Akureyri activities

[PhillyTravelBug]

What types of activities are there for Akureyri besides the Goðafoss waterfalls? We have the golden circle booked for Reykjavik and Dynjandi booked for Isafjordur.

 

Is it possible to do kayaking? Is a whale

watching tour worthwhile?

[CCJack]

We took the whale watching... It leaves right down the dock from the ship, and easy walk.   Unfortunately we did not have good weather, cold and wet.   However, I have been on other whale watching (Alaska) which was really fun and great weather.   Whale watching is hit or miss, but generally I think it is a good shot you will have a good time.

 

 

[lynncarol]

In 2016 our cruise-ship spent a full day at Akureyri.  We booked ahead with Saga Tours who gave us a great  eight-hour excursion from the port.  Our van had only eight passengers plus a super guide. We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn, and capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

[janetcbl]

21 minutes ago, lynncarol said:

In 2016 our cruise-ship spent a full day at Akureyri.  We booked ahead with Saga Tours who gave us a great  eight-hour excursion from the port.  Our van had only eight passengers plus a super guide. We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn, and capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

Great way to see the important places in this part of Iceland. 

[Nitemare]

You *can* whale watch from there.  We did it, it was cold and bouncy in June.  I'd suggest you skip whale watching in Iceland and go to New England to do it some other time in much warmer weather.

 

Do things in Iceland you can only do in Iceland.

[edinburgher]

We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn,capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

 

We did the same apart from the swimming bit!  We had a really enjoyable day out, and shared the minibus with others on our sailing.  It was one of our best days in Iceland.

 

Gullfoss and Godafoss are very different waterfalls, so even if you already saw one, the other will be a different experience.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Thanks for some good input. I will skip suggesting a whale watching excursion to our group, but found a kayaking excursion to suggestion with enough time to explore around town. I will also suggest the waterfalls too, it will just be three days of exploring  waterfalls.

[edinburgher]

, it will just be three days of exploring  waterfalls.  

 

They are mightily impressive and different from each other, but you could experience so much more.

 

The tour described above actually shows off some of the natural wonders  which are unique to Iceland and cannot be found anywhere else in the world, which is why they are some of the reasons tourists  visit Iceland, and I  would urge you to give it serious consideration. Did you have different reasons for visiting Iceland?

 

And the Golden Circle is also more than "a waterfall".  It may sound a bit "touristy" to visit Geysir, but once there we surprised ourselves by being especially enthralled by Strokkur which shoots up every few minutes with a truly  impressive display of the force of nature.

 

Kayaking?  you could do that in many other countries..........

Edited January 28, 2023 by edinburgher

[janetcbl]

I am on the same page as edinburgher and would only add that for us, Tingvellir and its geology was the best part of the Golden Circle. As an aside, edinburgher, I love your city. Have spent many wonderful days there and always find something new to “discover”.

[edinburgher]

As an aside, edinburgher, I love your city. Have spent many wonderful days there and always find something new to “discover”.

 

Thank you janetcbl for your comment. I agree that it isn't a bad place to live.  Many tourists coming to Edinburgh are time restricted to the Castle/Old Town/Royal Mile area and completely miss several other lovely/interesting sights which require a stay of several days or subsequent visits, so it was good to read that you take the opportunity to expand your sightseeing areas when you can.

[SueMo]

 I have to ditto edinburgher.  If you have many days in Iceland, whale watching or kayaking makes for a very nice day.  But to do that in place of the amazing things lynncarol did on her tour with Saga, you will be missing out on the essence of Iceland.

[edinburgher]

But to do that in place of the amazing things lynncarol did on her tour with Saga, you will be missing out on the essence of Iceland.

 

SueMo, we also did that one. Post #6  Highly recommended tour. 

 

We had a short amount of time after returning to Akureyri, enough for a quick scoot around town, but we didn't think we missed much by going out on tour.

[SueMo]

3 hours ago, edinburgher said:

But to do that in place of the amazing things lynncarol did on her tour with Saga, you will be missing out on the essence of Iceland.

