48 Hours in Akureyri, Iceland

The first port of call on my recent Iceland and Ireland cruise back in June was the city of Akureyri, Iceland, located in the northern part of the country and about 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle. My ship was here for two days, so I had plenty of time to explore this beautiful little town.

On the first day here, I didn't have any plans, so I just walked around the town and explored some places within a walking distance from the ship. I went into a couple of small shops and walked around a park in the town. I also walked up to a church that has some amazing views overlooking the harbor.

After leaving the town center, I walked about half a mile to the Akureyri Botanical Garden, where I spent most of my time while ashore on this day. This beautiful garden had a lot of plants that I was surprised to see, given the climate. All of the plants here flourish because of the volcanic soil and are a nice touch to the surrounding scenery.

This botanical garden is quite large and has a nice and cozy cafe in the center. The whole garden can be explored in about 45 minuted to an hour and there are many different species of plants that can be found here.

I would love to visit these gardens again and I recommend anyone who visits Akureyri to do the same.

On my second day in Akureyri, I visited the Godafoss Waterfall, which is located about an hour outside of the city. This was the first waterfall that I visited in Iceland and it was a beautiful sight. However, the weather on this particular day was pretty gloomy, but it was still a great experience. I just wish that I had more time to walk around Godafoss and enjoy the atmosphere of this area.