Day Trips to Lake Mývatn With Pick-Up in Akureyri
Most Mývatn tours are built for cruise passengers and meet at the pier. Two are built for people sleeping in Akureyri, and one of them collects you from any of 19 addresses around town, feeds you lunch and puts the Forest Lagoon entry in the price for $136.64. That is less than four of the port excursions charge for the same road with no food at all. Here is what both include and which fits which kind of day.
The Trip at a Glance
Check Dates and Pick-Up Points
Live availability for The Traveling Viking departure. Pick your hotel from the list when you book, since the driver runs the collection route in a set order and the last stop leaves latest.
Which of the Two to Take
The Traveling Viking, $136.64
The cheapest of the Lake Mývatn guided day trips that does not meet at the pier. A minibus that starts collecting at hotels across Akureyri, drives 35 minutes to Goðafoss, gives 45 minutes there, then works the lake through Skútustaðagígar, an hour at Dimmuborgir and 20 minutes at Hverir. Lunch is in the price and so is entry to the Forest Lagoon back near Akureyri, which is unusual enough to change the maths on the whole day.
Rated 4.76 from 250 reviews.
BusTravel Iceland, $181.05
The most reviewed Mývatn trip anywhere, 840 ratings at 4.61. A full-size coach rather than a minibus, meeting at the Gránufélagsgata car park near the piers instead of at your door. A packed lunch with a sandwich, chocolate and juice comes on board, plus bottled water and WiFi.
It runs the same four sights, weighted differently: 45 minutes at Goðafoss, 20 at the pseudo-craters, 55 at Dimmuborgir and 40 at Námaskarð.
The honest comparison
The cheaper one includes more and rates higher. The expensive one has three times the reviews and a bigger bus, which matters if you want a guaranteed seat on a busy July date rather than a minibus that sold out in May. Neither collects at midnight sun hours, so both leave you an evening in Akureyri.
Both Day Trips
Prices per person in US dollars, checked against the operators' pages when this guide was updated.
from $136.64 
from $181.05 Side by Side
Same road, same four sights, two different days out.
| Trip | Price | Rating | Book | Pick-up | Food and extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Traveling Viking | $136.64 | 4.76 (250) | 19 hotels around Akureyri | Lunch plus Forest Lagoon entry | |
| BusTravel Iceland | $181.05 | 4.61 (840) | Gránufélagsgata car park | Packed lunch, water, WiFi |
What the Day Covers
Four sights, roughly three hours on the ground
Both trips spend about 150 minutes driving and the rest outside. The order differs, the list does not.
- Goðafoss: about 12 m of water over a 30 m horseshoe ledge, 45 minutes
- Skútustaðagígar: pseudo-craters on the south shore, 15 to 20 minutes
- Dimmuborgir: lava pillars and arches, 55 minutes to an hour, the longest stop
- Hverir or Námaskarð: mud pools and vents on ground over 200°C, 20 to 40 minutes
What lunch actually means
On the minibus it is a proper stop with time to eat. On the coach it is a packed bag handed out on board: a chicken or vegan sandwich, a chocolate bar and juice, eaten at a viewpoint or in your seat. Rebekah, who travelled in June 2026, ate hers on the bus away from the midges and counted that a win.
Included and Not Included
In the price
Return transport, a local guide for the whole day and entry to every sight, none of which charges. The minibus adds lunch and the Forest Lagoon ticket. The coach adds a packed lunch, bottled water and WiFi on board.
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off in Akureyri, minibus only
- English-speaking guide for six hours
- Lunch, in both cases, in different forms
- Forest Lagoon entry on the minibus trip
Not in the price
Drinks and snacks beyond what is handed out, anything you buy at the Goðafoss shop or the Dimmuborgir café, and entry to the geothermal baths at the lake, which neither of these two visits. If a soak at Mývatn is the point, the tour that finishes in the baths runs seven hours instead of six.
The Minibus Route, Stop by Stop
-
Pick-up
Your Akureyri hotel
Nineteen collection points including Hótel Kea, Berjaya, Akureyri Backpackers and the cruise terminal.
