Iceland Volcano TourMyvatn and Godafoss Tour From Akureyri: Craters, Lava and Mud Pools
The Myvatn and Godafoss tour from Akureyri is the north's standard volcanic day: $182 for six hours, rated 4.6 from 870 reviews, run by BusTravel Iceland. It takes in the pseudo craters on Lake Myvatn, the lava pillars at Dimmuborgir, the mud pools and steam at Namaskard, and the Godafoss waterfall on the way. It is the cheapest way to see the surface features of the Krafla volcanic system without a highland vehicle, and it explains why this lake looks the way it does.
About This Tour
Myvatn sits inside an active volcanic zone. The lake's little cones are not craters in the usual sense, and the black pillars at Dimmuborgir were left when a lava lake drained out from under its own crust.,Six hours from Akureyri covers the lake circuit and the geothermal ground east of it, with Godafoss as the waterfall stop. It is a bus day with short walks, not a hiking day.
6 hours from Akureyri
$182 per adult on the listing
4.6 from 870 GetYourGuide reviews
Pseudo craters, Dimmuborgir, Namaskard, Godafoss
Coach, short walks at each stop
Winter departures depend on the heath road staying open
Check Dates and Availability
Dates come straight from the booking platform's own calendar, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start.
Quick answer Stops, price and what the craters actually are
The tour costs $182 for 6 hours from Akureyri and covers the Myvatn pseudo craters, the Dimmuborgir lava formations, the Namaskard geothermal field and Godafoss. It rates 4.6 from 870 reviews. Everything on the route is a short walk from the bus, and there is no highland driving involved.
Key takeaways
- Same day, other platform and a packed lunch included: the BusTravel listing on Viator is $188.
- Want to go underground nearby? Lofthellir is $399 for a lava tube holding permanent ice, one group a day.
- Want the caldera behind all this? Askja is a 12-hour highland day from the same area.
What the Six Hours Cover
Four stops that between them explain the whole volcanic field.
The Pseudo Craters
The little cones around the lake at Skutustadir are not vents. They formed when lava flowed over wet ground, boiled the water trapped underneath and blew steam up through the crust, over and over. No magma ever came up through them, which is why the ground has a rash of them rather than one big hole.
It is the clearest demonstration in Iceland of what happens when lava meets water, and it takes twenty minutes on a flat path to see it.
Dimmuborgir
The black pillars east of the lake are the reason this listing is different from the plain lake tours. A lava lake pooled here, crusted over, then drained away and left the columns that had formed around steam vents standing where the surface used to be.
The marked paths run through the formations on the flat, and the site is the one stop on this route where twenty minutes feels short.
Namaskard and Godafoss
Namaskard, on the pass east of the lake, is the geothermal field: mud pools, fumaroles and orange ground that smells of sulphur from the car park. It sits on the flank of the Krafla system, which is what heats it.
Godafoss is the waterfall on the way back, wide rather than tall, and it is the postcard stop of the day rather than a volcanic one.
The Volcano Behind the Landscape
Krafla is the system; Myvatn is what it has done to the ground.
What Krafla Is
Krafla is not a single cone you visit but a volcanic system with a caldera, a crater row and a geothermal power station on it. Its most recent eruptive episode, the Krafla Fires, ran through the late 1970s and early 1980s and rebuilt the Leirhnjukur lava field north of the lake.
This tour does not enter the caldera. What it shows you is the system's footprint around the lake: the pseudo craters, the lava, the steam and the mud.
What Else Is Near
Within an hour of the same lake are Hverfjall, one of the largest tephra craters on earth, and Lofthellir, a lava tube holding ice hundreds of years old that admits one group a day.
Further in, Askja is a caldera reachable only by highland vehicle over F-roads, a twelve-hour day from this same area and a different order of trip.
Sources: Icelandic Met Office, Safetravel
The Practical Detail
A short day, run from a town most visitors reach by air or by ship.
Getting There and Back
The tour starts in Akureyri, the northern town with its own airport and a cruise berth, and the six hours include the driving between stops. There is no hotel pickup listed.
For cruise passengers this is the standard shore excursion and the timing is built for it. For independent travellers it is a half day that leaves the afternoon free in town.
Season and Weather
Winter departures depend on the road over the heath between Akureyri and the lake staying open, which it does not always. Summer is the straightforward season; winter is the one where the operator may call in the morning.
There is no food included on this listing. The same route sold on Viator includes a packed sandwich and a water bottle for $6 more, which is the only real difference between the two.
Against the Other Myvatn Options
Two listings sell this loop and two more go deeper into the same volcanic field. The table uses each operator's own published figures.
What Each One Covers
The two lake loops are near-identical and differ mainly on whether lunch comes with them. The other two are specialist trips into the ground rather than around it.
| Listing | What it covers | Time | Food | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myvatn, craters and waterfall | Pseudo craters, Dimmuborgir, Namaskard, Godafoss | 6 hours | None | $182 |
| Lake Myvatn, hot springs and Godafoss | The same loop | 6 hours | Packed sandwich and water | $188 |
| Hverfjall guided sunrise hike | The tephra crater rim | 2.5 hours | None | $143 |
| Lofthellir ice cave | A lava tube with permanent ice | 4.5 hours | None | $399 |
Which to Book
For a first visit, either lake loop. Take the $188 one if you want lunch handled, this one if you do not.
If you have a second day at Myvatn, spend it underground. Lofthellir is the only cave in Iceland on this site where the ice is inside a lava tube rather than a glacier, and the one-group-a-day limit means it never feels like a queue.
How the Day Runs
The listing gives the stops in order rather than a timetable.
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Leave Akureyri
The coach heads east over the heath towards the lake.
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Godafoss
The waterfall stop on the way in or out, depending on the day.
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Pseudo craters at Skutustadir
A short flat walk among the steam-blast cones.
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Dimmuborgir
Marked paths through the lava pillars.
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Namaskard
Mud pools and fumaroles on the pass east of the lake.
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Back to Akureyri
Six hours after departure.
Myvatn and Godafoss Tour Questions
Are the Myvatn craters real craters?
No. They are pseudo craters, formed by steam explosions when lava flowed over wet ground. No magma came up through them, which is why there are so many. More on the Krafla and Myvatn page.
Is lunch included?
Not on this listing. The Viator version of the same loop includes a packed sandwich and a water bottle for $188.
Does it run in winter?
Yes, but winter departures depend on the road over the heath staying open. Summer is the reliable season.
Can I visit Krafla itself?
Not on this tour. It covers the surface features around the lake rather than the caldera. The highland caldera day in this region is Askja.
Is there anything underground nearby?
Yes, Lofthellir at $399, a lava tube holding permanent ice, with only one group allowed in per day.
Is it suitable for cruise passengers?
Yes. It is built as a shore excursion from Akureyri and the six hours are timed for it.
Does the tour stop at Grjotagja?
The listing's own highlights name the pseudo craters, Dimmuborgir, Namaskard and Godafoss, and do not name Grjotagja. The lava cave with the hot spring inside it sits nearby and is on private land with bathing prohibited, so treat any stop there as a bonus rather than a promise. Ask the operator before booking if it is the reason you are going, and see the Krafla and Myvatn page for what else is in the area.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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