Shore Excursions From Akureyri Port to Lake Mývatn
Ships dock at Tangarbryggja or Oddeyrarbryggja, both inside a ten-minute walk of the square where the tour buses wait. Four independent excursions run the Mývatn route on port days, they cost $132 to $184.47 against the $200 and up a cruise line charges for the same road, and every one of them is timed against your ship rather than a clock. What follows is what each one stops at, how long it gives you there, and which one to take if your call is short.
The Port Run at a Glance
Check Your Port Date
Live availability for the Saga Travel departure. Days with two ships in port sell out first, so check the date before you check the price.
Which Excursion to Pick
The safe default: Saga Travel, $176.50
Of the nine Lake Mývatn day trips that run from Akureyri, four are built around ship arrivals and this is the strongest of them. It carries 4.77 from 424 reviews, the strongest combination of rating and sample size of the four. It gives a full hour at Goðafoss with the guide talking, 70 minutes at Dimmuborgir, and coffee with kleina, the twisted Icelandic doughnut, at Hotel Goðafoss on the way.
Lunch is not included. Reviewers keep mentioning the same thing: small friendly groups and guides who adapt the route when the port throws in an extra pick-up.
The cheapest: Soleil de Minuit, $132
Forty-four dollars less than the Saga run and honest about what it is. Transport and guiding, nothing else. It reaches Mývatn first and works backwards to Goðafoss, which puts you at the waterfall in the afternoon when the west bank has lost the light.
Rated 4.53 from 108 reviews, the lowest of the four, with complaints pointing at the harbour meeting point being hard to find rather than the day itself. Not suitable for wheelchair users.
The one with the lagoon: Imagine Iceland, $176.50
A small minibus of 11 to 19 seats that trades a shorter stop at each sight for an hour at the geothermal baths at the end, entry paid separately. Grjótagjá goes in as an optional extra when the group wants it. Rated 4.70 from 297 reviews.
Paul, who travelled in July 2026, recommended taking the bath option over the cave and running the red loop into the blue trail at Dimmuborgir if you walk fast.
The longest list of stops: Magic Iceland, $184.47
The most expensive of the four and the one that squeezes in the most: Ljósavatn on the way out, Goðafoss, the pseudo-craters, Dimmuborgir, Grjótagjá and the Fly Lands. Rated 4.67 from 56 reviews, a small sample. Two reviewers in July 2026 mentioned insects at the lake in the same sentence as the word net.
Not suitable for people with mobility impairments.
The Four Port Excursions
Prices per person in US dollars, taken from the operators' own pages and rechecked when this guide was updated.
from $176.50 
from $176.50 
from $132.00 
from $184.47 Side by Side
Every one of these returns you to the pier before sailing and cancels free 24 hours out. What differs is the stop list, the bus and what lands on the bill afterwards.
| Excursion | Price | Rating | Book | Extra stop | Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saga Travel | $176.50 | 4.77 (424) | Hour at Goðafoss | Coffee and kleina | |
| Imagine Iceland | $176.50 | 4.70 (297) | Geothermal baths, extra fee | Small minibus, café stop | |
| Soleil de Minuit | $132.00 | 4.53 (108) | Break at Reykjahlíð | Transport and guide only | |
| Magic Iceland | $184.47 | 4.67 (56) | Ljósavatn and Grjótagjá | Lunch time, no food |
What You See on the Way
Goðafoss, 35 minutes out of town
The first stop on three of the four. The Skjálfandafljót drops about 12 m over a curved ledge roughly 30 m wide, close enough to Route 1 that the car park is the viewpoint. Paths run down both banks.
Guides usually send you left, because the west side keeps the light through the morning and gives you the horseshoe head on.
- Saga Travel: one hour, with commentary
- Imagine Iceland: 25 minutes, guided
- Magic Iceland: photo stop plus free time
- Soleil de Minuit: 45 minutes, on the way back
The lake itself
Skútustaðagígar comes first for most groups, a field of grassy pseudo-craters on the south shore where lava met wet ground and blew steam rings into the air about 2,300 years ago. Then Dimmuborgir, a drained lava lake that left pillars and arches standing, with trails from twenty minutes to an hour. Hverir sits east over the pass, bare orange clay with mud pools and vents where the ground runs past 200°C a short way down.
That contrast, green craters to boiling clay inside 20 km, is the whole reason this excursion exists.
What the Price Covers
Included on all four
A seat on a bus or minibus with a licensed guide, the full round trip from the pier area, and a schedule built against your ship's departure. WiFi comes as standard on three of them. Free cancellation runs to 24 hours before departure and nobody takes payment at booking.
