Iceland Rocks! July 18 August 1, 2017 Final Itinerary Jökulsárgljúfur canyon Day 5 Day 1, Tuesday, July 18 - Travel from USA Day 2, Wednesday, July 19 - Arrival in Iceland, Reykjanes Peninsula After an early morning arrival at Keflavík airport, meet the tour guides at 8am in Hotel Keflavík, have breakfast, get information and chance to chat. Around 10am, we will start our trip on the Reykjanes Peninsula at Reykjanes Bridge with a walk across the plate boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates. Continue to Grindavík, a fishing community with a history as a trading center and fishing port going back to the Middle Ages. We will follow the south coastline and stop at Krýsuvík geothermal area. A lunch is planned in a village on the south shore before we visit the Geothermal Energy Exhibit at the state-of-the art Hellisheiði Power Plant, a striking example of how geothermal energy is harnessed in a sustainable manner in Iceland and a showcase for the rest of the world. The lava field around the plant is covered with 3000-yr-old moss. We continue to Reykjavík for check-in at our hotel. There will be a welcome dinner in the evening. Overnight in Reykjavík. Day 3, Thursday, July 20 - Akureyri Siglufjörður We will take a morning flight from Reykjavík to Akureyri, Iceland's 2 nd largest city and the 'Capital of the North.' After a sightseeing tour of this delightful town, drive along Eyjafjörður and visit the Herring Museum in Siglufjörður. Lunch on your own in Siglufjörður. In the afternoon, there is time for gentle or more strenuous hikes. Overnight in Akureyri. B, D
Day 4, Friday, July 21 - Akureyri Kelduhverfi From Akureyri we travel along the scenic coast of the Tjörnes Peninsula, cross the rifted plate boundary again at Kelduhverfi and head to Ásbyrgi, a lovely horseshoe-shaped dry waterfall with towering cliff walls. We will visit Goðafoss, Grenjaðarstaður, Húsavík and Ásbyrgi, a nice hiking area. Overnight at Skúlagarður. Dettifoss, the largest waterfall in Europe Day 5, Saturday, July 22 - Jökulsárgljúfur, Gjástykki Today is our first day in Iceland's active volcanic area along the rift zone. We follow Jökulsárgljúfur (the glacier canyon) and visit the contorted basalt cooling columns at Hljóðaklettar (Echoing Rocks), and Dettifoss (the most powerful waterfall in Europe). We will go off the beaten track on a SuperJeep-van tour of Gjástykki, where we see the contrast between the young lava fields from the Krafla eruption in the 1980s and the lavas of the 1720s. Overnight in Mývatn area for two nights. Namafjall geothermal area
Day 6, Sunday, July 23 - Mývatn Wonders Lake Mývatn is one of the highlights of the north and one of the places most people want to explore. We will visit Sigurgeirs Bird Museum, Skútustaðir pseudocraters, Mývatn Nature Bath, Namafjall geothermal area, Hverfall volcano, strange lava formations at Dimmuborgir, but also have free time in afternoon for a hike or relaxing. Dinner on your own and overnight in Mývatn. B, L Askja Day 7, Monday, July 24 Askja and Kverkfjöll - Ice and Fire Today we travel up into the highlands and have a look at the huge caldera Askja, and Drekagil (Dragoon Canyon). We will look at the new lava field of Holuhraun which erupted Aug. 2014-Feb. 2015, near the glacier Dyngjujökull, and will pass Herðubreið, Iceland's most distinctive volcanic mountain, formed under an ice sheet. We will stay overnight in a mountain hut in Kverkfjöll at the edge of Vatnajökull. We will be roughing it and sleeping in bunkbeds that night, but the views are spectacular. Sheets and blankets will be provided. Day 8, Tuesday, July 25 - Borgarfjörður eystri We drive east to the scenic East Fjords. We explore the colorful mountains surrounding the delightful village of Borgarfjörður eystri, looking for puffins along the seaside cliffs, and enjoying great hiking trails. Overnight in Borgarfjörður. B, D Day 9, Wednesday, July 26 - The Eastfjords From Borgarfjörður, we head to the town Egilsstaðir, and follow the route along fjords such as Fáskrúðsfjörður and Stöðvarfjörður, where we will visit Petra's Stone Collection. We will stop at the fishing village Djúpivogur and later on visit the town Höfn. The day ends at Hótel Jökulsárlón with a group dinner. Day 10, Thursday, July 27 - Vatnajokull National Park, Skaftafell As we continue on the Ring Rd., we'll stop at the glacial lagoon Jökulsárlón, with its floating icebergs, and cross the vast sandur, the coastal plain formed of sediments from jökulhlaup, glacial outburst floods. We will visit Skaftafell National Park at the edge of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest ice sheet, with an opportunity for short or long hikes. Overnight near Kirkjubæjarklaustur for two nights.
Day 11, Friday, July 28 - Laki (Lakagígar) Today we will take an all-day tour up into the highlands to visit the amazing scenery of the volcanic craters, Lakagígar, Overnight near Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Skógafoss waterfall Reynisfjara basalt columns Day 12, Saturday, July 29 - The south coast from Skaftártunga to Vestmannaeyjar We continue across the sandur along the south coast of Iceland to the village of Vik and then to the spectacular black sands and basalt columns of Reynisfjara. We stop at Skógafoss and the visitor center at Eyjafjöll (Þorvaldseyri), the farm closest to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. We will then take the afternoon ferry to Vestmannaeyjar. Overnight in Hotel Vestmannaeyjar for two nights. Puffins. Photo by Sue Willson.
Day 13, Sunday, July 30 - Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Islands) Today we explore Heimaey, the largest of 16 volcanic islands formed by submarine eruptions in the last 10,000 years. During the 1973 eruption, a lava flow covered a third of the town and threatened to close the harbor, South Iceland s chief fishing port. The lava flow was stopped when local citizens pumped seawater onto the flow to cool it. Part of the town that was covered by lava now has been excavated. We will look at the site, which is called Pompeii of the North, and Surtsey Visitor Center. Then go to a puffin nesting site, with puffins within a few feet of our viewing platform. On a clear day we have a view of Surtsey, an island created by eruption in 1963. If weather permits, we will take a boat tour to Klettshellir Cave and nearby sea cliffs crowded with birds. Dinner on your own and overnight in Hotel Vestmannaeyjar B, L Icelandic horse Day 14, Monday, July 31 - Horse farm & Þingvellir Today s itinerary includes some of Iceland s most famous attractions. We will get an overview of Hekla, which has erupted almost every 10 years since 1970, most recently in February 2000, and Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010. We visit Fridheimar horse farm to get to know the delightful Icelandic horses and the farm's use of geothermal energy for a greenhouse to grow vegetables. We will visit Þingvellir National Park, where the world s first parliament convened in 930 C.E. It lies in the deeply fractured rift zone where the tectonic plates are spreading apart and upwelling lava creates new land. We will take a final Iceland walk here - the only rift zone on earth that is not beneath the ocean. We end in Reykjavík, we where will have our farewell dinner, and overnight. Day 15, Tuesday, August 1 - Back to Home The morning is free to explore Reykjavik. We depart for the airport in the afternoon for flights home. B