After deciding we’d spend the two weeks following our wedding travelling the around the Ring Road of Iceland, and flipping through random pages of our new Lonely Planet guidebook, Grimsey caught our eye. Grimsey is a small, little known 5km square inhabited island that is located 41km north of the main island of Iceland. Known for its proximity to the Arctic Circle, which passes through the north end of the island, somewhere between the Guest House/Airport and the northern cliffs of the island, Grimsey felt like an ideal destination to fulfil our desire to do at least one thing off the normal tourist route. Getting there turned out to be the most challenging part.
After deciding we’d spend the two weeks following our wedding travelling the around the Ring Road of Iceland, and flipping through random pages of our new Lonely Planet guidebook, Grimsey caught our eye. Grimsey is a small, little known 5km square inhabited island that is located 41km north of the main island of Iceland. Known for its proximity to the Arctic Circle, which passes through the north end of the island, somewhere between the Guest House/Airport and the northern cliffs of the island, Grimsey felt like an ideal destination to fulfil our desire to do at least one thing off the normal tourist route. Getting there turned out to be the most challenging part.
Choosing to get off the beaten path (ok, so the Ring Road of Iceland is not exactly the busiest of tourist paths…but nevertheless…), there aren’t too many options for getting to Grimsey, especially in the off season month of April. Air Iceland offers flights 3 times a week from Akureyri to Grimsey, in a small plane that seats at most 20. Although the seats are limited, it still holds 1/5 the population of the entire island so it wasn’t too difficult getting a seat.
Our airplane from Akureyri to Grimsey, Iceland
The catch was that we had limited time to visit Grimsey, as we left our selves only a week to make it the 1,339km around Iceland, having spent the first week of our honeymoon exploring the capital city Reykjavik. Not wanting to wait a few days for the next flight back to the main land, we booked a seat on the Saefari Ferry, that left the following day. Figuring 24 hours would be enough time to explore the remote island, the 3 hour ferry ride seemed appealing and perhaps an opportunity to spot some whales as we crossed the Greenland Sea back to Dalvik.
The catch in the flight there/ferry back travel itinerary was that Dalvik and Akureyri are 44km apart.
So…day 1, we drove up to Dalvik…parked our rental car in a gas station parking lot, and caught the daily bus from the same gas station to Akureyri. Once in Akureyri, we walked from the centre of town up the steep hill to our guest house for the night. We spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening exploring Iceland’s 2nd largest city (population, about 18,000).
View of Akureyri from the air, Iceland
The next morning, we caught a taxi down to the airport and were greeted with “Ah, flight to Grimsey? You must be Bruce and Tanya.” The only people on the flight not from Grimsey, or related to someone living in Grimsey, we claimed our spot as the token tourists and enjoyed the 25 minute flight to the island.
Inside our Grimsey bound airplane, Iceland
Our adventure on Grimsey was incredible, truly unique, and considering the island has been inhabited for over 800 years, very few people have taken the opportunity to visit. I hope to write about our day adventure at the Arctic Circle soon.
View of Grimsey from the air, Iceland
The next day, our incredible host Gagga – not only the owner/operator of our Guest House on Grimsey but also in charge of unloading the luggage from the flights from Akureyri, repairing the roads, being the most generous and hospitable tour guide I’ve ever met, and organizing card nights for the locals during the winter months – drove us on a quick tour of the south end of the island, the community centre, and the church where where she was married, and left us to catch our ferry at the fishing docks.
Our ferry from Grimsey to Dalvik, Iceland
Boarding the ferry boat, that was more for cargo than passengers, we found a spot to sit and were very thankful the waters were calm that day.
Our fellow travellers en route back to Dalvik, Iceland
No whale sightings unfortunately, we arrived back in Dalvik a few hours later, happy to see our rental car still waiting for us in the gas station parking lot, just a few metres where the ferry docked. Car, bus, private car, taxi, airplane, ferry and our own two feet – all the means required for us getting to Grimsey. And I’d do it again in a second.