On the Diamond Circle, Mývatn gets a couple of hours squeezed between Goðafoss and Dettifoss. That's enough to see the lake. It isn't enough to see what's around it: boiling mud, a crater you can walk the rim of, a lava field that was still moving in the 1980s, and a warm lagoon to finish the day. Everything sits within a road loop of about 40 km, so two days here is mostly walking, with very little driving.
Getting there
Mývatn is about 100 km east of Akureyri, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes via the Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel. The tunnel has a toll, paid online after you drive through, so register the plate or pay within a few hours to avoid a surcharge from the rental company. If you're coming up from the capital, the Reykjavík to Akureyri drive covers the first 388 km.
Stop at Goðafoss on the way. It sits right beside Route 1, about 35 km past Akureyri and 50 km short of Reykjahlíð. Park on the east side, walk ten minutes to the viewpoint, then cross the bridge for the lower angle on the west bank. Half an hour covers it.
Day 1: the geothermal east side
Base yourself in or near Reykjahlíð, the village on the north-east shore. Everything on day one is east of it.
- Hverir (6 km east on Route 1). A field of steaming vents and bubbling mud pools under the orange flank of Námafjall. Stay on the marked paths: the crust beside them is thin and the mud below is well over 80°C. It smells strongly of sulphur, and it will stay on your shoes. Go early, before the coaches arrive around 10:00.
- Krafla and Víti (Route 863, about 15 km). A paved road climbs past the geothermal power station to Víti, an explosion crater with a milky blue-green lake at the bottom. The rim walk takes 20 to 30 minutes. From the same area, the Leirhnjúkur trail (about 2.5 km return, on boardwalks) crosses lava from the Krafla fires of 1975 to 1984. Parts of the ground are still warm.
- Grjótagjá (short gravel road off Route 1). A small lava cave with a clear, hot pool inside. Bathing is banned, since the water sits between about 43 and 50°C. Look, take your photo and move on. The access road is fine in a normal car when dry.
Finish at the Mývatn Nature Baths, just off Route 1 between Hverir and Reykjahlíð. It's smaller and calmer than the Blue Lagoon, with milky geothermal water and a view over the lava. Expect roughly 6,000 to 7,500 ISK for an adult, and book a slot in July and August, when evenings sell out.
Mývatn Nature Baths slots sell out on summer evenings, so book once you know which day you'll be there.
Browse Mývatn tickets and tours →Day 2: craters, lava and the south shore
Day two runs anticlockwise round the lake on Route 848 and Route 1.
- Hverfjall. A huge, near-perfect tephra ring about 1 km across. The climb from the car park takes 20 to 30 minutes and the rim loop another 45. The view over the lake is the best in the area.
- Dimmuborgir. A maze of lava pillars, arches and caves formed when a lava lake drained. The short loops take 20 minutes to an hour. The longer trail links on foot to Hverfjall if you'd rather walk than drive between them.
- Höfði. A small wooded headland with easy paths and views of the lava stacks standing in the water. Good for birdwatchers, and quiet.
- Skútustaðagígar. On the south shore, a cluster of pseudocraters: steam explosions where lava ran over wet ground. The loop walk takes about 30 minutes and is flat.
If you still have energy, drive the rest of the lake's western shore. It's the quietest side and the best for birdlife, with more duck species breeding here than anywhere else in Europe.
Charging and fuel
For an EV, the lake loop itself is trivial. The planning is about arriving and leaving.
- Before you come: fill up in Akureyri. The Tesla Supercharger Akureyri is the fastest option in the north, and there are several other DC chargers in town.
- At the lake: ON Power Mývatn is a 50 kW DC charger on the Ring Road, and e1 at Mývatn Nature Baths lets you charge while you soak. With only one or two DC plugs, expect a short queue on summer afternoons.
- Fuel: there's an N1 in Reykjahlíð and an Orkan pump near Skútustaðir on the south shore.
- Leaving east: the Ring Road crosses empty highland toward Egilsstaðir, and the next DC charger on the route, ON Power at Skjöldólfsstaðir, is well over 100 km away with a climb in between. Leave Mývatn full and keep a 30% buffer.
The North Iceland charging map shows live status for all of these, and the EV charging guide covers the apps and cards you'll need.
When to go, and the midges
Mývatn means "midge lake", and the name fits. From late May through July the swarms can be thick near the water. Most don't bite, but they fly into your eyes and mouth, so a head net for about 1,500 ISK from the petrol station is money well spent. They thin out on windy days and by mid-August.
June to August gives you every road open and long evenings. Later in the year the crowds go and the lake becomes one of the best bases in the country for aurora; see chasing the northern lights by car and driving Iceland in autumn if you're planning that trip.
With two nights here, Mývatn stops being a quick stop on the loop and becomes the highlight of the north.