Planning a trip to Iceland's Northeast Corner
Getting There & Around
By Car -- The northeast corner is literally out of the loop, as the Ring Road cuts inland from Mývatn to Egilsstaðir. Route 85 circles the coastline instead; the distance from Húsavík to Vopnafjörður is around 300km (186 miles), mostly unpaved. Route 867 is a tempting shortcut across the Melrakkaslétta Peninsula; but road conditions are poor, and drivers in regular cars are advised to stick with Route 85. A new road across Melrakkaslétta may be completed by 2010.
In Vopnafjörður, the only car-rental agency is National/Bílaleiga Akureyrar (tel. 461-6000; www.holdur.is). In Þórshöfn, the only company is Avis (tel. 591-4000; local tel. 660-0609; www.avis.is).
By Bus -- Trex (tel. 587-6000; www.trex.is) operates one bus on weekdays year-round from Akureyri to Þórshöfn, with a bus change at Húsavík and stops at Ásbyrgi, Kópasker, and Raufarhöfn. The bus departs Akureyri at 8:30am and reaches Þórshöfn at 12:45pm; the return trip is from 1:30pm to 6:16pm. A one-way ticket from Akureyri to Þórshöfn is 6,100kr ($98/£49). No buses go to Vopnafjörður.
By Plane -- Every weekday, Air Iceland (tel. 570-3030; www.airiceland.is) connects Akureyri to Þórshöfn and Vopnafjörður; service may increase to two flights per weekday in summer. All flights from Reykjavík to Þórshöfn or Vopnafjörður connect through Akureyri. Typical airfares to Þórshöfn or Vopnafjörður are 14,000kr ($224/£112) from Reykjavík or 8,000kr ($128/£64) from Akureyri.
Visitor Information
The tourist information office in Akureyri can offer general help. In Raufarhöfn the most knowledgeable figure is Erlingur Þoroddsen, proprietor of Hotel Norðurljós (tel. 465-1233; hotel@raufarhofn.is), and basic service information is listed at www.raufarhofn.is. In Þórshöfn, tourist information is at the local swimming pool, Langanesvegur (tel. 468-1515; www.thorshofn.is; mid-June to Aug Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun 11am-5pm; Sept to mid-June Mon-Thurs 4-8pm, Fri 3-7pm, Sat 11am-2pm). In Vopnafjörður, tourist information is next to the fish factory at Hafnarbyggð 4 (tel. 473-1331; Jun-Aug 10am-5pm).
