Akureyri: Godafoss & Lake Myvatn with Cruise Pickup

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/10

Duration5h–6h

GroupUp to 19

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Godafoss and Lake Myvatn: What Cruise Passengers See in One Stop

You drive from Akureyri Port to Godafoss waterfall, then spend the afternoon at Lake Myvatn visiting Dimmuborgir lava formations and Hverir mud pools with steam vents. You can either soak at Myvatn Nature Baths (book entry separately) or visit Grjotagja cave and rift. A local guide handles transport and timing, returning you to the port before your ship departs.

5h–6h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Godafoss and Lake Myvatn sites

Depart from Akureyri Port
Visit Godafoss waterfall
Explore Dimmuborgir Lava formations
See bubbling Hverir mud pools and fumaroles
Visit Grjotagja cave and rift
Stop at Myvatn Nature Baths and cafe

The Experience

You're driving out of Akureyri Port with a local guide, heading northeast toward the waterfall first. Godafoss hits you before you're ready for it — the water just drops, and the scale of it doesn't register until you're standing there. The name means "Waterfall of the Gods," and the guide will tell you why, but honestly the thing speaks for itself. From there it's about an hour to Lake Myvatn, and the landscape shifts as you go: volcanic, sparse, the kind of place that looks like nothing else on earth.

Lake Myvatn itself is a collection of stops rather than a single thing. You'll walk through Dimmuborgir, the lava formations that locals call the Dark Castle — the rock is black and jagged and somehow both delicate and brutal at the same time. Then Námaskarð, where the ground steams and bubbles. The Hverir mud pools are the main event there: they're hot, they smell like sulfur, and they move. Your guide will point out which ones are safe to approach and which ones aren't. If you want to soak, the Myvatn Nature Baths are on the route, but the entrance fee isn't included and you'll need to book your time slot at least three hours after the tour starts — that's the only way they manage the flow. If you skip the baths, the guide takes the group to Grjotagja cave instead, which sits in a rift between the Eurasian and American continental plates. Either way, you're not standing still.

The whole day runs with cruise ship timing in mind, so you're back at the port with time to spare before departure. Transport and the guide are included; you just bring yourself and decide on the baths as you go. Small groups mean you're not herding through these places with fifty other people, which matters when you're trying to hear the ground hiss and see the detail in the rock.

What’s included

Your day includes guided transport from Akureyri Port, stops at Godafoss waterfall, Dimmuborgir lava formations, Námaskarð area with Hverir mud pools and natural steam vents, and either entry time at Myvatn Nature Baths (book separately) or a visit to Grjotagja cave and rift. Pickup and drop-off at the port are included; the guide handles all navigation and timing.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by Imagine Iceland Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you're on a cruise ship docking at Akureyri and want to see the region's main natural sites without arranging your own transport or worrying about getting back to the port on time — the guide knows the schedule and the route, which is what makes a full Lake Myvatn day possible in a port stop.