Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Iceland Travel GuideLOCAL TRAVEL AGENCY IN ICELAND
My trip
Talk to a local
Grímsey is a small island about 40 km off the north coast of Iceland and the only part of Iceland that lies on the Arctic Circle. You can reach it by ferry from Dalvík (about 3 hours each way) or by plane from Akureyri. The island is about 5 km² in size, and it is best from May to August, when puffins and other seabirds nest there.
Grímsey is a flat island, with a top height of 105 metres, and a small community of fishing families. The Arctic Circle crosses the island, and a large stone sphere near the airport marks the current position of the line. It is called Orbis et Globus and weighs about eight tonnes. The circle drifts north by roughly 14 metres each year, so the sphere is moved over time.
Most visitors come for the birds and for the Arctic Circle certificate. From May to August, the cliffs on the east side fill with puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots and fulmars. The island has a harbour, a small shop, a swimming pool, accommodation and a café in season. It is a place to walk slowly, look at birds, and feel far from anywhere.
Grímsey is known in Iceland for its chess tradition, which reaches back to the 1870s. An American chess enthusiast, Willard Fiske, supported the island and its chess library in that period, and chess is still a proud part of local identity.
The Arctic Circle is not fixed. Because of a slow wobble in the earth’s axis, it drifts north by roughly 14 metres a year. In a few decades it will have moved off the island, which makes Grímsey a rare place to stand on the line.
Ferry crossings can be rough and are sometimes cancelled in bad weather. Plan a spare day if you have a flight home.
Fishing is what the island lives on. The fishing banks around Grímsey are rich, and the islanders work them from small boats out of a rebuilt harbour, sometimes heading further north into the Arctic Ocean. It is hard work. Storms and frost are common in winter, and the sea can turn wild with very high waves.
Grímsey is part of the municipality of Akureyri. For a community of well under a hundred people it has a lot: an airstrip, a community centre, a swimming pool, a village shop called Búðin that sells food and everyday goods, a café or restaurant in season, and two guesthouses. Check what is open before you travel, especially outside summer.
The island is green and open, and everything is within walking distance of the harbour.
Tradition says the first church on Grímsey was consecrated by Jón Ögmundsson, bishop of Hólar, about 900 years ago. The island also appears in the kings' sagas for the early 11th century, when the king of Norway asked the Icelanders to give him Grímsey and they refused.
Puffins leave the cliffs in mid-August, so go earlier if they are the main reason.
The island has a small shop, a swimming pool, a guesthouse and other accommodation, and a café or restaurant in summer, with limited services outside the main season. Bring what you need for a day trip.
You can stay on the island in a guesthouse, in a small hotel-style lodging or in a campsite, but spaces are limited and it is best to book well ahead. Many visitors stay in Akureyri or Dalvík and take a day trip.
By ferry from Dalvík, about 3 hours each way, or by small plane from Akureyri.
Yes. It is the only part of Iceland the Arctic Circle crosses, and a stone sphere marks the line.
From about May to mid-August. Birds are on the cliffs mainly in the breeding season.
Yes, by air or by ferry, but the ferry gives only a short time on the island. Check timetables.
No. The island is small and can be explored on foot.
Fewer than 100. The figure was 57 in 2021, and older sources say about 100.
Yes. The wooden church from 1867 burned down in September 2021, and a new church was consecrated in August 2025.
