North Iceland
Lake Mývatn
A full day of volcanic oddities an hour east of Akureyri: the Skútustaðir pseudo-craters, the Dimmuborgir lava fortress, the Námaskarð mud pots, and a quieter, cheaper soak at the Nature Baths.
Where
Akureyri, Iceland
Opening hours
The lake, craters, Dimmuborgir and Námaskarð are open-access year-round, conditions permitting. The Mývatn Nature Baths open daily on seasonal hours, typically from late morning into the evening with shorter winter days. Confirm current hours and prices on the official site.
Tickets
The outdoor sights (pseudo-craters, Dimmuborgir, Námaskarð mud pots) are free to visit, though some car parks charge. Entry to the Mývatn Nature Baths is ticketed, from about £40 per adult, with towel and robe hire extra. Confirm current hours and prices on the official site.
Time needed
A full day from Akureyri: allow 4 to 6 hours to drive the loop and walk the main sights, plus a couple of hours at the Nature Baths.
In short
Visiting Lake Mývatn
Lake Mývatn is a full day of volcanic oddities about an hour east of Akureyri: the Skútustaðir pseudo-craters, the black lava fortress of Dimmuborgir, and the steaming Námaskarð mud pots over the pass. End at the Mývatn Nature Baths for a quieter, cheaper geothermal soak than the Blue Lagoon. Most sights are free; the Nature Baths are ticketed, from about £40.
A full day of volcanic oddities
Lake Mývatn sits about an hour east of Akureyri, and it packs more geological strangeness into a small area than almost anywhere else in Iceland. Around its shores and over the pass beyond, the highlights string together neatly: the Skútustaðir pseudo-craters on the southern edge, grassy domes left by steam explosions where lava met marsh; Dimmuborgir, a black “dark fortress” of twisted lava pillars and arches you can walk a marked loop through; and, over the ridge to the east, Námaskarð (Hverir), a Martian field of boiling mud pots and hissing fumaroles stained ochre and grey. The lake itself is famous for birdlife, and the midges that give it its name swarm in still summer weather, so a head-net is no joke in July.
Most of these sights are free to visit — you mainly pay for the odd car park — and they sit close enough together to walk the key bits and drive between them in a single day.
Planning the day, and the soak at the end
The obvious finish is the Mývatn Nature Baths, the north’s answer to the Blue Lagoon: a milky-blue geothermal lagoon with a view over the lake. It is ticketed, from about £40 per adult, with towel and robe hire on top — but it is cheaper and far quieter than its famous southern cousin, which for many people is the whole point. Book ahead in summer, and confirm current hours and prices on the official site, as both shift with the season.
A sensible shape for the day: leave Akureyri after breakfast, photograph Goðafoss on the way out, spend the late morning and afternoon working the craters, Dimmuborgir and the mud pots, then unwind in the baths before driving back. Allow four to six hours for the sights plus a couple in the lagoon — comfortably a full day. Self-driving gives you the freedom to linger; guided day tours from Akureyri are the easy alternative if you would rather not.
Planning the rest of your trip? See the Akureyri city guide.
