Akureyri Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Akureyri is the hub for bus travel in the north. SBA is based at the tourist office and bus terminal on Hafnarstræti, but TREX (899 4660; Kaldbaksgata) has moved to an inconvenient location in the middle of an industrial estate by the harbour. Few are happy about the move and the company is under pressure to return to the bus terminal. Check locally for up-to-date information.

Buses run between Akureyri and Reykjavík twice daily from May to September, departing at 8.30am and 5pm (Ikr6600, 5¾ hours). There is at least one service daily during the rest of the year. From mid-June to the end of August an additional service runs to Reykjavík along the interior’s Kjölur route (Ikr8200, 10 hours), leaving at 8am.

Heading east, there are daily summer buses from Akureyri to Egilsstaðir (Ikr5400, four hours), calling at Reykjahlíð and Skútustaðir, at Mývatn (Ikr2200, 1½ hours). In peak season up to three additional buses run to Mývatn. From June to August there are three daily services to Húsavík (Ikr2300, one hour), from where you can connect to Ásbyrgi and Þórshöfn on weekdays. Buses to Árskógssandur and Dalvík (for the Grímsey and Hrísey ferries) and Ólafsfjörður leave up to four times a day on weekdays.

Car

Akureyri has several rental agencies, and rates here are slightly cheaper than in Reykjavík, from about Ikr6500 per day for a small car with unlimited kilometres and insurance to Ikr12, 500 per day for a small 4WD. For an extra fee of around Ikr4000, most companies will let you pick up a car in Akureyri and drop it off in Reykjavík or vice versa.

Avis (461 2428, national reservations line 591 4000; Akureyri airport)

Budget (660 0629; Akureyri airport)

Hertz (461 1005; Akureyri airport)

National (461 6000; Tryggvabraut 12)

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Air

Iceland Express (in UK 0870 8500737; www.icelandexpress.com) flies twice a week from London Stansted (around £200, three hours).

Air Iceland (460 7000) flies up to seven times daily between Akureyri and Reykjavík (from Ikr5060, 45 minutes), and from Akureyri to Grímsey (from Ikr4865, 25 minutes), Vopnafjörður (from Ikr6125, 45 minutes) and Þórshöfn (from Ikr6125, 45 minutes). All other domestic (and international) flights are via Reykjavík. The airport is 2km south of town.

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