★★★★★
Worth arriving at the coach half an hour early for a window seat, because ours filled up. The route runs out and back the same way, so what you miss on one side you catch on the other.
Susan · solo · September 2026
Dynjandi Waterfall Day Trip from Isafjordur
Three and a half hours, an hour of fjord road each way, and ninety minutes standing under the largest waterfall in the Westfjords. The most-booked trip out of this port, and the cheapest.
Stops at DynjandiTransport included
Duration3.5 hours
Meets atÍsafjörður
Time at the stop90 minutes at Dynjandi
Price basisper person
CancellationFree up to 24 hours before the start time
Ninety minutes at the fall
The stop is written into the fare rather than left to the driver, and it is long enough to climb past the lower falls and come back down without hurrying.
An hour of fjord road each way
The drive crosses Dýrafjörður and runs through the tunnel that replaced the old mountain pass, and it is half of what you are paying for.
The lowest fare of any trip here
At $81 a head it is the cheapest way to stand under Dynjandi without a hire car.
A guide on the coach
Commentary runs both ways, in English, on the landscape and on how people live out here.
The same road out and back
Which travellers rate as a feature: you see one side of the fjord going and the other returning.
It meets you rather than collects you
Hotel pickup is explicitly not in the fare, so you walk to the coach.
Your three and a half hours to the waterfall
This is the most-booked trip out of Ísafjörður by a factor of nine, and the reason is simple: it does one thing, it does it cheaply, and the thing it does is what almost everybody came north for. You board a modern coach in town, drive about an hour south, spend ninety minutes at Dynjandi, and come back.
The road is not filler. It runs along Dýrafjörður and through Dýrafjarðargöng, the 5.6 km tunnel opened in October 2020 that replaced the old climb over Hrafnseyrarheiði, and your guide talks through both. Then the fall appears at the head of Arnarfjörður, spreading about a hundred metres down stepped basalt with six smaller waterfalls below it.
What the ninety minutes at Dynjandi look like
- Board the coach in Ísafjörður
- One hour along the fjords and through the tunnels
- Ninety minutes at Dynjandi
- Climb past the six lower falls
- Return to Ísafjörður
The walk from the car park to the foot of the main fall takes about fifteen minutes over loose rock, passing the lower falls on the way. Ninety minutes lets you do it, stand under the fan, and get back with time in hand.
What is at Dynjandi, and what is not
Dynjandi has been a protected natural monument since 1981, and protection here means what it says: there is no gate, no ticket office, no shop and no café. There is a car park, a marked path and a small block of toilets that queues when three coaches arrive together. Bring water and anything you want to eat, and use the facilities before you leave town.
That absence is also the argument for this trip. The waterfall costs nothing to visit; what you are buying is the hundred kilometres of road between it and the harbour, and a driver who does it every day. More on the whole set of them on the Dynjandi waterfall tours page.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- Bus transportation to Dynjandi and back
- A ninety-minute stop at the waterfall
- A live guide, in English, both ways
Not in the fare
- Hotel pickup and drop-off — you meet the coach
- Food and drink; there is nothing to buy at the fall
- Gratuities
Where you meet the coach
In Ísafjörður, at the coach stand. If you have arrived by ship, that is directly outside the cruise terminal, which has one exit, and travellers describe the signage as clear enough that they walked straight to it. Hotel pickup is excluded from this fare, so if you are staying in town, walk down. The operator's own advice is worth taking: get there half an hour early if you want a window seat, because these coaches fill.
What else fills the same slot
Two boats leave the old harbour in the same three hours: one after humpbacks on the Djúp, and one across to Vigur Island, where you go ashore on a working eiderdown farm. If the waterfall is not your reason for coming north, one of those two probably is.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this one if
Dynjandi is the reason you came north and you want it done properly for the least money. It suits a first visit, a short ship call and anyone travelling alone, because the fare is per person rather than per vehicle. It also suits poor weather: a coach runs on days a boat does not.
Book something else if
Wildlife is what you actually want. This trip stays on the road and sees a waterfall. Whale Watching in the Westfjords from Isafjordur is the same three-hour slot spent looking for humpbacks on Ísafjarðardjúp, and it leaves from a boathouse ten minutes' walk from where this coach parks.
Know before you go
| The fact | What to do about it |
|---|---|
| Hotel pickup is not included | Walk to the coach; it waits outside the terminal |
| The coaches fill | Arrive half an hour early if you want a window seat |
| The path up is loose rock | Wear shoes with grip; the operator asks for hiking shoes |
| There is nothing to buy at the fall | Take water and a snack from town |
| The toilets queue when several coaches arrive | Go before you leave, and again on arrival |
| The commentary is in English only | The landscape carries the drive if that is not your language; the German departure is the farm tour |
What travellers said about this trip
★★★★★
Sally's English was clear and the commentary kept the drive moving. The time at the waterfall was plenty for us, though if you mean to climb right to the top you should not dawdle.
Christian · couple · August 2026
★★★★☆
The guide was excellent both ways and full of detail about what we were passing. Ten or fifteen more minutes at the fall would have helped: it was busy, and older members of the group found the top hard to reach in the time.
Eduardo Canals · couple · August 2026
Read all Isafjordur tours reviews
Questions about this trip
How long do you actually get at the waterfall?
Ninety minutes, and that figure is written into the fare rather than left to the driver. It is enough to walk up past the lower falls, stand under the main one and come back down at a comfortable pace.
Is the walk up to Dynjandi hard?
About fifteen minutes from the car park over loose, sometimes slippery rock. Wear shoes with grip. You do not have to climb at all — the fan is in full view from the bottom, and plenty of people stay there.
Does it include hotel pickup?
No. You meet the coach in Ísafjörður, and the fare is priced without it. If you are off a ship that is a few steps outside the terminal; from a hotel in town it is a short walk.
Is there anywhere to buy food or coffee at Dynjandi?
No. It is a protected natural monument with a car park, a path and toilets, and nothing else. Bring water and something to eat, and expect a queue for the facilities when several coaches arrive at once.
What if I would rather see wildlife than a waterfall?
Then this is the wrong trip and the Whale Watching in the Westfjords from Isafjordur is the right one. It fills the same three-hour slot looking for humpbacks, seals and seabirds on Ísafjarðardjúp.
Can I get to Dynjandi without a tour?
Yes, with a hire car in summer: Route 60 south for about an hour, with a marked car park at the bottom. The coach removes the risk of a road closure ending your day early, which matters if a ship is waiting for you.
Other ways to spend the same hours
Prices, lengths and what each fare covers are on their own pages.
Book this trip
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time, so the date is not a commitment you cannot unwind.
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