The most typical marine creatures seen in the local Skjálfandi Bay are humpback, minke, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise and blue whale, and several companies offer a variety of tours to see them. The town also has thermal baths and a whale museum.
Myvatn
One of the scenic highlights of North Iceland, this otherworldly lake deserves decent exploration. Rich in vegetation as well as birdlife, it’s possible to hike around the area to take in the dramatic lava formations of Dimmuborgir, the Hverjfall crater – one of the largest explosion craters in the world with a diameter two-thirds of a mile long – and the Namaskard geothermal area.
Many walking paths are paved, but you can also take longer trails through the area too. Once done, reward yourself with a well-earned soak in the Myvatn Nature Baths and lunch or dinner at the farm restaurant Vogafjós, whose cuisine is includes locally-caught smoked trout, bread that’s been geothermally baked and dairy products from the farm’s cows.
Egilsstaðir
The largest town in East Iceland, Egilsstaðir makes an ideal base for exploring the broader Eastfjords but has plenty to offer itself, from reindeer-spotting and practising your axe-throwing skills to trekking in the largest forest in Iceland (Hallormsstaður) and swimming in the stylish Vok Baths, set into a local lake. An hour or so away at Hafnarhólmi in Borgarfjörður eystri on the coast, you can also enjoy some puffin watching.
Höfn
The harbour town of Höfn is picturesque, peaceful – and famous for langoustines. It even has its own lobster festival each summer and there are a couple of excellent restaurants at which to try the delicacy.
The best-known is the harbourside Pakkhús (book ahead) which even has langoustine pizza. Höfn is also a gateway to and base for the majestic Vatnajökull National Park, whose glacial lakes and ice caves can be explored on foot or with guided jeep tours.
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
You can encounter more glacial beauty farther along the ring road at the famous Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. The lake is filled with huge chunks of ice broken off from the nearby Breiðamerkurjökull glacier; boat rides and Zodiac tours get you up close and personal to the chunks as well as the occasional seal that likes to rest or or play on them.
Some of the ice blocks wash up on the nearby black-sand beach, hence its nickname “Diamond Beach”. It’s a wonderful place for photos.
Vik
Vik, short for Vík í Mýrdal, is a quaint little seaside village a bit further on from the lagoon. It has its own entertaining lava show but the main sights here are the local black-sand beach (Reynisfjara), with its striking basalt columns, the nearby Reynisdrangar basalt sea stacks and Dyrhólaey, a nature reserve popular with puffins galore.