Dynjandi Waterfall and Flateyri Tours From Ísafjörður
Three operators run the same shape of day: four hours, the waterfall first, then a stop in Flateyri, a village of about 200 people with the oldest original shop in Iceland still trading. They cost $146.89, $157.14 and $178.99. The differences are group size, how long you get at the falls, and whether the village is guaranteed or optional. One reviewer summed up the trade the whole format makes: ten minutes less in Flateyri, ten minutes longer at the falls.
About These Tours
All three run the same length, roughly 50 minutes each way on the road
Thirty-two dollars separates the cheapest from the most expensive
Iceland's oldest original shop, trading in the same room since 1914
One runs a full coach, the others use minibuses with fewer seats
Departures are set against ship times, with pickup at the harbour
Önundarfjörður, the 5.6 km Dýrafjörður tunnel, then Arnarfjörður
Check Dates for the Shore Excursion
Live availability for the $157.14 Magic Iceland Travel departure, the most reviewed of the three. Departure times move with the ship schedule.
Which One to Book
The safe pick: the $157.14 shore excursion
Magic Iceland Travel carries 4.7 from 100 reviews, the deepest sample of the three, and their itinerary is explicit: an hour at Dynjandi, thirty minutes in Flateyri. Reviewers name the guides and call the coach modern and comfortable.
The operator states the departure adjusts to your ship's schedule, which is the point of a shore excursion. Book this one if you want the fewest unknowns. Set against the full Dynjandi waterfall tour comparison, these three sit in the middle of the range on price and near the top on what they add.
The cheapest: $146.89, and only fourteen reviews behind it
Vitos runs the same route for ten dollars less in a minibus, with a stop at Holt bridge on the way back that the others skip. It rates 4.8, but from fourteen ratings, which tells you nobody has been unhappy yet rather than that it beats a tour with a hundred.
Two things stand out in those reviews: pickup happens right outside the cruise ship, and the minibus is small enough to feel personal. One traveller saw seals from it.
The wildcard: $178.99 with scenic stops
Valkyrie Tours charges most and guarantees least. Their itinerary lists 75 minutes at Dynjandi, then a village stop in Þingeyri, Flateyri or Hrafnseyri depending on timing and what the group wants. Wifi on board, seals and seabirds on the way, humpback whales on a good day.
It holds 5.0 from four reviews, three of them German and short. Take it if the flexible route appeals and you can accept that Flateyri is not promised. Take one of the other two if the bookshop is the reason you are going.
All Three Dynjandi and Flateyri Trips
Same four hours, same two fjords, three different vehicles and three different ideas of how long you should stand in front of a waterfall.
from $157.14 
from $146.89 
from $178.99 What You'll See
Dynjandi first, while the light is on it
All three drive south first and take the waterfall before the village. The main fall drops 100 metres, widening from about 30 metres at the top to roughly 60 metres at the base, with six smaller falls stacked below it on the same river.
The climb to the base takes about 15 minutes and gains roughly 100 metres. One British reviewer put the useful version of this: the falls are spectacular and worth climbing to one of the observation points if you can. You do not have to reach the top to get the view, and the second viewpoint is where most photographs are taken.
Flateyri, and the shop that has never moved
Flateyri sits on a sand spit sticking into Önundarfjörður, about 200 residents, a working harbour and a wall of earth above the houses that stops avalanches. The barrier went up after a 1995 slide killed twenty people in the village. Nobody points it out unless you ask.
The old bookshop is the reason the village is on tour itineraries. It has traded from the same room since 1914 and the upstairs is kept as the merchant's home was. Thirty minutes covers the shop, the harbour and a coffee, and not much more.
How the Four Hours Run
-
0:00
Pickup at the Ísafjörður harbour
Close to the cruise dock; the operators ask you to be there ten minutes early.
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0:00–0:50
South to Arnarfjörður
Through Önundarfjörður and the 5.6 km Dýrafjörður tunnel, then along the fjord to the falls.
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0:50–1:50
Dynjandi
An hour on the ground: 15 minutes up, time at the base, 15 minutes down past the six lower falls.
