Viðey island ferry and the Imagine Peace Tower

Viðey is the green island across the sound from Reykjavík's container port: five minutes by ferry from Skarfabakki, with grassy walks, Viðeyjarstofa, Richard Serra's basalt pillars and, on its western hill, Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower. It suits a quiet half-day on a weekend in winter, families with small children who travel free, and anyone with a car or a bus pass. It does not suit a weekday visit between September and mid-May, when there is no ferry at all.

The figures, read today on Elding's Viðey page, which says the schedule is valid until 31 March 2027: a return ticket costs 2,500 ISK for adults, 1,250 ISK for ages 7 to 17, 2,250 ISK for students, seniors and disabled travellers, and nothing for children up to six, with a limit of three per adult. From 15 May to 31 August boats leave Skarfabakki daily at a quarter past every hour from 10:15 to 17:15, and the Old Harbour adds 11:50 and 14:50 sailings from June. From 1 September to 14 May the ferry runs only on Saturdays and Sundays, at 13:15, 14:15 and 15:15, returning at 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30. The café in Viðeyjarstofa opens during ferry hours. The City of Reykjavík's page adds parking at Skarfabakki and a bus stop at Klettagarðar/Skarfagarðar.

What is there, by the city's account: Viðeyjarstofa, finished in 1755 and the oldest stone house in Iceland; the church beside it, consecrated in 1774; Áfangar, nine pairs of basalt pillars set up on the western island in 1990; and the Peace Tower, dedicated on 9 October 2007. Eider ducks, fulmars and greylag geese nest on the island.

#The arithmetic

Skarfabakki is 5 km and about 10 minutes from the centre by OSRM on OpenStreetMap. On a winter weekend: 10 minutes' drive, 15 minutes early at the pier, the 13:15 crossing and the 15:30 return (135 minutes), and 10 minutes back, about 170 minutes. The shortest round trip, 13:15 out and 14:30 back, is about 110. It fits a Reykjavík day of the five-day South Coast and Golden Circle journey if that day falls on a weekend.

#What goes wrong

The calendar: weekday visitors from September to mid-May find no boat. Light: in November the last winter boat leaves the island two and a half hours before the tower is switched on, so the beam is a view from the city shore or from Elding's evening tour (Fridays and Sundays at 20:00, 9 October–8 December, 17,650 ISK adult, about 1½–2 hours). That tour depends on the weather: Elding's live board showed today's 20:00 departure as cancelled. Wind: the island is exposed, so bring layers even for a short walk.

#Alternatives on the same road

Whale watching from the Old Harbour is the longer boat day, and the puffin boat the summer one. The Árbær Open Air Museum is another afternoon of old Reykjavík buildings, open every day.