Akranes Lighthouse

About Akranes Lighthouse

The Akranes lighthouse stands at the very tip of the Akranes peninsula, a white concrete tower with a red lantern, and a short walk away sits the stubby old lighthouse it replaced. The pair make an easy, rewarding stop on the way from Reykjavík to West Iceland, with open sea on three sides and the Esja range across the bay.

The old Akranes lighthouse is the small square tower out on the rocks. It was built in 1918, and it is one of the oldest concrete lighthouses in Iceland. It went dark in 1947 when the new tower took over, and you can walk out to it along the shore.

The new Akranes lighthouse, Akranesviti, went up in 1943 and 1944 and entered service in 1947. At 22.7 meters it is the one you can climb when it is open, up a narrow stairway to the top for views over Faxaflói Bay. Inside, the tower doubles as a small arts venue that hosts exhibitions and concerts, and musicians have praised its acoustics.

Akranes is about 50 km from Reykjavík, roughly 50 minutes by car through the Hvalfjörður tunnel on Route 1. The lighthouses sit at the end of Breiðargata on the town's western point, a short drive from the center. Give yourself 30 to 45 minutes, more if you climb or catch a concert.

Visit Iceland lists the new lighthouse as open daily from 10:00 to 16:00 between mid-May and mid-September, and on weekdays in winter, though other listings give different hours. Check before you drive out if climbing the tower matters to you. On clear winter nights the point draws locals hoping to see the northern lights, since it sits away from the town's brightest lights.