Akureyri, Iceland on Foot — No Cruise Excursion Needed?
Can you enjoy Akureyri, Iceland, without booking a cruise excursion? We decided to explore this beautiful northern Iceland port entirely on foot—and found much more than we expected. Starting near the cruise ship, we walked through Hof Cultural and Conference Centre, which also houses Akureyri’s tourist information office. From there, we explored downtown and climbed to Akureyrarkirkja, the city’s landmark Lutheran church. Unfortunately, the church wasn’t open, but the building and views over Akureyri were still worth the walk. Our favorite surprise was the enormous Akureyri Botanical Garden. This beautiful public garden covers nearly nine acres and contains thousands of plants despite being located close to the Arctic Circle—and admission is completely free. On our way back toward town, we encountered The Outlaw, a haunting sculpture by Einar Jónsson depicting an outlaw carrying his deceased wife and their child. Downtown, we found rows of colorful shoes decorating Akureyri’s pedestrian street for the city’s summer arts festival, along with an enormous Icelandic troll outside The Viking souvenir shop. We finished our day along the waterfront, enjoying views across Eyjafjörður and stopping at Sigling, or Sailing, a steel sculpture created by the same artist responsible for Reykjavík’s famous Sun Voyager. Akureyri is often used as the starting point for excursions to Goðafoss, Lake Mývatn and other northern Iceland attractions—but how much can cruise passengers experience by simply walking off the ship? Come along and see what we found. We’re Ed and Mai, early retirees traveling the world on a limited budget. Subscribe to Ed & Mai: WanderFree Retirees for honest cruise-port walks, travel experiences and the realities of long-term retirement travel. #Akureyri #IcelandCruise #CruisePort #IcelandTravel #WanderFreeRetirees