-
35 min drive
Goðafoss Waterfall
Forty-five minutes: photo stop, free time and a walk along the bank.
-
35 min drive
Skútustaðagígar
Fifteen minutes on the pseudo-crater loop with the lake behind it.
-
10 min drive
Dimmuborgir
One hour, guided, among the lava formations. The longest stop of the day.
-
15 min drive
Hverir
Twenty minutes on the geothermal ground below Námafjall.
-
80 min drive
Back to Akureyri
Return west on Route 1, with Forest Lagoon entry to use afterwards.
Practical Notes
Midges between June and August
The lake is named after them. Nora, travelling in July 2026, wrote that the driver told her group the swarm that year was a third of the previous one, and she still told people to buy a net. They cost a few hundred krónur in any Akureyri shop and guides carry spares, and the nine sights around the lake shows where they are worst.
The ground is uneven everywhere
Dimmuborgir runs on packed gravel with roots and steps. Hverir is loose clay and crust. One reviewer in her seventies flagged the climb at the geothermal area as steeper than she expected, so ask the guide which of the two loops at each stop is the flat one.
Wheelchair users cannot be carried on either of these trips.
What to wear in any month
A shell over a warm layer, and shoes with grip that you do not mind getting muddy. July highs at the lake average 14°C, January lows sit near minus 8°C, and wind is what actually decides how the day feels.
Where the Day Goes
East from Akureyri on Route 1 for 100 km, then around the lake on road 848, back the same way.
Who These Suit
Take the minibus if
You are sleeping in Akureyri and want the day to start at your door.
- Staying in town rather than arriving by ship
- Travelling as a couple or a pair, since the group stays small
- You want lunch and a lagoon in the price rather than on the bill
- You would rather have an hour at Dimmuborgir than a photo stop
Take the coach if
You are booking late for a July date, want the largest review sample behind you, or prefer a full-size bus with more room. Anyone arriving on a ship should look at the port excursions instead, since those meet at the pier and carry a return guarantee. In winter, when both of these thin out, the winter departure is the one still running.
Questions Before Booking
Does the tour pick up at my hotel?
The Traveling Viking minibus collects from 19 points around Akureyri, including Hótel Kea, Hotel Akureyri, Akureyri Backpackers, Hrímland Apartments and the cruise terminal. Pick yours during booking. The BusTravel coach meets at the Gránufélagsgata car park instead, a short walk from the centre.
How much is a Lake Mývatn day tour from Akureyri?
These two run $136.64 and $181.05 per person for six hours. Across all the trips on this site the range is $132 to $210.66, and the cheaper end is generally transport and guiding only. The full price comparison of Mývatn day trips sits on the homepage.
Is lunch included?
On both, in different forms. The minibus stops for a proper lunch, which is in the price along with Forest Lagoon entry. The coach hands out a packed bag on board: a chicken or vegan sandwich, a chocolate bar and juice.
Can I do this without a car in winter?
Yes. Route 1 is plowed and open year round, and guided departures continue through the cold months even as the number of them drops. Driving yourself is the part that gets harder, not the road.
How long is the drive to Lake Mývatn?
About 75 minutes each way, 100 km on Route 1. Both trips spend roughly 150 minutes driving in total and the rest of the six hours outside the vehicle.
What if I want the geothermal baths at the lake?
Neither of these stops there. The Forest Lagoon included on the minibus trip sits near Akureyri rather than at Mývatn. For the water at the lake itself, take the seven-hour tour that ends at the baths, where entry is paid separately from 7,900 ISK.
What Travellers Wrote
This was an outstanding adventure, the best part was our guide, Joanna. The features to see and experience on this trip were too many to cover but if you have one trip to do in Iceland, I highly recommend this one.
We travelled in a comfortable bus from site to site. Each location was well worth the visit. While driving our guide told us a lot about Iceland culture and stories behind what we were looking at. Well worth it!
Our guide (I forgot his name, although I remember his father was on an expedition from Iceland to Greenland on a replica of a Viking boat 25 years ago) was knowledgeable, interesting and dependable.