 

SueMo, we also did that one. Post #6  Highly recommended tour. 

 

We had a short amount of time after returning to Akureyri, enough for a quick scoot around town, but we didn't think we missed much by going out on tour.

Sounds like an amazing day, for sure.  You missed out on the Myvatn baths experience (and it is surely an experience for those of us who don't feel comfortable showering--no bathing suits allowed!) in a shared public shower before enjoying the baths.  Or maybe you didn't miss out?

And we spent some time in Akureyri and agree with your assessment there.  We walked down the Main Street and bought the iconic Icelandic hot dog at a street stand, looked in a couple shops and got pictures in front of some wooden trolls, then had dessert and coffee at a little restaurant.  Nice, but not mind blowing!

[edinburgher]

Nice, but not mind blowing!

 

Same for the Botanical Garden which we  had only a few minutes in, but entrance was free so we raced around a small part of it. We might have admired it more had we had more time in it, but we still preferred the tour.

 

incidentally, I have now noticed your location.We have been to Fort Myers, had four overnights there actually, way back in the day as part of one of our driving tours around Florida..  These gave us three days to explore the avenue with the palms along its length, Sanibel and Captiva islands, and our favourite, the Edison/Ford estates,  which included a tour of the gardens and the exotic flora and fauna . We all enjoyed the estates more than we enjoyed Sanibel and Captiva, which we had not expected..

 

We stayed in FM as our thoughts of staying on one of the islands were dashed by them being almost fully booked  and the little accommodation still available  was wildly expensive.  (it was around Easter)

Edited January 31, 2023 by edinburgher

[sherylc]

We were thinking about doing an itinerary similar to Lynncarol's tour but with a rental car. Assuming we bought appropriate insurance, any reason not to "Do it ourselves"? (we've driven in Iceland before when not on a cruise ship)

[kstetser]

If you want some relaxation - this place looks awesome.  We will be going there in August.  

 

Forestlagoon

 

 

[SueMo]

On 1/31/2023 at 8:54 AM, edinburgher said:

Nice, but not mind blowing!

 

Same for the Botanical Garden which we  had only a few minutes in, but entrance was free so we raced around a small part of it. We might have admired it more had we had more time in it, but we still preferred the tour.

 

incidentally, I have now noticed your location.We have been to Fort Myers, had four overnights there actually, way back in the day as part of one of our driving tours around Florida..  These gave us three days to explore the avenue with the palms along its length, Sanibel and Captiva islands, and our favourite, the Edison/Ford estates,  which included a tour of the gardens and the exotic flora and fauna . We all enjoyed the estates more than we enjoyed Sanibel and Captiva, which we had not expected..

 

We stayed in FM as our thoughts of staying on one of the islands were dashed by them being almost fully booked  and the little accommodation still available  was wildly expensive.  (it was around Easter)

Well, it was good you were able to visit Sanibel and Captiva when you did.  Since Hurricane Ian, not much left there, I am sad to say.  The Edison/Ford Estate is open (a few areas within are still experiencing debris pickup and are closed to the public) but have overall come through the storm ok.

I noticed your home town as well, and we will be there on a cruise in August.  Will definitely be happy to experience the Tattoo for a second time!

 

As for the idea of doing Lynncarol's tour DIY with a rental car, it's definitely doable, but I still would probably opt for the Saga tour if time is limited in port.

[edinburgher]

Well, it was good you were able to visit Sanibel and Captiva when you did.  Since Hurricane Ian, not much left there, I am sad to say.

 

We were sad to read that SueMo, as both were quite pretty with quality beaches, but pleased to read that the Edison/Ford complex was not as badly affected as many of the displays and historical exhibits could not be easily replaced. Perhaps the beaches on Sanibel and Captiva could be replaced if sand were to be trucked in?

What nature gave, nature took away.

 

Enjoy your second trip to the Tattoo.  Fingers crossed for you that the weather is kind that evening.

