East Iceland

Austurland is the region of Iceland home to Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier.

Towns

• 1 Bakkagerði - A tiny village in the northeast with a puffin colony just outside the town
• 2 Djúpivogur
• 3 Egilsstaðir - Regional centre with a domestic airport.
• 4 Höfn í Hornafjörður
• 5 Seyðisfjörður - Iceland's only international ferry port, with a weekly ferry from Denmark via the Faroe Islands between April and October.
• 6 Neskaupsstaður

Other destinations

• 1 Jökulsárlón - a beautiful glacial lagoon (the name literally means "glacier river lagoon") crowded with icebergs right by the ring road in the southeast. A popular location for filming, has been featured in two James Bond films and one Tomb Raider film. It is possible to go sailing on the lagoon.
• 2 Vatnajökull National Park - This large national park, covering the entire glacier of Vatnajökull as well as some of its surroundings, reaches into three different regions of Iceland. The glacier itself is most easily accessible in the south, with the service centre and campsite at Skaftafell lying just off the ring road.

Understand

Austurland is a vast and very diverse region. Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier, sits on the mountaintops of the south-east, with only a narrow strip of land between the sea and the glacier. The coastline is a long sandy beach, with only one natural harbour at Höfn which is also the main town in the south-east. A little further north, in the central section of Austurland, are the East Fjords. These fjords are dotted with fishing villages in picturesque settings squeezed between the mountains and the sea. Hérað is an inland area on the other side of the mountains from the East Fjords. Hérað is known for being one of the warmest places in Iceland in the summer and a very popular destination for Icelanders travelling in their own country. The main town in Hérað is Egilsstaðir by the Lagarfljót lake. Finally, in the northeast you will find the remote and fascinating villages of Vopnafjörður and Bakkafjörður.

East Iceland has the oldest rock formations in Iceland, as it was formed before all other parts of the country. Here is the only place where reindeer can be seen in the country.

Get in

By car

The Ring road, Highway 1, passes through the region and connects it with the rest of the country.

By boat

There is a weekly car ferry, from Hirtshals in Denmark, to Seyðisfjörður, operated by Smyril Line

By plane

Flights are available from Reykjavík go to Egilsstaðir operated by Icelandair, and from Reykjavík to Höfn, operated by Eagle Air.

By bus

Strætó operates buses that travel almost the entire length of the Ring Road, with buses coming from the North terminating in Egilsstaðir and buses from the South terminating in Höfn. As of summer 2015 the times of buses are as follows:

• Bus 56 to Egilsstaðir leaves from Hof in Akureyri at 15:35.
• Bus 51 to Höfn leaves from the Mjódd bus terminal in Reykjavík at 9:00 and 17:40 daily.

Get around

By car

The Ring Road runs through Austurland and most of the inhabited fjords are connected by highways leading off the ring road. Some sections of the fjord roads can be quite unnerving, with steep drops from the road to the sea.

By bus

Austurland is one of only two regions in Iceland not covered by the Strætó network, the other being the West Fjords. Instead the municipalites in the region have set up their own system, Strætisvagnar Austurlands (East Iceland Buses) or SVAust.

See

• 1 Hallormsstaðaskógur. Among the three largest forests in Iceland. Contains multiple walking paths and two camping grounds, one in Atlavík and the other in Höfðavík. Located on the eastern side of Lagarfljót river.  
• 2 Hengifoss. Second tallest waterfall in Iceland. Located on the western side of Lagarfljót river.  
• 3 Stuðlagil. Canyon with basalt formations. Located west of Egilstaðir along road 923.  
• 4 Snæfell. Mountain where herds of reindeer can be seen during summer, near road F909. Only accessible with a 4x4 vehicle. Reindeer in Iceland are only present in East Iceland.  
• 5 East Iceland Maritime Museum (In Eskifjorður). (updated Mar 2022)

Do

Icelandic horse riding tour in Skaftafell

• Swimming - There are swimming pools in almost every village with water heated by geothermal power.
• Technical Museum. Covers technical advances in Iceland from 1880 to today. Located in Seyðisfjörður, Hafnargata 44.
• LungA. Cultural festival in Seyðisfjörður each year in July. Includes music, arts and classes.

Drink

East Iceland has two breweries, Beljandi in the town of Breiðdalsvík and Askur Taproom in Egilsstaðir.

Stay safe

As elsewhere in Iceland, weather is the primary safety concern. Always check the weather forecast before setting off on your journey, especially if you're planning to go through one of the mountain passes in the region.

Note that Austurland has the only unpaved sections of the Ring Road and that some of these run along sheer drops to the sea in the East Fjords. Drive carefully.