Siglufjörður

Siglufjörður is the reward for leaving the Ring Road at Akureyri and driving the Tröllaskagi coast. It is a tunnel town now: the Héðinsfjörður tunnels link it to Ólafsfjörður and Dalvík, so the loop from Akureyri up the fjord, through the tunnels, round the headland and back down Skagafjörður to the Ring Road is a long day of about 250 km, or a short one if you sleep here.

The practical line, confirmed on the operators' lists today: Olís has a fuel station (olis.is) and Kjörbúðin has a grocery (kjorbudin.is); no Bónus, Krónan or Nettó. That makes Siglufjörður the only fuel and food on the north side of the peninsula between Dalvík and Hofsós, so top up before the west side of the loop. There is a municipal pool, a campsite and toilets at the harbour.

Timing: about an hour and a quarter from Akureyri through the tunnels, two and a half hours round the west side to Varmahlíð on the Ring Road. The tunnels are single-lane in parts with passing bays and are lit; the older route over Siglufjarðarskarð is a summer-only gravel pass.

Quiet most of the year; the herring-era harbour museum and the Christmas-light weeks fill it briefly. In winter the road west around the headland to Fljót is one of the most avalanche-prone in the country and the Road Administration closes it ahead of storms; the tunnels back to Ólafsfjörður are the reliable way out. Check umferdin.is and vedur.is avalanche warnings.