Iceland: the Westfjords, Akureyri and Lake Myvatn

1. Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik

   Keflavik International Airport to your hotel in Reykjavik

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Reykjavik
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Keflavik International Airport (KEF), about 50 km from Reykjavik across the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula. Many flights from North America land early in the morning, so we arrange your private transfer into the city and ask the hotel to hold your bags until your room is ready; early check-in is something we request but cannot promise. The day is yours to sleep, walk the old harbour where the whale-watching boats tie up, climb to Hallgrimskirkja, or soak in one of the city's geothermal pools. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the week is paced, why we take a ferry and three short flights instead of long drives, what the gravel roads are like and what to wear for Westfjords wind. Then we walk together to a welcome dinner in the centre, a first taste of Icelandic fish or lamb and a chance to meet the people you will share the minibus with.

   Included

   • Private transfer from Keflavik International Airport (KEF) to your hotel
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in central Reykjavik

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Stykkisholmur and the ferry to the Westfjords

   Reykjavik by Borgarnes to Stykkisholmur, the Baldur ferry across Breidafjordur to Brjanslaekur, then Patreksfjordur

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Patreksfjordur
   Day 2 details

   We leave Reykjavik at 9 am and head north under the Hvalfjordur tunnel to Borgarnes for a coffee stop, then cross the Snaefellsnes Peninsula to Stykkisholmur, a harbour town of old timber houses on Breidafjordur, about two and a quarter hours of driving in all. Lunch is included in town, and there is time to climb the basalt island of Sugandisey by the harbour for the view over the bay and its scattered islands. In the afternoon the minibus drives onto the Baldur car ferry for the crossing to Brjanslaekur, about two and a half hours with a short stop at the island of Flatey; it is a chance to sit, look for seabirds and let someone else do the travelling. From the ferry landing it is about an hour over the Kleifaheidi pass to Patreksfjordur, our base for two nights, where dinner is included tonight. A long day in time, but only about three hours in the vehicle.

   Included

   • Coffee stop in Borgarnes
   • Stykkisholmur and the walk up Sugandisey
   • Lunch in Stykkisholmur
   • Baldur car ferry from Stykkisholmur to Brjanslaekur, by Flatey
   • Dinner in Patreksfjordur

   Activity: The ferry crossing can be choppy; it has indoor seating and a cafe. The Sugandisey steps are short but steep.

   

3. Day 3: Latrabjarg bird cliffs

   Patreksfjordur to Hnjotur, Breidavik and Latrabjarg, and back to Patreksfjordur

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Patreksfjordur
   Day 3 details

   A day for the westernmost point of Iceland. We leave after a slow breakfast and follow the south shore of Patreksfjordur to Hnjotur, a small museum of Westfjords life gathered by a local farmer, with entry included. The last stretch is a gravel road past the pale sand of Breidavik to the lighthouse at Bjargtangar, where the Latrabjarg cliffs begin: about 14 km of sea cliff rising to around 440 m. From about late May to mid-August puffins nest in burrows along the top, often a few metres from the path, alongside razorbills, guillemots and fulmars. Lie flat, keep back from the edge, which is undercut and has no fence, and the puffins carry on. Lunch is a picnic we bring from Patreksfjordur, since there is almost nowhere to buy food out here. We are back by late afternoon with the evening free; on request your guide can take a smaller group back out in the evening, when puffins are often busiest.

   Included

   • Hnjotur museum (in season)
   • Breidavik beach
   • Latrabjarg bird cliffs and the Bjargtangar lighthouse with your guide
   • Picnic lunch at Latrabjarg

   Easier option: Stay on the short paths near the lighthouse, where the puffins are as close as anywhere, and wait in the minibus when the wind is strong.

   More active option: Walk east along the cliff top for up to two hours, with the minibus collecting you further along the road.

   Free time: Evening free in Patreksfjordur

   Activity: The cliff edge is unfenced and undercut. Stay several metres back. The last part of the road is gravel and slow.

