Mountain biking in North Iceland: Mývatn or Dalvík

North Iceland has two places to ride a mountain bike with a guide, and they suit different people. Mývatn is for an easy morning on gravel and farm tracks that ends in a hot bath. Dalvík, north of Akureyri, is for actual trail riding, on full-suspension electric bikes, with a guide to yourselves. If you’ve never ridden off-road, pick Mývatn. If you ride at home, pick Dalvík.

Mývatn: easy riding and a soak

Mývatn Activity runs its bike tours from its base by the lake, at 09:00, from 1 May to late September. The one most people should book is Bike and Bath from €138. It’s three to four hours on a normal mountain bike, mostly flat, past the holes in the ground where locals bake rye bread in geothermal steam, then to an old steam bathing cave. It ends with about an hour in the Mývatn Nature Baths, and the entry is included. Bring a swimsuit and towel.

There’s a child price for ages 6 to 12, which makes it one of the few bike tours in Iceland that works for a family. It’s not hard, but it is a bike in the open, and Mývatn is windy and cool even in July.

If you want a workout, the Fat Bike Mountain Challenge from €181 goes up into the hills above the lake on fat-tyred bikes, through lava, sand and loose gravel. The operator is honest that it’s a challenge. You’ll push the bike up some sections and lift it over fences. Minimum age is 15, and you need to bring your own food and water.

One catch with both. Cancelling costs 50% of the price inside seven days and 90% inside six. That’s stricter than most tours we sell, so only book once your dates are fixed.

Dalvík and Hrísey: proper trails, electric bikes

Dalvík is a fishing town about 40 minutes north of Akureyri along Eyjafjörður. Northtrails runs private e-mountain bike tours there from early June to 31 August, with starts at 09:00, 15:00 and 20:00. The evening slot is a good use of the long June light.

Dalvík Greatest Hits from €153 a person is three hours. You start on flat forest trails to get used to the bike, then use the motor to climb into a valley above town and ride down trails picked for your level. Bikes are high-end, full suspension, and the guide brings helmet, gloves and a jersey. Expect to get wet and muddy, and bring waterproofs and proper shoes.

The Hrísey island e-bike tour from €234 starts at Árskógssandur, takes the 15-minute ferry to Hrísey, and rides up to the lighthouse at the top of the island. The ferry fare is included. Afterwards you can stay on the island for the pool or a meal and take a later ferry back. It’s more of a scenic ride than Dalvík, and it costs more because of the boat and the extra hour.

Both are private, so it’s just you and your group with the guide. The operator hasn’t set cancellation terms in the booking system, so ask us before you book and we’ll get them in writing.

Not a cyclist?

The same Mývatn team runs Hike and Bath from €138, a four to five hour walk through birch woods and lava fissures, past the Grjótagjá cave, finishing in the Nature Baths. It starts at 13:00 and, unlike the bike tours, it has dates into the autumn.

There’s also an e-bike tour from Siglufjörður in our catalogue. It has no dates loaded at the moment, so we can’t recommend it for a specific trip.

Our honest take

For most people on a Ring Road trip, Bike and Bath at Mývatn is the right call. It’s easy, it ends in hot water, and it fits a morning before you drive on. Book it only when your dates are firm, because of the cancellation terms. If you ride mountain bikes at home and you’re in the north between June and August, do Dalvík instead; it’s the only real trail riding we sell in the north, and the 20:00 start in midsummer is the slot we’d take. Hrísey is lovely, but you’re paying for the ferry and the island more than the riding.