Jökulsárgljúfur National Park Getting there & around

Getting there & away

There are only two roads in the park, one on either side of the canyon. The western approach (Rte F862) isn’t suitable for 2WD vehicles at its southern end (between Rte 1 and Hólmatungur), and its northern end is rough and slow going. On the eastern side of the canyon Rte 864, another rough gravel road, is passable by 2WD vehicles, but its rutted and potholed surface will tire even the most patient of drivers. Although the park is open all year, snowfalls can make the roads impassable between October and May.

From late June to August, daily scheduled buses run from Akureyri (Ikr4900, 3¼ hours) and Húsavík (Ikr2800, 1¾ hours) to major sites in the park. There’s also a daily Mývatn–Dettifoss (Ikr1900, 1½ hours) bus via Krafla (Ikr900, 15 minutes), leaving at 11.30am from the supermarket in Reykjahlíð and returning from Dettifoss at 2pm.