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
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town on the Tröllaskagi peninsula in North Iceland, and the northernmost town on the Icelandic mainland, with a population of around 1,150. It is about an hour's drive from Akureyri through a series of tunnels, and is best known for its herring history and the Herring Era Museum. It is free to walk around and worth a half-day or more.
Siglufjörður grew rich on herring in the early to mid-20th century, when the town's harbour was one of the busiest herring ports in the North Atlantic and its population briefly reached around 3,000. When the herring stocks collapsed after 1970, the industry closed almost overnight, and the town's population fell sharply. Today Siglufjörður has reinvented itself as a quiet, well-kept town with a strong sense of its own history.
The centrepiece for visitors is the Herring Era Museum, one of Iceland's largest maritime and industrial museums, built around several of the old herring processing buildings and salting stations. Beyond the museum, Siglufjörður has a pleasant harbour to walk around, a scattering of cafés and restaurants, and access to hiking and skiing in the surrounding Tröllaskagi mountains.
For a few decades in the mid-20th century, Siglufjörður was one of the wealthiest towns in Iceland, its harbour crowded with boats and its docks full of workers salting and processing herring around the clock through the short summer season. At its peak the town's population reached around 3,000, a huge number for such a remote spot.
When the herring stocks collapsed after 1970, largely from overfishing, the industry shut down almost overnight, and Siglufjörður's population and economy shrank with it. The Herring Era Museum, opened decades later in several of the old salting and processing buildings, now tells this story in detail and is regarded as one of the best museums of its kind in Iceland.
The route from Akureyri passes through several tunnels, including two long twin tunnels through Héðinsfjörður, an uninhabited fjord between Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður. The road is paved and generally kept open year-round, though winter weather can still affect conditions.
Beyond the Herring Era Museum, the town is small enough to see on foot.
Siglufjörður works all year, but summer is the best time for most visitors: you get more daylight to explore the town and take part in activities.
A swimming pool with sauna and hot tub, several restaurants and cafés, a supermarket, fuel station and a nine-hole golf course.
Siglufjörður has a small range of hotels and guesthouses in town, or you can base yourself in Akureyri and visit as a day trip. There is also a campsite in the centre with hot and cold water, electricity, toilets and washing machines.
Yes, particularly for the Herring Era Museum and the drive itself, which passes through dramatic tunnels and fjord scenery.
About 80 km, around an hour by car.
Yes, it is generally described as the northernmost town on the Icelandic mainland.
Yes, the approach road is generally kept open year-round, though conditions can vary with weather.
Drive Route 1 north to Skagafjörður, then Route 76 through Hofsós; allow just under 5 hours without stops. By bus, take route 57 to Akureyri and route 78 on to Siglufjörður.
Summer, for the daylight, the museum demonstrations and the folk music festival in July. Winter brings skiing and a chance of northern lights.
