Akureyri, with a population of around 18,000, is the largest town in Iceland outside the Southwest region, and the unofficial capital of North Iceland.
GET IN
By car or bus
The city is linked to the rest of Iceland via the Ring Road, the highway that circles the island along the coastline. Buses between Reykjavík and Akureyri are operated by Strætó, while buses from Egilsstaðir and various other towns to the east of Akureyri are operated by SBA and Sterna along with some routes with Strætó.
By plane
Akureyri has an airport with flights to and from Reykjavik Airport on domestic carrier Air Iceland several times a day. Air Iceland also has flights from Akureyri to three smaller villages: Grímsey (a small island to the north of Iceland, on the arctic circle), Þórshöfn (in the northeast on Langanes peninsula) and Vopnafjörður (the northernmost fjord in East Iceland).
Seasonal flights between Akureyri and Copenhagen are operated by Iceland Express.
Get around
Being Iceland's northern capital doesn't mean Akureyri is a huge metropolis. Although it can get a bit hilly leaving the waterline, walking distances are reasonable for a fit traveller.
Akureyri has a public bus system, called SVA, which is free for all. The buses are not very frequent--each line has a bus every hour or so. The buses stop running at 23:00 on weekdays and only run between 12:00 and 18:00 on weekends and holidays, but when they're free why complain?
BSÓ is the only taxi company in town, and they have a taxi rank in the centre of town.
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