Flatey

North Iceland

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Flatey (pronounced Flat–eh) is a serene 2.5km-long island 9km from Húsavík, on the northwest edge of Skjálfandi Bay. The name simply means flat island (highest point: 20m). Today the island is home to a teeny hamlet with a church, lighthouse and summer houses, which are far outnumbered by the 30 types of birds that visit, including dive-bombing Arctic terns and large squads of puffins (May to August). Gentle Giants offers a tour and a summer yoga package.

Don't confuse this island with another Flatey, in Breiðafjörður, in western Iceland.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Herring Era Museum

    Herring Era Museum

    29.72 MILES

    Lovingly created over 16 years, this award-winning museum does a stunning job of recreating Siglufjörður’s boom days between 1903 and 1968, when it was…

  • Húsavík Whale Museum

    Húsavík Whale Museum

    16.47 MILES

    This excellent museum provides all you need to know about the impressive creatures that visit Skjálfandi bay. Housed in an old harbourside slaughterhouse,…

  • Húsavíkurkirkja

    Húsavíkurkirkja

    16.56 MILES

    Húsavík’s beloved church is quite different from anything else seen in Iceland. Constructed in 1907 from Norwegian timber, the delicately proportioned red…

  • Icelandic Folk & Outsider Art Museum

    Icelandic Folk & Outsider Art Museum

    29.96 MILES

    This excellent, eclectic museum 12km from Akureyri on Rte 1 (look for the sculpture of a tall blue man out the front) is a beautiful space filled with…

  • Laufás

    Laufás

    20.34 MILES

    North of Akureyri, on the road to Grenivík you'll find the beautifully photogenic turf houses at Laufás, a preserved manor farm dating from the 1860s…

  • Skrúðgarður

    Skrúðgarður

    16.82 MILES

    A walk along the duck-filled stream of the endearing town park, which is as scenic as the waterfront area, offers a serene break. Access is via a…

  • Hjalteyri

    Hjalteyri

    23.89 MILES

    Hjalteyri (population 43) was once a major herring harbour, and its old fish factory was Iceland's largest herring-processing plant when it was built in…

  • Culture House

    Culture House

    16.65 MILES

    A folk, maritime and natural-history museum rolled into one, the Culture House is one of the North's most interesting regional museums. ‘Man and Nature’…

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Nearby North Iceland attractions

1. Exploration Museum

16.45 MILES

Opened in 2014, this museum salutes the history of human exploration, covering Viking voyages and polar expeditions, but its most nootable exhibition…

2. Húsavík Whale Museum

16.47 MILES

This excellent museum provides all you need to know about the impressive creatures that visit Skjálfandi bay. Housed in an old harbourside slaughterhouse,…

3. Húsavíkurkirkja

16.56 MILES

Húsavík’s beloved church is quite different from anything else seen in Iceland. Constructed in 1907 from Norwegian timber, the delicately proportioned red…

4. Culture House

16.65 MILES

A folk, maritime and natural-history museum rolled into one, the Culture House is one of the North's most interesting regional museums. ‘Man and Nature’…

5. Skrúðgarður

16.82 MILES

A walk along the duck-filled stream of the endearing town park, which is as scenic as the waterfront area, offers a serene break. Access is via a…

6. Laufás

20.34 MILES

North of Akureyri, on the road to Grenivík you'll find the beautifully photogenic turf houses at Laufás, a preserved manor farm dating from the 1860s…

7. Mánárbakki Museum

21.14 MILES

At the tip of the Tjörnes Peninsula is the Mánárbakki Museum, home to the eclectic personal collection of friendly farmer Aðalgeir, who will give you a…

8. Náttúrugripasafnið

23.16 MILES

Náttúrugripasafnið is a small natural history museum; it’s Ólafsfjörður’s only formal sight.