Itinerary

Friday
Your Icelandic Air flight will leave about 8.30pm from one of three North American departure cities - New York, Boxton or Toronto. The flight is approximately five hours.

Saturday
There is a five-hour time difference between Iceland and the east coast of North America so all these flights arrive within minutes of each other around 6.30am at Keflavik Airport.  Your trip leader will meet you in the arrivals lounge.  We’ll gather our luggage, change some spending money into Icelandic kronas and board our van.  We’ll drive into Reykjavik, home to a large portion of the 280,000 people who inhabit Iceland.  Breakfast while the town is waking-up. Our local guide will accompany us on an introductory trip around Reykjavik. Drive north to Reykholt and check into our accommodations. Visit a local Saga museum where we'll develop an appreciation of the importance of literature to Icelanders. You may then want to catch up on a few hours sleep before dinner.  

Sunday
After breakfast it’s a scenic drive north through rich farmland to the town of Varmahlio, the rafting capital of Iceland. We’ll settle into our new cabins up in the hills then eat lunch in town. Pull on drysuits and helmets for our afternoon of white water rafting on the class 3 rapids of the West Glacial River. It’s a 30-minute ride to the put-in and we’ll spend 2 hours on the water paddling 10km through a scenic gorge. Back at our cabins we can soak in the hot pot (thermal pool) and watch the midnight sun on the horizon. Dinner at a nearby hotel.

Monday
A short drive brings us to the port town of Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city. There’ll be time for shopping and strolling before lunch. Godafoss waterfall is a nice stop on the way to the port of Husavik. This afternoon we’ll join a whale-watching trip in an area that has a 98% success rate seeing whales. Minke and Humpbacks are the most common whales sighted. After a seafood dinner we'll head to our farm accommodation. Even though the sun doesn’t seem to want to go to bed, you surely will!

Tuesday
Today we drive from the north coast to the south coast of Iceland! It’s a stimulating day of ever changing scenery. We’ll wander through the volcanic field of Hverarond watching the boiling mud pools and steaming vents. Close by we’ll view the colorful Viti crater. It’s a wonderful journey across moonscape of stark beauty to lunch in Egilsstadir. South through farmland, the road leads us around scenic fjords to Hofn and a restaurant dinner before heading to our cozy accommodations. This evening we'll get our first glimpse of Vantnajokull, Europe's largest glacier.

Wednesday
After breakfast it’s an hour’s drive to Jokulsarlon. We’ll board a small boat and cruise beside icebergs on this glacial lagoon. The icebergs have calved off Vatnajokull. This is a quiet, surreal experience and an opportunity for some marvelous photography. A few miles down the road is Ingolfshofdi, an isolated headland between black sands and the Atlantic Ocean where thousands of seabirds nest. We’ll travel on a hay cart to see the colorful puffins up close. The tractor-drawn cart pulls us across 10km of marsh, water and sand to this bird-watching haven. This is the most scenic afternoon of the whole trip, as we see myriad fingers of ice from Vantnajokull. Accommodation in Skogar.

Thursday
Today we take a guided hike for two hours on the Myrdalsjokull glacier.  Crampons tied to our boots will keep us nice and secure. The views are amazing!  Lunch in Skogar where we'll visit the Folk Museum, one of the treasures of Iceland.  A guide will show us how the people of Iceland lived in old turf houses and will incorporate the importance of the sagas.  An extra treat here is Skogarfoss, a dramatic 180' waterfall. Our drive this afternoon is along the lush south coast and we spend the night at a working farm where a delicious dinner awaits.

Friday
After a lazy breakfast we’ll stroll to the barn and saddle-up for a two-hour Icelandic horse ride. These small, gentle yet sturdy horses are famous for their gait known as a “tolt” which is a sort of half run, half walk. The ride will take us through rolling hill country, across a river and along a riverbank. These are such enjoyable horses to ride. Later we’ll visit two of Iceland’s most famous natural attractions - Geysir hot springs and Gullfoss waterfalls. Geysir gave its name to all other geysers around the world but is generally inactive. However Strokkur geyser will likely send a 60’ spout into the air during our visit. The River Hvita tumbles 100’ into a ravine at Gullfoss and a short trail allows us to feel the power of the falls up close. On the way home we'll visit Thingvellir National Park and learn why this is the most sacred land in Iceland. Drive into Reykjavik and check into our guesthouse. We'll drive to the famous Blue Lagoon.  Soaking in these pale blue mineral laden waters is incredibly luxurious.  Spreading the white silica mud over you is fun and cleansing and makes for great photos! Farewell dinner at a seafood port restaurant.

Saturday
After breakfast transfer to the airport for our mid-morning flights to the US.

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