 

 

[amcc127]

On 1/28/2023 at 6:16 AM, edinburgher said:

We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn,capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

 

We did the same apart from the swimming bit!  We had a really enjoyable day out, and shared the minibus with others on our sailing.  It was one of our best days in Iceland.

 

Gullfoss and Godafoss are very different waterfalls, so even if you already saw one, the other will be a different experience.

This sounds like a great tour for us - me, my husband and 5 boys ages 11-21.  Were there opportunities to explore out of the vehicle or was it mostly on the bus?

 

On 1/31/2023 at 7:13 AM, SueMo said:

Sounds like an amazing day, for sure.  You missed out on the Myvatn baths experience (and it is surely an experience for those of us who don't feel comfortable showering--no bathing suits allowed!) in a shared public shower before enjoying the baths.  Or maybe you didn't miss out?

And we spent some time in Akureyri and agree with your assessment there.  We walked down the Main Street and bought the iconic Icelandic hot dog at a street stand, looked in a couple shops and got pictures in front of some wooden trolls, then had dessert and coffee at a little restaurant.  Nice, but not mind blowing!

The tour description I'm looking at doesn't mention any baths experience...and there are a couple of us that would definitely be uncomfortable with the no bathing suits rule!  Me, that would be me (and my 11 year old).  I know its stupid, and I will never see these folks again but its a lifetime of insecurity to get over and I'd rather not have to stress about it on vacation.

[kaisatsu]

Swimsuits are allowed in the baths. Nudity is only expected is when you shower in the single-sex changing room beforehand. Most people just face the wall and focus on soaping and rinsing, so at most you might see someone's uncovered backside and vice versa.

[edinburgher]

This sounds like a great tour for us - me, my husband and 5 boys ages 11-21.  Were there opportunities to explore out of the vehicle or was it mostly on the bus?

 

Timings may vary depending on ship time in port, but we had a number of short stops along the way.  Guesstimating around 15-20 minutes or so at each but I cannot remember exact timings nor how many stops, only that we had them.

 

Thinking the highlight for your boys will be Namafjall Hverir with the fumaroles and mud pools. We were especially taken with the natural colours of that landscape, something we had not expected.A lovely mix of shades of ochre, yellows etc.  And your boys might enjoy the sulphur smells more than we did. Enjoy.

[lynncarol]

On 1/31/2023 at 7:13 AM, SueMo said:

Sounds like an amazing day, for sure.  You missed out on the Myvatn baths experience (and it is surely an experience for those of us who don't feel comfortable showering--no bathing suits allowed!) in a shared public shower before enjoying the baths.  Or maybe you didn't miss out?

And we spent some time in Akureyri and agree with your assessment there.  We walked down the Main Street and bought the iconic Icelandic hot dog at a street stand, looked in a couple shops and got pictures in front of some wooden trolls, then had dessert and coffee at a little restaurant.  Nice, but not mind blowing!

The showers at the Nature Baths were indeed communal (although gender restricted)  I was a bit shy about the 'exposure' but then a drop-dead gorgeous nude young woman entered and then I knew for sure that nobody would be looking at me .

[Turtles06]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:47 PM, lynncarol said:

In 2016 our cruise-ship spent a full day at Akureyri.  We booked ahead with Saga Tours who gave us a great  eight-hour excursion from the port.  Our van had only eight passengers plus a super guide. We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn, and capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

We did pretty much the same tour in 2018 (different company).  It’s the classic tour out of Akureyri, and it was fabulous. I think it’s a don’t miss — you visit Iceland to see things like this. 
 

 

 

[edinburgher]

I think it’s a don’t miss — you visit Iceland to see things like this. 

 

Turtles06, like yourselves we thoroughly enjoyed that tour, and should we ever return to Akureyri we would actually repeat it, not something we would usually do, but these sights cannot be found anywhere else in the world,and we would not pass up an other opportunity.

Edited February 13, 2023 by edinburgher

[PhillyTravelBug]

I just want to thank everyone for their input, it wasn't hard to convince the group to do the waterfall excursion.