Iceland & Greenland East Greenland
The empty side of Greenland: Scoresby Sund, the largest fjord system on Earth, and the mountain-ringed settlements of Tasiilaq and Kulusuk — expedition country.
North Iceland: things to see
Two towns, three natural wonders, an island and a fjord village — the best of the Arctic coast and its volcanic hinterland.
1. Akureyri
Iceland’s largest town outside the capital region sits at the sheltered head of Eyjafjörður. Climb the steps to the twin-towered church, visit the botanical garden — one of the world’s northernmost — and the small art and aviation museums, and look out for the heart-shaped red traffic lights. The Hlíðarfjall ski area is ten minutes above town.
2. Húsavík and Skjálfandi Bay
A fishing town of about 2,300 people with a pretty wooden church of 1907 and a harbour full of whale-watching boats. Humpbacks are seen on most summer trips, minke whales and dolphins often, blue whales now and then in early summer. The Whale Museum by the quay displays full skeletons.
3. Goðafoss
The ‘waterfall of the gods’, where a lawspeaker is said to have thrown his pagan idols into the river around the year 1000. The Skjálfandafljót falls 12 metres in a 30-metre-wide horseshoe right beside the Ring Road, with paths on both banks.
4. Lake Mývatn
A shallow lake in an active volcanic zone, ringed by sights within a few kilometres of each other: the pseudo-craters at Skútustaðir, the lava towers of Dimmuborgir, the tephra cone Hverfjall, the fumaroles and mud pots of Hverir and the Mývatn Nature Baths. Ducks nest here in huge numbers; so, in summer, do the harmless midges that give the lake its name.
5. Dettifoss and Ásbyrgi
Dettifoss, 44 metres high and 100 metres wide, is among the most powerful waterfalls in Europe, carrying grey glacial meltwater into the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon. Downstream lies Ásbyrgi, a horseshoe-shaped gorge with birch woods beneath 100-metre cliffs. The west-side road to Dettifoss is paved; access is limited in winter.
6. Grímsey
A green island of five square kilometres, 40 km off the coast, with about 60 residents and far more seabirds. The Arctic Circle crosses its northern end, marked by a three-tonne concrete sphere that is moved as the circle shifts. Puffins nest on the cliffs from late April to early August. Ferries sail from Dalvík in about three hours; small planes fly from Akureyri in 30 minutes.
7. Siglufjörður and Tröllaskagi
Iceland’s northernmost town on the mainland, once the herring capital of the North Atlantic, reached through tunnels along the steep Tröllaskagi peninsula. The award-winning Herring Era Museum fills old salting stations on the harbour. The drive from Akureyri via Dalvík and Ólafsfjörður is a highlight in itself.
Destinations
Combine it with
Iceland & Greenland 
Iceland & Greenland West Greenland
Ilulissat and Disko Bay: a fjord choked with icebergs the size of city blocks, whales among the ice, sled dogs and the midnight sun — with Nuuk as the gateway.
Norway & Svalbard Svalbard
Norway’s high-Arctic archipelago, halfway between the mainland and the North Pole: glaciers, polar bears, walrus and the world’s northernmost town.
Plan your trip
Book tours in North Iceland
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