Day 3 Northern Iceland from Laugarbakki to Akureyri
This is our 3rd day from our Iceland Ring Road trip driving trough Northern Iceland from Laygarbaki to Akureyri!
In Iceland each day is a new adventure and the northern Iceland tour is not an exception!
After a good breakfast, we continued our drive along the Ring Road. We split the Ring Road tour into 7 parts, each day bringing new places and natural wonders in our way, all waiting to be discovered.
For that day we planned a 300 km trip along with North Iceland, from Laugarbakki to Akureiri. 300 km?! I know it’s a lot but we have a plane to catch in a few days and the Ring Road is just at the beginning!
By the way, did you know that Akureyri is the capital of the north and one of the best places for whale watching? Yes, it is! So, it is a must to visit this picturesque and representative town on the island. There are plenty of choices for accommodation in the area. All of them have clean rooms and a nice location.
Check our choices for accommodation in Akureyri accomodations in Akureyri area
But until we arrived at our destination, beautiful landscapes and unique natural sites were waiting to be discovered. On this part of the country, there are fewer tourists’ attractions than on the south.
The landscape overall is unique and beautiful. It is very hard to name the places where to go! Just stop when you can and enjoy the view; it is very relaxing and peaceful. It may not be the best place to see the Northern Lights but the landscape is stunning. Still, I will tell you some must-see points you should include in your personal travel itinerary if you visit Iceland.
Must-see attractions to be included in your Northern Iceland travel itinerary from Laugarbakki to Akureyri
An interesting stop was at Hofsos. There you can find a swimming pool with geothermal waters designed by the Blue Lagoon designer. The pool is on top of a hill overlooking the fjord. From the pool the view is breathtaking; you have the feeling that you are in a cloud on top of the world.
The way water and land intertwine is fascinating. We can’t get enough of it.
In my opinion, it is almost impossible to get bored when you visit Iceland! Hours become minutes and minutes seconds while you admire and enjoy the scenery! Northern Iceland tour is more spectacular than we have ever thought!
When we look at the clock it was midday! Oh! In a minute I understood why I was hungry! Hihi! But where to eat? Akureyri was still far!
So we decided to head to Siglufjordur, our lunch destination for that day.
Siglufjordur is a small fishing village which was built on the herring industry. The glory period of this village from North Iceland was the 40s but now it remains just a shadow of what it was. If you want to find out more about this small village we recommend you to visit the local museum. It is a representative place and helps you get a better image of that part of the country!
In this small village, we had one of the best salmon steaks we had ever eat! There were not many restaurant nor many options on the menu, but the fish was very tasty and fresh!
We walked again from the restaurant to the local fisherman port because the weather was very nice and after that, we pick our car from the parking lot and we were ready to hit the road again!
Heading to Akureyri, the capital of Northern Iceland
After that tasty lunch, we headed up to our final destination, the capital of the north.
On our journey, we stopped many times to admire the views. We just could not pass by all that natural wonders without stopping. And so the time was passing and the night was coming quickly!
The conversation between me and my partner was always like this:
Look how beautiful is this place! Please stop the car! I know it is late but I cannot pass without a picture stop! I promise it is the last time I ask you to stop!
Obviously, I said that many times that nobody believed me anymore! But it is not my fault that North Iceland is so beautiful!
Just before getting dark, we arrived at Akureyri. It was very strange to see people, cars, supermarkets, coffee houses and fancy restaurants. Don’t expect to arrive in a metropolis, but compared to what we saw in the last two days of visit Iceland it was like we get back to civilization.
We spent our night Apt. Hotel Hjalteyri. We found the location a little remote but this was not an inconvenience for us. The room was very clean and the breakfast varied and tasty. For sure we will come back there if we would have the chance. You should include this accommodation into your list when visit Iceland.
It was a very relaxing day full of beautiful places and unique scenery in Northern Iceland! I was fascinated by the beauty of the country!
Next day on our Journey to visit Iceland we went from Akureyr to Myvatn. You can continue reading our Iceland adventure here: