Tourist Information

Welcome to Akranes

The west coast town of Akranes is home to a popular lighthouse and a folk museum

A charming small town and popular detour for those looking to explore a slice of the west coast. A town of 7,600 people, Akranes is a classic fishing port that is peaceful, friendly and home to a wonderful folk museum and a lighthouse that is regularly open to tourists. Just a 40-minute-drive from Reykjavík, the town regularly welcomes visitors calling in before continuing to the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

In Langisandur beach you can bathe in the ocean and enjoy the view over Faxabay in warm water in Guðlaug which is open all year round. Guðlaug or God´s pool, in direct translate, is a hot pool located in the breakwater of Langisandur. If you want to experience something new, then come and visit Guðlaug. Langisandur beach is a one kilometre long sandy beach that has been awarded the Blue Flag environmental certiﬁcation. A walking and cycling path runs alongside the beach and nicely connects one part of the town to another.

Travelers can also take a dip in one of two pools, stop by the golf course to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range, or go on a hike. Akrafjall mountain is the pride and joy of Akranes residents and many locals have memories of foraging for seagull eggs and playing on the mountain as children. It’s known as a relatively easy climb, especially from the Akranes car park. A shorter climb will take you to Háihnúkur, which is 555 meters (1,820 feet), and has a nice view of the outskirts of the town. The view from the top is breathtaking, especially on clear days when you can see Snæfellsjökull glacier.

AKRANES LIGHTHOUSE

The Akranes lighthouse is a delightful place to visit, any time of year. Away from bright lights, tourists and residents flock to the site in winter to catch a glimpse of the northern lights dancing and flickering in the sky. In the summer, you can see locals having a picnic outside the lighthouse, and guests are often invited in where they can climb to the top. Built in 1947, the larger of the two lighthouses has been used in recent years to host concerts and art exhibitions. Icelandic band Amiina filmed a video there for a single from their album The Lighthouse Project, and Ólafur Arnalds filmed part of the video there for his single ‘Old Skin.’ Akranesviti is the only lighthouse in Iceland that is regularly open to tourists, and thousands of travelers have visited over the last few years. The lighthouse has become so popular that the tourist information center is now based there. The lighthouse keeper welcomes guests and gives an overview of the history of the building. The smaller lighthouse, built in 1918, is one of the oldest concrete lighthouses in Iceland. It served the fishing town until it was deactivated in 1947, in favour of a larger structure.

AKRANES FOLK MUSEUM

At the Akranes Folk Museum, visitors can ‘travel back in time’ and explore the history of the town and the surroundings, with special emphasis on the fishing industry. Outdoors, there is a collection of houses and boats that are key to the history of the town. For instance, the red house Neðri-Sýrupartur was built in 1875, and is considered to be the oldest wooden house in the town. Visitors can go inside the houses and explore. There is also a collection of fishing boats on the grounds, and a new wood building was erected in 2013 to house the annual Nordic blacksmithing competition. There is also a café inside the main museum building that serves coffee, soft drinks and cakes. Plan to spend some time in Akranes during your next trip out west.

If you need any information please feel free to contact us at the Akranes Tourist Information Centre.
E-mail: info@akranes.is and tel.: (+354) 894 2500,

We wish you a warm welcome and hope that your visit to Akranes will be pleasant and above all entertaining!

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