4. Day 4: Dynjandi and on to Isafjordur

   Patreksfjordur by Bildudalur over Dynjandisheidi to Dynjandi, then Thingeyri and Isafjordur

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Isafjordur
   Day 4 details

   We drive north round the fjords by the fishing village of Bildudalur and climb onto the Dynjandisheidi plateau, a high, empty road with gravel stretches, then drop to Dynjandi at the head of Arnarfjordur. The waterfall falls about 100 m down the mountainside in a broad, tiered veil, with smaller falls below it along the path. The walk up to its foot takes 15 to 20 minutes and climbs steadily, passing five lower falls on the way. Lunch is included in Thingeyri, a small village on Dyrafjordur, reached through a tunnel opened in 2020. Another tunnel takes us through the mountain to Isafjordur, the largest town in the Westfjords, set on a sand spit in a deep fjord. We arrive by mid-afternoon. Your guide walks you through the old quarter to the Westfjords Heritage Museum, in 18th-century trading houses by the harbour, with entry included, and the evening is free. About three hours of driving today.

   Included

   • Dynjandi and the falls below it with your guide
   • Lunch in Thingeyri
   • Walk in Isafjordur's old quarter
   • Westfjords Heritage Museum (in season)

   Easier option: See Dynjandi from the lowest falls near the car park and skip the climb.

   Free time: Evening free in Isafjordur

   Activity: The path up Dynjandi is rocky and climbs about 100 m. The Dynjandisheidi road has gravel sections.

   

5. Day 5: Fly from Isafjordur to Akureyri

   Isafjordur by air to Reykjavik, then on to Akureyri

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Akureyri
   Day 5 details

   Isafjordur to Akureyri is about 565 km by road, around seven hours, so we fly. The morning is free for a coffee in town or a walk along the harbour, then the minibus takes us the short way to Isafjordur airport. The flight to Reykjavik's city airport follows the fjords and takes about 40 minutes; lunch is included in Reykjavik before the onward flight to Akureyri, about 45 minutes more. A second minibus and driver meet us there, and the hotel is a few minutes away in the centre of Akureyri, Iceland's largest town outside the capital area, at the head of the long Eyjafjordur fjord. The evening is free to walk the main street and harbour. Isafjordur flights depend on the weather in the fjord. If they cannot fly, our Westfjords minibus drives the group to Akureyri instead: about seven hours with lunch and stops at Holmavik and on the Ring Road, the one day that would go well over our four-hour limit.

   Included

   • Flights from Isafjordur (IFJ) to Reykjavik (RKV) and on to Akureyri (AEY), with transfers at both ends
   • Lunch in Reykjavik between flights

   Free time: Morning free in Isafjordur, evening free in Akureyri

   Activity: Domestic flights carry a smaller checked-bag allowance than international ones; we confirm the allowance with your final itinerary.

   

6. Day 6: Whales from Husavik and Godafoss

   Akureyri through the Vadlaheidi tunnel to Husavik, then Godafoss and back to Akureyri

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Akureyri
   Day 6 details

   A tunnel under the Vadlaheidi ridge, its toll included, cuts the drive to Husavik to about an hour. This small harbour town on Skjalfandi bay has been a whale-watching base since the 1990s, and our boat goes out on a morning departure for about three hours. Humpback and minke whales feed in the bay through the summer, often with dolphins and seabirds working the same water; sightings are likely in season but never certain, and boats usually hand out warm overalls on board. Lunch is included in Husavik, with time for the whale museum in an old slaughterhouse by the harbour if you want it. On the way back we stop at Godafoss, where the Skjalfandafljot river drops about 12 m in a wide horseshoe; the story goes that around the year 1000 the lawspeaker Thorgeir threw his carvings of the old gods into it when Iceland adopted Christianity. We are back in Akureyri by late afternoon, with the evening free.

