News

The Icelandic Winter Games will be held at Hlíðarfjall Ski Resort in Akureyri, the next weekend. The IWG is now returning after a one year pause, but they were first held in 2014. Contestants from all over the world are expected, from the USA, Canada and Austria to name a few nationalities.

The 3rd Update Report about the Arctic Coast Way – Norðurstrandarleið has now been published. This report is focused on the process of the experience development, which we run in cooperation with Blue Sail, the consultancy from the UK.

We are very happy to announce that the Arctic Coast Way got further support from the regional associations Eything and SSNV.

We are very happy to announce the cooperation with Matarauður Íslands for the food-experience development along the Arctic Coast Way. The financial support will span two years and cover the consultancy of Blue Sail for the development of food-experiences in 2018.

Today at Akureyri Airport a Boeing 737-800 from Enter Air landed for the first time, full of passengers from Cardiff, Wales. These passengers were the first to fly directly from the UK to Akureyri, that was recently selected as the number one place to visit in 2018 by The Guardian. The travel agency Super Break is responsible for the flights to Akureyri from 11 different locations and 14 flights in total, from January to February. Super Break is already planning flights next winter, increasing the number up to 22 flights to start with.

The British travel agency Super Break is now offering flights from various cities in the UK, that all go straight to the capital of North Iceland, Akureyri. The agency specializes in short breaks and so these trips are either for 3 or 4 nights. The departure cities include Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Norwich and more.

In an exciting new development, Reykjavík's longest running and finest music festival is going to be happening across two cities this year. Iceland Airwaves is expanding to Akureyri in Northern Iceland for the first time.

Iceland has announced a new initiative to positively affect visitor behavior and promote a happy and meaningful travel experience by launching a first-of-a-kind pledge for visitors.

The steering committee for the Arctic Coast Way has grown larger, from 7 members to 17 members. The second phase of the project has now started, following successful applications for further funding. The committee now represents the whole area of the Arctic Coast Way and combines a broad range of working fields.

The official opening of the Beer Spa at Árskógssandur was on 1st of June. Preparations have been going on for a while and the construction of the spa went according to plan this last winter. It‘s safe to say that people have been anxious to finally see the spa in action, as a big crowd gathered at the spa for the opening.

Ambassador Whale Watching now offers special trips to Hrísey, called „The Pearl – Hrisey Island.“ Bookings are now available on their website, and the company sails out to Hrísey four times a week. Another similar trip to Grímsey is available three times a week. Visitors are taken aboard the Arctic Circle and the boat leaves at 18:00 pm from Torfnuesbryggja in downtown Akureyri. Estimated arrival back to Akureyri is at around 22:30 pm.

The development of microbreweries has been remarkable over the past ten years, ever since the Kaldi Brewery at Árskógssandur opened the first independent craft brewery in Iceland. Following this, two more have opened around the Troll Peninsula; Gæðingur in the Skagafjordur region, and Segull 67 in the town of Siglufjordur. These were joined by the established Viking brewery in Akureyri, who began production of their Einstök beer range, in addition to their other well known Viking beers.