Around Iceland

Itinerary

Day 1: Keflavik, Iceland / Embarkation

Late in the afternoon you board ship in the port of Keflavik, just a short way from the international airport, to begin the circumnavigation of Iceland. The largest of the North Atlantic islands, Iceland’s volcanoes, icecaps, rugged glaciated mountains, fjords and coastal cliffs and beaches together form one of the most inspiring landscapes on earth. Sail north to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, which is crowned by a beautiful snow-capped volcanic cone, 1442m high Snaefellsjokull. In the mellow evening light (at this time of year it is light all night) it is worth staying on deck to watch for whales in this often very productive location.

Day 2: Breidafjordur / Flatey / Klofningur / Látrabjarg Sea Caves

Arrive in the broad and shallow bay of Breidafjordur, which is peppered with thousands of islands and skerries. If you are very lucky, you may glimpse the White-tailed Eagle among these historic islands, from where Erik the Red set sail to discover Greenland. Land on Flatey and explore its delightful fishing village, strolling among the many well-preserved traditional timber buildings and visiting the church and restored library. On and around Flatey, Black Guillemots, Puffins, Common Eiders and Red-necked Phalaropes can be seen. Later, you land on Klofningur, a basalt island with breeding Shags, Fulmars and Great Black-backed Gulls.Sailing to the north side of the bay, board the Zodiacs to cruise the cliffs and sea caves of Látrabjarg, at the westernmost point of Iceland. Home to the world's largest Razorbill colony, Iceland’s most extensive bird cliffs are 14km long and rise to over 400m in height. Your expedition naturalists will point out the other bird species that nest on the cliffs and also the seals on the rocks.

Day 3: Isafjordur Peninsula / Hornstrandir Peninsula

Today you explore the Isafjordur Peninsula, geologically the oldest region in Iceland, its imposing basalt mountains scoured out by Ice Age glaciers. You sail into Adalvik in the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve. Once farmed, this beautiful, sheltered fjord has been deserted for 50 years. As sheep no longer graze here and the human impacts are minimal, fauna and flora thrive on a scale unknown in other parts of Iceland. Then, sail along the Hornstrandir Peninsula, spotting the remains of other farmsteads along the coastline of golden sand beaches set between sheer basalt cliffs. You may land at Hornvik, where you can follow an old path, used by fowlers, to reach the top of 300m high Hornbjarg. From the dizzy heights of this cliff you can marvel at one of the biggest seabird colonies in Iceland, with tens of thousands of Brünnich's Guillemots and Kittiwakes.

Day 4: Exploring East of Greenland

If the East Greenland pack-ice is less than 100 nautical miles north of Iceland, and the weather will be good, you will sail towards the edge and spend some time in and near the ice. During your 24 hours at sea, there will be plenty of time to watch for the spout of large whales, and to observe the northern migration of skuas and other Arctic birds. When you sail along the pack ice edge, you may also see Harp Seals. If the pack-ice is more than 100 nautical miles north of Iceland you will land at the east side of the Isafjordur Peninsula in Furufjördur, Tharalátursfjördur and Reykjafjördur, from where you will have a good and near view on the northern side of the glacier Drangajökull. Walkers can make a hike of a view hours from one fjord to the next on an old trail with cairns. In Furufjördur you will find bogs and lakes, and in Reykjafjördur hot pools, in which you can take a bath. Harbor Seals and Grey Seals are common in this fjord.

Day 5: Grimsey Island / Bird Watching

In the early morning, if the weather allows, you will sail past Kolbeinsey, a tiny island north of Grimsey, formed from a submarine eruption. Later you land on Grimsey, an island off the north coast and the only part of Iceland which lies within the Arctic Circle (the Circle crosses the island). The island is home to huge colonies of Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Puffins, Fulmars and Arctic Terns, who far outnumber the human inhabitants, numbering just 100. A zodiac cruise along the western cliffs will afford us the opportunity to also admire the seabirds from the water. Later you may sail along the bird cliffs of Raudinupur.

Day 6: Heradssandur / Borgarfjördur

If weather allows, you go ashore on the wild and windswept volcanic sands of Heradssandur, formed from debris washed down by mighty glacier rivers. On the marshlands of its braided channels, whooper swans, greylag geese, and several species of ducks and skuas breed. The sea near the mouth of the river is teeming with harbor seals. In the afternoon you call at Borgarfjördur. A friendly small village, where people work on Jasper, a precious stone only found in this part of Iceland. You will try to visit a farm with a Common Eider breeding colony, where the birds are protected for down collection in this time of the year. If the conditions at Heradssansur are adverse you will not land there, but land after Borgarfjördur, at Alftavik, in the natural harbor Lotna, where people lived until 1904.

Day 7: Skrudur Island / Papey

Heading down Iceland’s east coast we reach Skrudur, a bird island (Gannets) of 160 m high, where you cannot land, but where you will cruise around in Zodiacs and enter a huge cave. Later, you sail to Papey, where Irish monks made a living in the 9th century. This beautiful, now uninhabited island, is home to thousands of puffins and other seabirds.

Day 8: Heimaey / Surtsey Island

You land on Heimaey, an important fishing port and the Westman Islands only permanent community. A short walk allows you to see the results of the surprise 1973 eruption, which destroyed one third of the town and almost sealed off its vital harbor. A highlight of your time ashore will be the multitude of puffins that breed along the grassy cliff tops and are still harvested annually by the locals. When you have left Heimaey you use the Zodiacs to cruise among the other Westman Islands. You will circumnavigate Surtsey, an island born in 1964 from volcanic activity, and Sulnasker and Hellisey, which have large breeding populations of Northern Gannets.

Day 9: Keflavik, Iceland / Disembarkation

After breakfast you disembark in Keflavik.