This day is pretty straight forward. Check out another waterfall, Akureyri's cool stuff, some turf houses, and head West... You could potentially drive further than Gauksymri, especially if you have 10 days and want to try to make it out into the Western Fjords... otherwise if you want to break up the driving a bit and stay at the Gauksymri lodge, the restaurant in town gives you a 10% discount.
*note Parking in Akureyri is VERY confusing and unlike any other parking system I've seen... but it is FREE. Here's the deets:
Parking is free but you need a clock-card where you set the time of arrival. Parking areas have maximum parking times displayed. You set the clock to show your time of arrival and if you exceed the maximum parking (or try to cheat by setting the clock ahead of the actual time) you run the risk of a fine. The clock-cards are available for free in banks, info-centers, hotels, petrol-stations and many shops in Akureyri. In case you don’t find a clock-card, write the time of parking on a piece of paper and display it in the front window of the car. We did actually see parking police walking around and checking... so this is legit guys.
Also clock-cards only apply for the town center. The free parking time is different according to each area ranging from 15 minutes up to several hours.
Stops
Goðafoss Waterfall
This waterfall as very close to where we stayed the previous night at Kidagil guesthouse. It's yet another beautiful waterfall... even if we only got to see it in flooded muddy conditions.
Again there are 2 viewing banks for this waterfall, both however easy to reach and with different perspectives so we visited both. I particularly liked how close you could get to the falls on this side, however it was also quite a bit more busy.
Standing on the edge! Unfortunately all of the recent rain made Goðafoss quite... brown.
Goðafoss is about 12 m (40 ft) high and 30 m (98 ft) wide!
It got its name in the year 1000 when the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. According to myth, it is said that upon returning from the assembly, Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall making it the waterfall of the gods.
Parking is free and easily accessibly from the ring road on both banks. There is also a pedestrian bridge and a short walk if you would rather walk between the banks. Facilities are on one bank including a small cafe, souvenir shop, and toilets.
Akureyri and following sub stops:
The views are absolutely beautiful as you head into Northern Iceland's largest city.
The town sits on the SE corner of a giant Fjord which made for impressive views as we drove the ring road down into town. The history of the town shows that it took quite some time to develop despite some Norse settlements in the 9th century, no permanent settlements were established until 1778. Even then it would be another 100 years before the city became established as a city.
That being said the city is only second is urban space to Reyk, and has a fun culture about it with many restaurants and even a botanical garden.
Exploring some souvenir shops in downtown. We didn't make it out of there without some cool things including the warmest pair of gloves I've ever owned!
The troll child beckons you into the shop to spend your money
We explored the main part of town and stopped in at the Backpackers cafe for a light lunch/ snack
Akureyri botanical gardens
The top things to do in Akureyri are an aviation museum, botanical garden, oh and Santa's House! Unfortunately we were museum'd out and Santa's House had weird hours only in the late afternoon. So Botanical Garden for us it was!
We loved the magical feel of the gardens with the lights strung all around.
Akureyri actually has a very interesting climate that allows for this botanical garden (without greenhouses). As it is quite a bit inland and protected on all sides by mountains, the winds are kept very calm. The harbor is also one of the calmest in Iceland and one of the few in the north that doesn't have issues freezing. Akureyri has a subpolar oceanic climate bordering a subarctic climate with cold though not severe winters and mild summers. The snow cover starts forming in late October and melts in April. Akureyri is also a very cloudy town (if you couldn't tell from my pictures haha) averaging only 1047 sunshine hours annually, with barely any sunshine between November and February. Precipitation on the other hand is much lower than in southern Iceland: as little as a fifth as much rain as in Vík.
The botanical gardens are free to walk around and there is a cool cafe located in the middle that had some pretty stellar looking desserts. (We'd JUST eaten donuts from a bakery however so we missed out on that)
Akureyrarkirkja
The church/ cathedral is an easy walk from the main city thoroughfare and has great views of the city. We didn't go in this one but we definitely admired the architecture and views of the fjord.
The Christmas House
Affectionately referred to as "Santa's House" we had planned on visiting this spot to get a few Christmas ornaments as souvenirs and maybe let the big man know our desires for the upcoming holidays.. but alas, the hours didn't coincide very well with when we were in the area, so this was another unfortunate miss. If you have the time and you love Christmas, I definitely recommend checking it out!
Here's the hours:
June - August 10.00 - 21.00
September - December 14.00 - 21.00
January - May 14.00 - 18.00
After leaving Akureyri you can take the coast, or head inland. I recommend the inland route here because these are just a few photos from the road as we drove to our next stop.
