Where to stay in Akureyri

Base in the walkable town centre for the church, harbour and cafes; choose Brekkan for self-catering parking, and skip the fjord farm-stays unless you're driving for aurora.

Written by the Departly editorial team Reviewed against GOV.UK on 10 Jun 2026

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In short

Where to stay in Akureyri

For a first trip to Akureyri, stay in the town centre around Hafnarstræti and the stepped Akureyrarkirkja church — it's so compact that the whale-watching harbour, the cafes, the supermarkets and the airport bus are all a flat ten-minute walk away, which matters when you're using the town as a calm evening base and spending your days out at Goðafoss, Mývatn and Húsavík. Pick Oddeyri just north by the harbour for slightly better-value guesthouses and apartments; the Brekkan slopes above the centre for self-catering flats with fjord views and easier parking if you're driving; and a spot near the botanical garden for a quiet, leafy base a short walk south. Don't book a rural fjord farm-stay down the Eyjafjörður valley unless you have a hire car and specifically want dark-sky aurora — it strands you for town evenings.

The short version

Best all-rounder: the town centre around Hafnarstræti and Akureyrarkirkja.
Best value: Oddeyri, the harbour-side grid just north of the core.
Best for self-catering and families: the Brekkan slopes, with apartments, parking and fjord views.
Best fjord views: a higher Brekkan flat or a guesthouse looking down over Eyjafjörður.
Avoid a rural Eyjafjörður-valley farm-stay unless you have a car and want dark-sky aurora — it strands you for town evenings.

Best areas to book

Town centre (Hafnarstræti & Akureyrarkirkja)

££ mid-range

The obvious first base: the pedestrianised top of Hafnarstræti, the stepped Akureyrarkirkja church on its rise, the cafes, the Bónus and Nettó supermarkets, the whale-watching harbour and the airport bus are all within a flat ten-minute walk, so you can skip a car in town and only collect the hire vehicle for day trips. The trade-off is that it's the priciest cluster of beds and a few weekend nights carry bar noise from the centre, so ask for a room on a quieter side street like Brekkugata rather than over a Hafnarstræti bar.

Best for: First-timers, short stays, no-car evenings

Browse hotels Central

Oddeyri (harbour grid)

£ value

The older residential grid on the flat spit just north of the core, within five to ten minutes' walk of the centre and handy if your morning starts with a fjord whale-watching sailing from the harbour. Guesthouses and self-catering apartments here tend to be a notch cheaper than the central hotels, and the streets are quiet at night; the catch is simply that you walk a few minutes more for the cafes and the church.

Best for: Value, longer stays, early whale-watching sailings

Browse hotels 5-10 min walk north

Brekkan / Naustahlíð slopes

££ mid-range

The hillside streets climbing west above the centre, where most of the larger self-catering apartments and family flats sit. The pay-off is space, easier kerbside parking for a hire car and fjord views down over Eyjafjörður from the higher blocks; the trade-off is a short uphill walk home and a stiffer one in ice, so it suits self-drivers and families over anyone planning late nights in town.

Best for: Self-catering, families, fjord views, parking

Browse hotels 10-15 min walk uphill

Near the Botanical Garden (Lystigarðurinn)

££ mid-range

The calm, leafy quarter a short walk south of the centre around Lystigarðurinn, the world's near-northernmost botanical garden, with quieter guesthouses and B&Bs on residential streets. It's a soft, green base for a slower trip and still a flat ten-to-fifteen-minute walk to Hafnarstræti; you trade a little harbour-side convenience for an unusually peaceful sleep.

Best for: Quiet sleep, couples, a slower base

Browse hotels 10-15 min walk south

The simple choice

If you're booking in a hurry, filter for the town centre around Hafnarstræti first, then check Oddeyri if central prices look steep. That single rule keeps most first-timers out of the two common traps: paying a premium for a fjord farm-stay you then need the hire car to reach for every coffee, or pushing so far out that town evenings turn into a drive. Because Akureyri is a base for day trips to Goðafoss, Mývatn and Húsavík rather than a place you spend whole days inside, a central walkable bed earns its small premium — beds here run a touch cheaper than Reykjavík, with guesthouse and hotel doubles roughly ISK 18,000-35,000 (£110-£210) a night in summer, but the gap is narrow because this is still Iceland.

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Getting around without a car

You don't need a car for the town itself: Akureyri is small, flat in the centre and walkable, and the local Strætó buses are free to ride, so a central base means everything from the harbour to the supermarket is on foot. The whale-watching boats leave from the town's own harbour, the Forest Lagoon runs a free shuttle from Hof in the centre, and a taxi from the airport (AEY) to a town-centre hotel is only about ISK 2,500-3,500 (£15-£21) for the five-minute hop. Where you do need wheels is for the day trips that justify the trip — Goðafoss, Lake Mývatn and Húsavík — so the efficient pattern is to stay central, walk in town, and pick up the hire car only on the mornings you head out rather than paying to park it overnight in the centre.

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Safety and the weather

Akureyri is one of the safest towns you'll stay in and crime against visitors is rare — the honest accommodation issue here is weather and walkability, not safety. The town sits at the head of a sheltered fjord so it dodges the worst coastal wind, but North Iceland streets ice over hard in winter, which is the real argument for a flat central or Oddeyri base over the uphill Brekkan slopes if you're here between October and April and not driving. Iceland's hazards are natural rather than urban: keep an eye on the Icelandic Met Office (vedur.is) and SafeTravel (safetravel.is) for road and weather conditions before any day trip, carry a free UK GHIC plus travel insurance because the GHIC won't repatriate you, and note that the volcanic-eruption series since December 2023 is on the Reykjanes peninsula in the far south-west, not the north (GOV.UK).

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Where to stay in Akureyri FAQs

Which part of Akureyri should I stay in for a first trip?

The town centre around Hafnarstræti and the Akureyrarkirkja church. It's compact enough that the harbour, cafes, supermarkets and airport bus are all a flat ten-minute walk away, so you can skip a car in town and only collect the hire vehicle for the Goðafoss, Mývatn and Húsavík day trips. Check Oddeyri just north if central hotel prices look steep — it's a few minutes further on foot for a little less money.

Do I need a hire car if I'm staying in Akureyri?

Not for the town, which is small, flat and walkable with free Strætó buses, and not for the whale-watching boats, which leave from the town's own harbour. You do need a car or guided tours for the day trips that make the north worth visiting — Goðafoss, Lake Mývatn and Húsavík. The efficient move is to stay central, walk in town, and pick the hire car up only on the mornings you head out rather than parking it overnight in the centre.

Is it worth staying out in the Eyjafjörður valley for the views?

Only if you have a hire car and specifically want dark-sky aurora or easy Forest Lagoon access. The rural guesthouses and farm-stays down the fjord give you space and dark skies, but they strand you for town evenings and every coffee becomes a drive. For a town-centred trip you get fjord views more conveniently from a higher Brekkan-slope flat while keeping the cafes and church a short walk away.

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