Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik, Iceland / Continue to Isafjordur
Fly first to Keflavik, Iceland, arriving early in the morning. On your own, take a 50-minute bus from the international airport to Reykjavik where we meet our leader over an early lunch. As a group, we then catch our 12:30 domestic flight (it takes about 40 minutes) to Isafjordur, the main town in the remote Westfjords region. There’s time for a walk in the historic Old Town before our chartered boat departure at 4 p.m. The boat journey to Ædey (Eider Island) takes approximately 1 hour. Our first camp is near an eider cultivating farm, where the famous soft down is harvested from the namesake duck. After establishing camp, we have time to adjust the fit of our kayaks and take a short warm-up paddle along the island’s shore.
L, D...Wilderness Camping

Day 2: Paddling Ædey - Sandeyri
This morning we begin our paddling adventure, headed toward the Ice Cap Fjords in the heart of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve. Along our route we have fantastic views of the southern fjords, offering a riveting introduction to this little-traveled area. The Snæfjallaströnd – “Snowy Mountains Coast” – marks the end of human habitation, where but a handful of remaining farmers hang on after more than 1,100 years of settlement in this outermost corner of Iceland. Above us looms the white mass of the Drangajokull Ice Cap as we make our way out of the Isafjordur fjord system, passing several waterfalls en route to Sandeyri – “The Sand Spit” – and our next campsite.
B, L, D... Wilderness Camping

Days 3-4: Paddling and Hiking at Hofdastrond
After three hours paddling from Sandeyri, we round the cliffs of Vebjarnarnupur to the Jokulfjords – “The Ice Cap Fjords” or “Glacier Bays.” Passing through the rock arch of Ofæra, we are awarded a good view of the sheltered fjord system and our route for the following days. On our first night along the Hofdastrond we camp near the river, but our paddling continues with a detour into Leirufjord. Our aim is to ride the high tide into the shallow fjord, where the constant accumulation of silt from the glacier-fed river bars passage when the water level is low. On our second night we camp in a nearby vik, or “small inlet” – the root of the word “Viking” – near an abandoned farm. The short paddling day gives us time to make the relatively easy 8- to 10-mile round trip hike to the glacier.
B, L, D... Wilderness Camping

Day 5: Paddling and Hiking at Hrafnsfjord
We continue along the south coast of the Jokulfjords, awed by the steep rock ramparts that rise straight out of the water, home to scores of screaming sea birds. We paddle to the end of Hrafnsfjord, stopping by the lonely grave of Fjalla-Eyvind, Iceland’s best-known outlaw of the 18th century. His adventurous life, including his escape with his wife into the wilderness highlands where they lived alone for 20 years, was documented by the Swedish director Victor Sjöström in his 1918 film. If the weather is clear, we’ll aim to hike to the mountain pass that provides passage to the north coast of Hornstrandir.
B, L, D... Wilderness Camping

Days 6-7: Paddling and Hiking at Lonafjord
A full day’s paddle takes us into Lonafjord, regarded by many as Iceland’s most beautiful. We plan to camp by the river at the head of the fjord, in a sheltered valley bursting with mountain willow and wildflowers. We take a welcome rest day here, with plenty of free time to wander up the valley independently, or join our leader for a challenging all-day hike up the steep mountain pass overlooking the bay at Hornvik.
B, L, D... Wilderness Camping

Day 8: Paddling to Hesteyrarfjord
Rested from our layover day, we embark this morning on a long paddle to the bucolic fields of Sletta, an abandoned farm outside Hesteyrarfjord. We have various activities to choose from, depending on weather conditions: there are still two more large fjords to explore, as well as the remains of the village of Hesteyri and a remote church perched in a mountain valley above our camp. In the late 1940s the people of this isolated village, living without electricity or roads, made a common decision to move away, and by 1952 the area was totally abandoned. From Sletta we have excellent views of the whole of the Jokulfjords system as well as the fjords of Isafjord to the south.
B, L, D... Wilderness Camping

Day 9: Boat to Isafjord
After breakfast there’s time to arrange our equipment and perhaps take a short walk before our charter boat arrives for transfer back to Isafjord. We arrive there around noon, with an opportunity to explore this pleasant little outpost town, the most “Greenlandic” in Iceland. Several optional activities are available this afternoon, including horseback riding or a visit to the reconstructed fishermen’s camp at a nearby village– or even a round of some very northerly golf! We reconvene this evening at a local restaurant for our final dinner together to celebrate our adventures.
B, L, D... Guesthouse at Isafjord

Day 10: Depart for Home
Our late-morning flight returns us to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, where we have a couple of free hours to visit the city center, the newly renovated national museum, do some shopping, and grab a bite of lunch (on your own) before a 2 p.m. FLY BUS transfer to Keflavik International Airport. (Most of Icelandair’s U.S. flights leave around 4:45 p.m.) In the event you have planned extra days -- which we highly recommend -- your leader will arrange transfers to guesthouses or hotels. (We suggest Hotel Odinsve in Reykjavik – let us know if we can help with arranging accommodations).
B ... Return Home

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