Glaumbær Turf Farm
Another decently short drive and we started to see some blue skies! Glaumbær is about 20 minutes each way of the ring road but definitely a must see when in the area... for the scenery if nothing else.
There are 2 timber buildings on the grounds that house a gift shop/ tea house and administration offices for the museum. Parking is FREE and there are even free toilets.
A farm has stood on this site since the settlement of Iceland in ca 874 - give or take a few years with people still living in Glaumbær turf house until 1947. The present farmhouse consists of 13 buildings and the "newest" addition to the turf house was built in 1876-1879. The oldest parts of the turf house are from the mid 18th century! In 1947 Glaumbær was declared as a conserved site and is now owned by the National Museum of Iceland. There is even a small museum inside the farm that depicts what life was like to live in turf homes in the 18th/ early 19th centuries.
The site is FREE to park and walk around, an easy spot, and quite scenic! The museum definitely looked interesting but was a bit on the pricey side. If you are interested in going inside here is the practical information:
Hours: Sept 21-Oct 20 April 1 - May 19: 10.00 - 16.00, mon-fri
May 20 - September 20: 9.00 - 18.00, daily.
October 21 - March 31: Open mon-fri by request.
Cost: 1700 ISK per person (age 18+)
1500 ISK for groups (6+) and students
Free for children (age 0-17)
Hvammstangi/ Seal Center
*note the seal center closes a little early so we didn't get there in time to really check it out which was pretty disappointing as it seemed pretty cool. The description of the center and practical information:
"The Icelandic Seal Center in Hvammstangi is a research and exhibition center investigating and detailing the lives of seals found in and around Iceland and also the Tourist Information Center for Húnaþing-vestra, Iceland's number one seal and wildlife watching destination.
In the center you will learn about the different species of seals found along the shores of Iceland, their lives and habits and how to distinguish them apart from one another when you are out on a self or guided seal watching tour. You will also find information on the wildlife of the area, including the notorious Arctic Fox, Eider Duck, famous Puffins, Whales and the abundant sea and inland bird life of the area.
You can watch our scientists at work in our lab, learn about the research that is being done on seals and even help us by collecting data on your travels around the area!
Finally in our "Seal Cinema" you can watch a documentary on the seals found in Iceland and specifaclly in the area around The Icelandic Seal Center."
Practical Information
Opening hours Week days: Saturdays: Sundays:
June 1st - August 31st: 09:00-19:00 09:00-19:00 09:00-19:00
May & September: 10:00-16:00 09:00-16:00 09:00-16:00
October - April: 10:00-15:00 Closed Closed
Admission (prices in ISK):
Individuals kr 1100
Children 0-11 years Free when accompanied by adult
Children 12 – 16 years kr 750
Disabled kr 750
Hvítserkur Rock Formation
Another amazing landscape that we unfortunately missed out on, but would be amazing to check out at sunset when staying near by.
Tips
- See above for information on parking in Akureyri city center. It's seriously weird!
- You have to choose whether to follow the ring road around the coast again to experience more fjords OR take the inland route for the turf houses OR add some serious distance to your drive to try and do both. Personally I recommend the inland route with the turf houses . There will be more fjords later on in the drive and the views driving inland were really beautiful.
- Don't miss out on the... eh interesting street art of Akureyri. It's all over in the city center if you walk around and explore.
Budget
All the stops we visited were free. You can optionally pay to go INSIDE The turf house museum as well as visit the Seal Center.
Lodging:
Gauksymri Lodge
And another decently priced night in a bunk room all together! We had actually no idea that the Gauksymri lodge was on a horse farm... complete with horse trails and race track otherwise we may have saved out riding tour! haha The land was beautiful and the place was a great price and location to break up our drive from Northern Iceland and launch us to the Sneafellsnes peninsula the next day.
We really enjoyed our stay as the beds were comfortable and the breakfast the next morning was fantastic!
The other bonus is that this lodge is just a few minutes outside the small coastal town of Hvammstangi and the owners of the lodge own a great restaurant right down on the water. And since if you bring your key for your room along with you they give you a 10% discount, there was little competition in our minds for dinner.
Food:
Breakfast: Included in hotel stay again and really good!
Backpackers fries and coke: $12
Donuts: $4
Dinner at Sjavarborg Restaurant with 10% discount for 2 amazing burgers $43.50
Rental Car:
Daily rate split with another couple $66
Daily Gas rate split $18