   Included

   • Whale-watching boat from Husavik, about 3 hours
   • Lunch in Husavik
   • Godafoss with your guide
   • Vadlaheidi tunnel toll

   Optional experiences

   • Husavik Whale Museum (extra, pay on the day)

   Free time: Evening free in Akureyri

   Activity: The boat deck can be cold and wet even in summer; seasickness tablets help if you are prone to it.

   

7. Day 7: Akureyri to Lake Myvatn

   Akureyri to the Skutustadir pseudocraters, Dimmuborgir and Hverir, around Lake Myvatn

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Lake Myvatn
   Day 7 details

   Your guide starts the day with a walk in Akureyri: up the steps to Akureyrarkirkja and through the botanical garden, planted with Icelandic and imported species since the early 20th century. Lunch is on your own in town. Then it is about an hour and a quarter east to Lake Myvatn. On the south shore we walk among the Skutustadir pseudocraters, green craters made by steam explosions when lava flowed over wetland. Next is Dimmuborgir, a maze of lava towers and arches left when a lava lake drained about 2,300 years ago, and then Hverir, below the Namafjall ridge, with boiling mud pots, steam vents and ground streaked yellow with sulphur; the paths are roped for a reason. In the late afternoon, after most day groups have gone, your entry to the Myvatn Nature Baths is included: milky blue geothermal water looking out over the lake. We end with a group dinner, the last evening together.

   Included

   • Walk in Akureyri with your guide: Akureyrarkirkja and the botanical garden
   • Skutustadir pseudocraters
   • Dimmuborgir lava formations
   • Hverir geothermal field
   • Myvatn Nature Baths entry
   • Group dinner at Lake Myvatn

   Easier option: Take the shortest marked loops at the pseudocraters and Dimmuborgir and go to the Nature Baths earlier.

   More active option: Walk the longer Kirkjan loop in Dimmuborgir, about an hour on uneven lava paths.

   Activity: Stay on the marked paths at Hverir: the ground beside them can be scalding.

   

8. Day 8: Fly back to Reykjavik

   Lake Myvatn to Akureyri Airport, then a flight to Reykjavik

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   A free early morning at the lake: walk the shore, or climb to the rim of Hverfjall, the tephra crater on the east side, for a last view of the whole lake. After breakfast we drive back west past Godafoss to Akureyri Airport, about an hour and a quarter, and take a domestic flight of about 45 minutes to Reykjavik's city airport, instead of a five-hour drive. Your guide says goodbye at Reykjavik and our transfer takes you on, either to a hotel in central Reykjavik if you are staying longer, or to Keflavik International Airport, about 50 km away. If you fly home the same day, book an international flight leaving Keflavik after about 5 pm; many flights to North America leave in the late afternoon, so this usually works. If your flight is earlier, add a night in Reykjavik and we will book it, with time to walk the old harbour and the Harpa concert hall.

   Included

   • Transfer to Akureyri Airport
   • Flight from Akureyri (AEY) to Reykjavik (RKV)
   • Transfer to your Reykjavik hotel or Keflavik International Airport (KEF)

   Optional experiences

   • Extra night in Reykjavik (extra, booked on request)

   More active option: Climb to the rim of Hverfjall before breakfast, about an hour up and back on a steep gravel path.

   Free time: Early morning free at Lake Myvatn

   Activity: Book an international flight leaving Keflavik after about 5 pm, or add a night in Reykjavik.

   

Wildlife and weather: From June to July the nights barely get dark. Puffins nest at Latrabjarg from about late May to mid-August; arctic foxes are sometimes seen in the Westfjords. Humpback and minke whales feed in Skjalfandi bay through the summer, though no trip can promise a sighting. On September departures the first dark nights bring a chance of the Northern Lights, and the puffins have mostly left.

• Reykjavik1 night
• Patreksfjordur2 nights
• Isafjordur1 night
• Akureyri2 nights
• Lake Myvatn1 night