Húsavík

Húsavík is the detour a Ring Road plan takes for the sea. It is not on the Ring Road at all: route 85 runs north from the Mývatn road to the harbour and on round to Ásbyrgi, which is why it works as the start or end of a Diamond Circle day (Ásbyrgi, Dettifoss, Mývatn) rather than a through-stop.

On the clock it is about an hour from Reykjahlíð and an hour and a half from Akureyri. The whale-watching boats fill a morning or an afternoon; several operators sail from the harbour and are not compared here, so book whichever matches the day's timing. Allow three hours from the car park to being back in it.

The practical line, confirmed on the operators' lists today: Nettó has a supermarket (netto.is) and Olís has a fuel station (olis.is); other fuel brands may be present but were not confirmed on a station map today. For anyone heading on to Ásbyrgi and the Melrakkaslétta coast, this is the last fuel and the last real shop, and the Dettifoss roads have nothing. There is a municipal pool and a campsite; toilets at the harbour.

Quietest in May and September; July weekends are busy at the harbour. In winter the route 85 coast road north of town is exposed and the Road Administration closes it in storms, so check umferdin.is before the Ásbyrgi leg.

Phone signal is good; the harbour has card-only parking machines, so no cash needed.