Dalvík: Harbor, Tours and Hiking Trails

Dalvík offers a range of ways to plan your day: boat tours, hiking trails, a large fishing and commercial harbor, and culture in the town center. When looking for accommodation, it helps to start by organizing your plans: should a trip out to sea, a hike, or a visit to town define your stay? The options vary in duration, distance and character.

Boat Tours from Dalvík

Arctic Sea Tours offers whale watching, excursions to the Arctic island of Grímsey, and deep-sea fishing trips from Dalvík. The whale-watching tour lasts three hours and ends with 15 minutes of deep-sea fishing. Its duration is clearly stated, making it easy to factor into your daily plans.

The deep-sea fishing tour lasts from one to six hours. No previous experience is required, and grilled fish at the harbor is included. Compared with the whale-watching tour, the stated duration here covers a wider range. When weighing the options, you can therefore take both your preferred activity and the time available into account.

Hiking Trails with Different Route Profiles

At two kilometers, Melrakkadalur is the shortest of the three routes described. It starts at Dalvík Church, has an elevation gain of 260 meters, and leads to a church-shaped rock. Bæjarfjall also starts at the church: the route is 7.1 kilometers long and has an elevation gain of 660 meters. Between these two is the marked Friðlandshringur loop to Hrísatjörn. It is 5.3 kilometers long, has no elevation gain, and starts at the nature reserve sign south of the Olís parking lot. This lets you compare the trails by their length, elevation figures and destinations, rather than judging them by just one of these factors.

Conditions on the mountain and trail markings may change on the marked Friðlandshringur loop to Hrísatjörn. Take these possible changes into account when planning, and check trail conditions on the Friðlandshringur before setting out.

Harbor, Beach and Culture in Town

Dalvík Harbor is a large fishing and commercial harbor. At its southern end, a small wooden bridge crosses the breakwater to a black sand beach. The harbor and beach thus represent two different sides of the coast: the harbor’s role in fishing and commerce, and the beach as a destination at the southern end of the harbor.

The Berg Cultural Center is in the town center and houses the public library as well as a café. It adds a cultural stop in town to the tours and hiking trails. These destinations offer different ways to shape your stay: activities at sea, time on the trails, or a visit to the town center.

Plan the Ferry and Your Accommodation Search

The Sæfari ferry operates year-round between Dalvík and Grímsey. Together with the island excursions on offer, it gives you different ways to include Grímsey in your travel plans. For a specific travel date, it’s a good idea to check the departure times for the ferry or your chosen tour.

Compare the details of each accommodation based on your priorities, and plan the excursions you want to define your stay.

Discover more destinations: Akureyri.

For the broader travel overview: Nordurland Eystra.