Explora Journeys in Seyðisfjörður

Seydisfjordur is a small town at the head of a long, steep-walled fjord in East Iceland, settled by Norwegian traders who left behind colorful timber houses. The town is tiny and the ship docks in the middle of it, so the blue church, the rainbow-painted street leading to it, and the surrounding waterfalls are all on foot. It is the rare Iceland port where the headline sights are walkable rather than an hour's bus ride away.

What to do on a day in Seyðisfjörður

• The Blue Church (Seydisfjardarkirkja) and Rainbow Street, the multicolored path painted up to it, the town's signature view and a few minutes from the dock
• The old Norwegian-style timber houses lining the harbor and the Fjardara river through the center
• Gufufoss waterfall, dropping over basalt columns about 5km up the valley road, reachable by a short drive or a roughly hour-long walk through the valley
• Tvisongur, Lukas Kuhne's five-dome concrete sound sculpture on the hillside, a 15 to 20 minute uphill walk above Strandarvegur
• Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, the town's contemporary art space, and the Technical Museum of East Iceland in the historic harbor buildings
• The valley above town where the Fjardara cascades in a series of waterfalls down to the lagoon at the fjord head

Getting ashore

The pier sits in the heart of this compact town, so the church, rainbow street, museums, and timber houses are a 5 to 10 minute walk from the gangway. One day is enough for the town plus Gufufoss and Tvisongur; reaching East Iceland's bigger sights means crossing the Fjardarheidi mountain pass toward Egilsstadir, about half an hour by road.

When to book the ship's excursion vs your own →

Weather and when to visit

• June (early summer, start of cruise season). The driest summer month here; cool with highs near 11C and lows around 5C, very long daylight, changeable fjord weather.
• July and August (peak cruise season). The mildest of the year, highs around 13 to 14C and nights near 7C, with frequent showers and roughly 15 rainy days a month; pack layers and rain gear regardless of date.