- Return transport from the port area of Akureyri
- English-speaking guide for the whole day
- Entry to every sight, since none of them charge
- Cruise return timing built into the itinerary
Not included
Lunch, on all four. Two stop at a café or a small food market, and one hands out coffee and a kleina at Hotel Goðafoss. The geothermal baths cost extra where they appear at all.
Bring swimwear and a towel if you book the excursion that stops there, since towel hire adds another charge on site.
The Saga Travel Route, Stop by Stop
-
Departure
Laufásgata 1, Akureyri
A short walk from both cruise piers. The guide meets the group by the buses.
-
30 min drive
Goðafoss Waterfall
One hour on site with commentary, plus coffee and kleina at Hotel Goðafoss.
-
30 min drive
Lake Mývatn
Thirty minutes on the shore, with the pseudo-craters and the islands in view.
-
10 min drive
Dimmuborgir
Seventy minutes among the lava pillars, the longest stop of the day, with a break.
-
10 min drive
Hverir
Thirty minutes on the geothermal ground below Námafjall.
-
90 min drive
Back to the pier
Straight run west on Route 1, returning well before sailing time.
Worth Knowing Before the Gangway
Book independently, not through the ship
The cruise line sells the same road for a good deal more. What you lose by booking direct is the ship's guarantee that it waits for you. What you get instead is a written return guarantee from two of these four operators and a schedule that reads your ship's manifest anyway.
Every one of these buses has been running port days for years and none of them wants the phone call that follows a missed sailing.
Midges, in one sentence
Between June and August the shore fills with them. A head net costs a few hundred krónur in any Akureyri shop, guides carry spares, and reviewers who mention the insects almost always mention the net in the next breath. The packing list for the lake has the rest.
Finding the bus
Tangarbryggja and Oddeyrarbryggja are ten minutes apart on foot. Meeting points sit at Laufásgata 1 and 2 and at the Gránufélagsgata car park, all of them in the same few blocks behind the terminal. The one recurring complaint across these reviews is people walking the wrong way at the start, so screenshot the map before your phone loses signal.
Where the Route Goes
East from Akureyri on Route 1, past Goðafoss at the 45 km mark, then a loop of the lake on road 848 before turning back.
Who These Suit
Take one if
You are in port for eight hours or more, you want the geothermal ground rather than a walk around town, and you would rather someone else drove 200 km of it.
- Short call, tight return: Saga Travel or Imagine Iceland, both with return guarantees
- Watching the budget: Soleil de Minuit at $132, no food, no frills
- Want the lagoon at the end: Imagine Iceland, entry paid on the day
- Want the longest stop list: Magic Iceland, at the highest price
Skip them if
Your call is six hours or less. The drive alone eats three of them and the day stops being worth the money. Whale watching from the harbour or the botanical garden and pool in town fit a short call better.
Anyone with a mobility limit should read the fine print: two of these four exclude wheelchair users or passengers with mobility impairments, and the ground at Hverir and Dimmuborgir is uneven throughout.
Questions From the Pier
Will the bus wait if the ship is late docking?
Departures are set against the published arrival, and the guides know when your ship berths. Two of these operators sell an explicit cruise return guarantee. If your arrival slips by more than an hour, message the operator through your booking rather than assuming, since they can usually move you to a later departure the same day.
How much cheaper is this than the cruise line excursion?
These run $132 to $184.47 per person. The equivalent tour sold on board typically starts around $200 and climbs from there. One reviewer on the Mývatn run put it plainly: very reasonable compared to cruise excursions.
Is six hours enough to see Lake Mývatn?
For the classic ring, yes. Goðafoss, the pseudo-craters, Dimmuborgir and Hverir all fit, which is what these itineraries do. Krafla, the Víti crater and Lofthellir need a second day, and there is a longer tour that finishes at the geothermal baths if you would rather trade a stop for a soak.
Do I need cash?
No. Iceland runs on cards down to the last coffee, and the cafés at Goðafoss and Dimmuborgir take them. The only thing worth carrying is a card with no foreign transaction fee.
What should I wear in July?
A shell over a warm layer, and shoes with grip. July highs at the lake average 14°C and the wind at Hverir does not care what the forecast said. Add a head net for the shore.
Can I do this without a cruise?
Yes, though the pick-up points suit port arrivals. If you are staying in town, the day trip with hotel pick-up collects you from 19 addresses around Akureyri and includes lunch, which the port excursions do not. The full comparison of Lake Mývatn day trips sits on the homepage.
What Passengers Wrote
Nice guys (driver and guide) with well informed and light hearted commentary, great company with small friendly group, and great weather made this a day to remember.
Anna was one of the best guides we've ever had. This was the best excursion on our cruise. The 4 different stops were all different and beautiful.
Great trip. I would recommend doing the hot spring bath vs cave tour. You do have to pay extra for the baths but they were great at the end of the trip. If you hike fast do the red loop to the blue trail at the lava fields.