Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [175]
The ski season usually runs between mid-December and the end of April, with the best conditions in February and March. In the long hours of winter darkness, the downhill runs are floodlit. The ski lodge has a restaurant, and a ski school offers individual and group instruction and equipment hire. In season, buses connect the site with Akureyri one time daily (Ikr500 round-trip), although it’s best to ask at the information centre as this service is sometimes postponed.
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TOURS
If you would like help booking tours, visit the tourism information centre Click here or Nonni Travel.
From June to September, SBA runs sightseeing tours to Mývatn (Ikr9500, nine hours), departing at around 8.15am daily from the airport and around 8.30am from the bus terminal/tourist information centre. These trips are linked with the early-morning arrival of the Reykjavík–Akureyri domestic flight, and if the flight is delayed, the tour is often delayed as well. There’s a 10% discount for those with the overland highland bus pass.
Other summer tours include daily Akureyri city tours (Ikr2500), whale watching at Húsavík (Ikr9500), Askja ‘super-Jeep’ tours (Ikr19,400), and self-guided trips by bus and ferry to Hrísey (Ikr3200). Rafting trips in Varmahlið (Ikr9800) can also be organised from Akureyri, as can horse riding, and Arctic Circle flights (Ikr18,370, 10 June to 20 August). Click here for information on getting to Grímsey. Sightseeing charter flights Click here can be organised at the tourist information centre or at Nonni Travel. Day trips to Greenland can also be arranged from Akureyri, but it is easier and more cost-efficient to base yourself in Reykjavík for that trip.
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Akureyri’s annual arts festival runs for 10 weeks from late June to late August and attracts artists and musicians from around Iceland. There are special exhibitions, concerts, free jazz at 9.30pm on Thursdays, theatre performances and everything from clay-pigeon shooting to historical walks. It all culminates in a weekend street party and parade. For details on events and exhibitions, contact the tourist office or 462 7733.
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DIVING IN EYJAFJÖRÐUR
Thoughts of scuba usually involve sun-kissed beaches and neon tropical fish, so perhaps it’s surprising that some of the world’s most fascinating diving lies within Iceland’s frigid waters. Most bubble-blowers flock to crystalline Silfra, but the real diving dynamo, known as ‘strýtan’, lurks beneath the lapping waves of Eyjafjörður. Strýtan, a giant cone (55m) soaring up from the ocean floor, commands a striking presence as it spews out gushing hot water. This conical structure – made from deposits of magnesium-silicate – is truly an anomaly. You see, the only other strýtan-like structures ever discovered were found at a depth of 5000m; strýtan’s peak is a mere 15m below the surface.
We had the opportunity to grab a meal with the man who discovered strýtan – Erlendur Bogason – and over a hearty plate of home-cooked reindeer, he told us all about Eyjafjörður’s other scuba superlatives.
In addition to majestic strýtan, there are smaller steam cones on the other side of the fjord. Known as Artnanesstrýtur (also dubbed ‘French Gardens’), these smaller formations aren’t as spectacular, but it’s fun to bring down guillemot eggs and cook them over the vents. Actually, the water that bubbles up is completely devoid of salt, so you can put a thermos over any of the vents, bottle the boiling water, and use it to make hot chocolate when you get back to the surface!
Diving around the island of Grimsey is also a very memorable experience – it’s one of the only places in the Arctic Circle where you can dive recreationally. The water is surprisingly clear here, but the main draw is the birdlife. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Bazaars of guillemots swoop down deep as they search for food.