Grímsey is an island about 40 kilometers north of the Icelandic mainland. It is full of nature and therefore a quite popular destination for tourists who are not in rush. In the summer months the whole coast is occupied by puffins, so if you are a puffin lover or/and looking for really quite Icelandic destination, Grímsey is a good guess.
Although the famous Arctic Henge is just and only few kilometers/miles bellow the arctic circle, the truth is, that here on the Grímsey island is the your only option to cross the arctic circle.
Grímsey is just 5 square kilometers small so you can explore it in whole during the half day when the ferry stops in the harbor (I can recommend you to go anticlockwise). In case you came just to have some rest or to see puffins, you don´t have to go far, there is thousands of puffins on the shore literally few steps from the harbor.
p.s. There is an another island of the same name few hundred kilometers/miles to the west. So do not confuse those two (even thou both are occupied by puffins)
How to get to the Grímsey island:
If you want to visit the Grímsey island, you have two options. By ferry Sæfari from Dalvík or by plane from Akureyri.
The ferry sails from Dalvík at 9:00 (a.m. of course) and the trip takes 3 hours. The ferry ride has two advantages. If you are lucky, you can see dolphins and whales and one of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland – Mígandi, which is interesting because the water falls from the cliff directly to the ocean. The second is, that the ferry usually stops in the summer time for four hours (can vary, so check the concrete day) and that is good time to spend here and explore and enjoy the island. If you are tired on your way back (or there), you can rent a couchette (700 ISK I guess) and have some nap.
The plane stops here for just 90 minutes, so if you come here by plane, you´d probably want to stay overnight.
The Sæfari ferry departs from the harbor in Dalvík, the round trip costs 7.000 ISK and you can book it here.
The plane goes from Akureyri, the round trip costs 19.490 ISK and you can book if with Air Iceland Connect.
GPS coordinates of the Grímsey island: 66.540745, -18.013163 Take me there!