Old Akranes Lighthouse
Old Akranes Lighthouse is a lighthouse in West Iceland, Iceland — about 52 km from Reykjavik and reached by a straightforward drive from the nearest highway turnoff. Shoot it year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list, then use the GPS coordinates, parking notes, and nearby waypoints below to fold this stop into a longer photography route.
Overview
Akranes is a port town on the west coast of Iceland about 45 km north of Reykjavík. This spot is also good for Aurora photography.
As a photography stop, Old Akranes Lighthouse is a lighthouse in West Iceland, roughly 52 km from Reykjavik, reached by a straightforward drive from the nearest highway turnoff. Plan the shoot year-round, though winter wind, ice, and short daylight rework the shot list. The downloadable Lighthouse map pins exact GPS coordinates, parking, and nearby waypoints so you can fold it into a wider route instead of hunting for the pull-off on arrival.
Planning more than one stop? Open all 13 coastal lighthouse spots to put Old Akranes Lighthouse on the same offline layer as everything nearby.
Notes on this location
Compiled from published sources rather than a visit. Sources are listed below.
Two lighthouses stand at Akranes. The larger is open to the public — you can climb it — and doubles as a tourist information centre used for art exhibitions, concerts and a photography exhibition.
- Access
- The bigger of the two is open to the public and can be climbed for the view
- What else is in it
- A Tourist Information Centre; used for art exhibitions, concerts and a photography exhibition
- Opening hours
- 1 May – 15 September, 10:00–18:00; 16 September – 30 April, Tuesday to Saturday 11:00–17:00, and by request for groups
- Dates unresolved
- Published sources disagree on when the newer lighthouse was built — 1947 and 1943 both appear — and the page cited here gives no construction dates or heights for either tower
Being able to go up is what separates this from every other lighthouse in the catalog: the subject can be the view from it rather than the tower itself, and that turns on opening hours rather than light. Winter hours are Tuesday to Saturday only, so a Sunday or Monday in February is a locked door.
SourcesAkranes lighthouses — NAT
Light & aurora at this spot
Calculated from this location’s coordinates (64.243, -21.879). Iceland stays on UTC year-round, so these are local times.
- Summer
- June: sun up 02:54–00:02 (21.1 h). Evening golden hour 22:05–00:02, light coming from the NNW.
- Winter
- December: only 4.2 h of daylight (11:18–15:27), but the sun never climbs above 2.5° — the entire day is golden hour. Sunrise bears SSE, sunset SSW.
- Aurora
- Aurora-grade darkness Sep–Mar, peaking at 12.9 h a night in December. Not possible Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug — the sky never gets dark enough.
Bar height is daylight hours. Months marked • have enough astronomical darkness for aurora; the rest do not.
Questions & answers
Old Akranes Lighthouse is a lighthouse in West Iceland, Iceland, approximately 52 km from Reykjavik. Exact GPS coordinates are included in the downloadable Lighthouse map.
The recommended season for Old Akranes Lighthouse is All. For light, plan around blue hour and the first hour after sunrise; Iceland's long shoulder-season twilight extends usable conditions on either side.
Drive access. A standard rental car works in most seasons; check road status in winter before committing. The downloadable GPS map puts the waypoint on your phone; your own app routes you to it from wherever you are.
Yes — Old Akranes Lighthouse can be visited year-round, though winter conditions may require a 4x4 or storm-tolerant plans.