Akureyri and the north wellness weekend

The north of Iceland rewards a slower pace. Akureyri sits at the head of a long, calm fjord, ringed by mountains and close to some of the loveliest geothermal water in the country. Make the town your base for a weekend, keep the driving short and scenic, and let each day end in warm water. You can reach the north by a quick domestic flight or fold this route into a longer Ring Road trip. Either way, pack a swimsuit, a small towel and a soft schedule, and let the water do the work.

Day one: settle into Akureyri and soak over the fjord

Arrive and ease in. Akureyri is small and walkable, with a pretty botanical garden, a row of cafes along the main street and a quiet, friendly feel. Spend the first afternoon wandering the centre, finding a long coffee and something warm to eat, and letting the rhythm of the town slow you down.

Save the evening for the headline soak. Just across the fjord, Forest Lagoon nestles into a hillside of birch and pine, its terraced pools looking out over the water toward Akureyri. The setting among trees is rare in Iceland and deeply calming, and a warm float here as the light softens is the gentlest possible start to the weekend. There is a cold plunge and a steam room when you want them, and the lagoon stays open late, so you can take your time and finish the day loose and ready to sleep.

Day two: a beer bath and the sea baths of Husavik

Give the middle day to the north coast. Drive a short way up the shore of Eyjafjordur to Arskogssandur and the Bjorbodin beer spa, where you soak in a wooden tub of warm water, young beer, hops and live yeast. It sounds playful, and it is, but it is also a genuinely soothing ritual, and the hot tubs on the deck look straight out over the fjord to the island of Hrisey.

In the afternoon, carry on east to the whale watching town of Husavik for one of the north's finest soaks. GeoSea is a set of infinity pools fed by geothermal sea water, set on a low cliff above the bay. You float in warm, mineral rich water with the open Arctic horizon in front of you, the lighthouse to one side and, in season, whales spouting out in the bay. It is a soak you will remember, and a fitting close to a day spent on the coast before the easy drive back to Akureyri.

Day three: the Earth Lagoon by Myvatn

Keep the last day for the most famous water in the region. Drive about an hour east to the Myvatn area, a landscape of craters, lava fields and steaming ground, and ease into the Earth Lagoon (formerly Myvatn Nature Baths). The milky blue water is warm and silica rich, the steam rises against the dark volcanic hills, and because the north sees fewer visitors than the south, you can often have a wide stretch of the lagoon almost to yourself. Pair the soak with a short walk among the nearby pseudo craters or the bubbling earth at Hverir, and you have a full, restorative final day.

Three days, four very different soaks, and a fjord at the centre of it all. The north is where an Iceland wellness trip slows right down.

How to make it flow

Book your headline lagoons ahead so your evenings fall into place, and keep a swimsuit and a small towel in the car at all times. Showering before you enter is the rule at every pool and lagoon in Iceland, and it is part of what keeps the water so clean and clear. Drink water between hot soaks, move gently from hot to cold and back, and leave space in the plan to simply look at the view. If you have a fourth day, you can push further east toward Egilsstadir and float at Vok Baths, the warm pools that sit right on the surface of a clear lake.

Want more? Read about the geothermal baths of the north around Myvatn, plan the city version with a 3 day wellness weekend from Reykjavik, and string the whole island together on our Ring Road wellness journey.