| Day |
Schedules and Accommodations |
1-2
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Depart Home / Reykjavik, Iceland
You’ll be met upon arrival on the morning of Day 2 in the world’s northernmost capital, and transferred to your hotel. Your room will be guaranteed ready and waiting for you, along with included breakfast. Later, your Program Manager will lead a short afternoon walking tour of the local area. Enjoy Icelandic cuisine at a Welcome Dinner this evening.
Grand Hotel Reykjavik  (B,D) |
3
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Reykjavik
Iceland’s capital is a sophisticated city with the charm of a village. Explore it on a panoramic tour that includes soaring Hallgrimskirkja church, the bustling harbor, and visit the National Museum. Enjoy a free afternoon to explore (easy to do since almost everyone speaks English) or join an optional whale watch cruise (seasonal). Dinner is included this evening.
Grand Hotel Reykjavik (B,D) |
4
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Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
Head north to Borgarfjördur, a region rich in legends and surrounded by rolling hills, mountains, and glaciers. This is the setting of the saga of the warrior-poet Egil — one of the greatest works of Icelandic medieval literature. You’ll visit Reykholt, the home of the epic’s putative author, 12th-century historian Snorri Sturluson. Dinner is included this evening at your hotel.
Hotel Stykkisholmur (B, D) |
5
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Snaefellsnes Peninsula
You’ll explore the quaint old fishing village of Stykkisholmur today. Cultural Connection: Begin with a boat trip in Breidafjördur Bay. As your boat draws close to the dramatic cliffs that surround the fjord, keep your eyes peeled for puffins, eider ducks, kittiwakes, fulmars, and white-tailed eagles. Learn about the harbor as your boat casts a net over the ocean floor. You’ll view and sample the sea life pulled up from the net. Next, we stop to visit the Norwegian House, a fantastic example of a 19th-century upper-class home. Cultural Connections: In the afternoon, we’ll continue along the shore to Bjarnarhöfn, where a local farmer leads a church tour and offers samples of two local delicacies: cured shark and Brennivin (schnapps). Returning to Stykkisholmur, we’ll meet local Icelanders for a drink before dinner.
Hotel Stykkisholmur (B,D) |
6
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Akureyri, Iceland
On today’s scenic drive, view majestic mountain passes and green pastures. We’ll then stop at Eriksstadir, the birthplace of Leif Eriksson, who is believed to have discovered
America. Your destination is Akureyri, where the Midnight Sun of summer paints vivid colors across the evening sky. Enjoy an included dinner tonight.
Hotel Kea Akureyri (B,D) |
7
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Akureyri
This morning’s tour takes you to Lake Myvatn, one of the most volcanically active regions on earth. Marvel at lava fields, craters, pools of bubbling mud, geysers, and hot springs. See Dimmuborgir (Dark Citadels), an eerie landscape of 2000-year-old volcanic pillars, then continue to Namaskard, where you’ll see steam jets and boiling mud pits. Cultural Connection: As a special treat here, you’ll sample locally caught trout and bread that has been baked using natural geothermal steam. Embark on a panoramic tour of Akureyri, a pretty town scenically set on a fjord, and enjoy time at leisure in its partially pedestrian-only commercial center before we gather for dinner at a local restaurant. Perhaps you’ll choose our optional tour above the Arctic Circle, and fly to Grimsey Island for a short walking tour on Arctic soil.
Hotel Kea Akureyri (B,D) |
8
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Selfoss, Iceland
Fly back to Reykjavik, board a motorcoach, and continue your tour in southern Iceland. Cultural Connection: We’ll stop enroute at the Blue Lagoon for a chance to take a swim and learn about the thermal waters, and at the fishing village of Grindavik, home to thousands of sea birds. We’ll then proceed toward Selfoss. Dinner is included tonight.
Hotel Selfoss (B,D) |
9
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Selfoss, Iceland
Today enjoy a tour featuring some of Iceland’s grand natural wonders and attractions. Visit the “greenhouse town” of Hveragerdi to learn about the produce grown here using geothermal energy, and visit the local hot springs — with names like “Thumping Fumaroles,” each one is unique. Cultural Connection: You’ll also sample an egg cooked in the boiling waters. Next you’ll visit Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and see the magnificent 105-foot double cascade of Gullfoss — also known as the “Golden Falls.” You’ll also see the site of the Great Geysir, which gave its name (geyser) to all natural water spouts. Cultural Connection: Next enjoy a performance of Icelandic horsemanship, and learn more about tomato growing at Fridheimar, where more than 12% of Iceland’s tomatoes are produced. Dinner this evening is included.
Hotel Selfoss (B, D) |
10
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Selfoss
Follow the sea on a tour that takes you to the spectacular falls of Seljarlandsfoss and Skogafoss, where, according to legend, a chest of gold coins hidden behind the falls glitters in the sunshine. Next visit the Skogar Museum en route to Dyrholaey on the south shore, where we’ll board a U.S. landing craft for a journey along the shoreline to view local bird life. Lunch is included today. Tonight, share your experiences with your fellow travellers at a Farewell Dinner.
Hotel Selfoss (B, L, D) |
11
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Reykjavik / Return Home
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
(B) |
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Please note: Iceland’s and Greenland's hotels are
basic and comfortable, particularly in rural regions. Several hotels
selected on this tour are not yet rated by the Hotel & Travel Index
but have been personally selected and inspected by Vantage personnel. |
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