 9:00. From October to mid-January it sails on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from mid-January Thursdays are added, and from June to August Sundays as well. In summer you get about four hours on the island, but only two on Thursdays; from October to mid-May the stop is about two hours. Booking ahead is recommended, and on a windy day three hours on open water are a long time, so bring something against seasickness.

Norlandair flies from Akureyri in about 30 minutes, two or three times a week. In winter 2026/27 the plane goes on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but only the Tuesday flight waits about two hours before it returns; on the other days it turns round after a quarter of an hour. In summer both the Tuesday and the Sunday flight leave you about two hours. With either the ferry or the plane the time on the island is tight, which is why the Arctic Coast Way recommends staying a night.

Midnight sun on Grímsey

Akureyri lies just south of the Arctic Circle, so the sun does set there in June, if only briefly. On 21 June 2027 it goes down at 00:57 and comes back up at 01:31, and the night never gets darker than civil twilight. On Grímsey the US Naval Observatory tables show the sun above the horizon all night on 10 June, 21 June and 1 July 2027. If you want to see the sun at midnight in North Iceland, the island is the place to be, and that means an overnight stay. Clouds can of course hide it.

The ferries keep running in winter, but the days are short: on 21 December the sun is up for only about three hours in Akureyri. For the seasons in general, read the best time to visit, and for buses to Dalvík and Árskógssandur see getting around.