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1:50–2:35
North to Flateyri
Back through the tunnel and out along the spit into Önundarfjörður.
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2:35–3:05
Flateyri
Thirty minutes for the 1914 bookshop, the harbour and a coffee.
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3:05–3:30
Back to Ísafjörður
Twenty-five minutes, delivered well before any ship departure.
Important Things to Know
An hour at the falls is tight if you want the top
Sixty minutes covers the climb and the descent with time to stand at the base. It does not cover the climb, the base, the upper viewpoints and a sandwich. Two reviewers on two different operators asked for the same thing: less time in the village, more at the waterfall.
If the falls are the whole reason you are going, the cheaper bus-only trip gives ninety minutes there and skips the village entirely.
What to pack
All three operators ask for comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. This is what that means in practice.
- Shoes with grip: the upper path is loose stone and stays wet from spray
- A windproof layer, since the wind funnels down the valley at the falls
- Cash or card for the bookshop, which is a shop and not a museum
- A head net in July, because midges swarm the path on windless days
- Something to wipe your lens, which the spray will coat
Cruise timing is the operators' problem, not yours
All three sell these as shore excursions and set departures against ship schedules. The Magic Iceland listing spells it out: return to Ísafjörður well before your ship leaves.
That protection is what you are buying over a taxi. Road 60 has single-lane stretches, and there is no way to make up time behind a slow camper van.
Where the Tour Goes
Ísafjörður south to Dynjandi at the head of Arnarfjörður, then back north to Flateyri on Önundarfjörður.
Who These Tours Are Best For
Book one if
The village stop is what separates these from every other Dynjandi trip.
- You want more than a waterfall in a four-hour port call
- The 1914 bookshop, or a working Icelandic fishing village, appeals
- You are off a ship and want the schedule handled for you
- You would rather ride a minibus than a full coach
Not ideal for
The format gives up waterfall time to buy village time. That is the wrong trade for some people.
- Anyone whose priority is the longest possible stop at the falls
- Travellers on a tight budget, since the bus-only trip costs half as much
- Groups needing a fixed, guaranteed village stop, if you pick the flexible option
- Anyone who cannot manage uneven wet stone on a 200-metre climb
Questions Before You Book
Which Dynjandi and Flateyri tour is best?
The $157.14 Magic Iceland shore excursion, on the evidence available. It has 4.7 from 100 reviews, states an hour at the falls and thirty minutes in the village, and adjusts departures to your ship. The $146.89 minibus is ten dollars cheaper and rates higher, but from fourteen reviews rather than a hundred.
How long do you get at Dynjandi on these tours?
An hour on the shore excursion, 75 minutes on the scenic-stops tour, unstated on the minibus. That covers the 15-minute climb to the base of the main fall and the walk back down past the six lower falls. For 90 minutes at the falls, take the bus-only day trip instead.
What is in Flateyri?
About 200 residents, a working harbour, and the oldest original shop in Iceland, a bookshop trading from the same room since 1914 with the merchant's home preserved upstairs. Above the houses sits an earth avalanche barrier, built after a 1995 slide killed twenty people in the village.
Do these tours run in winter?
They are sold as summer shore excursions and depend on Road 60 over the heath, which closes under snow. Between November and March, check road.is and expect a superjeep to be the reliable way south rather than a coach.
Can I do this without a tour?
Yes, in a rental car from late May to October. Flateyri is a short detour off the road between Ísafjörður and the tunnel. On a ship, the schedule is the thing you are actually buying, not the driving.
What Travellers Wrote
The waterfalls are spectacular and definitely worth climbing up to one of the observation points if you can. Our guide spoke excellent English and was very informative.
We enjoyed the tour very much, beautiful scenery along the way, liked the little settlement of Flateyri and the waterfall of Dynjandi blew us away. I would suggest 10 min less in Flateyri and 10 min longer at the falls.
We had an amazing day visiting Dynjandi and Flateyri. Brandon our driver was very knowledgeable and good fun, we had a spacious and comfortable minibus that picked us up right outside the cruise ship, plenty of time to explore.