Tour
#: IST 132
Duration: 9 days –
not including US departure day
Tour Dates:
Friday 17 June – Sunday 26 June 2005
(sold out)
Friday 01 July – Sunday 10 July 2005
(sold out)
Friday 08 July – Sunday 17 July 2005
(sold out)
Friday 15 July – Sunday 24 July 2005
(sold out)
Friday 22 July – Sunday 31 July 2005
(sold out)
Friday 29 July – Sunday 07 August 2005
(sold out)
Friday 05 August – Sunday 14 August 2005
(sold out)
Friday 12 August – Sunday 21 August 2005
(sold out)
Friday 19 August – Sunday 28 August 2005
(sold out)
Minimum/Maximum
Tour Size: 8/30 passengers
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General
Description:
This
tour takes you to places of historical interest and to many highlights
of Iceland's natural beauty. We visit country museums, travel around
Snæfellsnes peninsula with its famous glacier and fishing
villages and then head up north to Akureyri and Lake Mývatn,
rich in bird life and flora. We then cover South Iceland visiting
waterfalls, hot springs and Skaftafell National Park before heading
back to the capital city of Reykjavík.
Departure
day - Friday: US
Leave on evening flight from Icelandair gateway (see below).
Day
1 - Saturday: Reykjavík
Arrive in Iceland in the morning. Take the comfortable FlyBus from
Keflavík International Airport to your accommodations. Spend
the day relaxing, shopping or exploring the capital city of Reykjavík.
Optional tours include whale watching cruises or a visit to the
nearby countryside for a horseback ride. Contact IST for your options.
Overnight at a downtown Reykjavík guesthouse.
Day
2 - Sunday: Reykjavík - Borgarfjörður (B, D)
A short drive brings us to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National
Park, site of the old Viking Parliament. Then on to Borgarnes where
we leave the main road and head for Stykkishólmur a fishing
town on the north shore of Snæfellsnes overlooking beautiful
Breiðafjörður and its many islands teeming with bird
life. Accommodation either at Snæfellsnes or Borgarfjörður
area.
Day
3 - Monday: Snæfellsnes (B, D)
Today we drive around the glacier and visit the former fishing center
of Dritvík, the turf house museum at Hellisandur and shark
processing site at Bjarnarhöfn while enjoying the magnificent
mountain and coastal scenery.
Day
4 - Tuesday: Borgarfjörður - Eyjafjörður (B, D)
We journey along Laxárdalur, setting of one of Iceland's
famous sagas and through the trading town of Blönduós
to Skagafjörður where we will be introduced to the Icelandic
horse. Then over the mountain pass Öxnadalur to Akureyri the
capital town of Northern Iceland. We stay for the next two nights
in the Eyjafjörður district.
Day
5 - Wednesday: Day at Lake Mývatn (B, D)
Today we enjoy a full day excursion to Lake Mývatn, considered
one of the most fertile areas in the world so close to the Arctic
Circle. A stop will be made en route at one of Iceland's most majestic
waterfalls Goðafoss, where Þorgeir threw his pagan idols
into the falls when accepting Christianity during the year 1000
AD. Close to Mývatn we visit the recent lava flows of Krafla
volcano, the hot springs at Námaskarð and the canyon
of Dimmuborgir.
Day
6 - Thursday: Eyjafjörður-The South (B, D)
We start the day with a visit to the farm museum at Glaumbær.
We then cross the interior highlands on the Kjölur route between
the two glaciers of Langjökull and Hofsjökull to the hot
springs at Hveravellir. We stop by the waterfall Gullfoss, and Iceland's
most famous hot spring, Geysir. We then continue to our overnight
accommodations in the south where we stay for 2 nights.
Day
7 - Friday: South Coast and Skaftafell National Park (B, D)
We travel along the south coast to Iceland's largest glacier Vatnajökull
and visit the Skaftafell National Park nestling below Iceland's
highest mountain, the 2119 meter Hvannadalshnjúkur. We also
visit two more of Iceland's magnificent waterfalls on this full
day excursion.
Day
8 - Saturday: The South - Reykjavík (B)
Our first stop is at Skálholt church, rich in history and
legends. Then on to the coastal towns of Stokkseyri and Eyrabakki,
formerly the main harbor and trading center in South Iceland. In
Eyrabakki we visit historic museum buildings. Our last stop before
returning to the capital is at the greenhouse town of Hveragerði.
Day 9 - Sunday: Reykjavík - Keflavík - US (B)
Enjoy a free morning in Reykjavík and then take the early
afternoon FlyBus to Keflavík International airport for your
return flight to the US. Or pre-book a tour to the Reykjanes Peninsula
and the Blue lagoon with airport drop-off. Contact IST for tour
details and price.
Tour
Information:
Rate of Difficulty: Easy but frequent walks. There
is an average of 3-4 hours of walking each day.
Included:
Round trip flights on Icelandair from US to Iceland (check with
IST for flight schedule from US Icelandair gateways), FlyBus ticket
for transport into Reykjavík upon arrival in Iceland and
back to airport on departure day, tour transport and professional
guidance, accommodations with private facilities including 2 nights
at Reykjavík downtown guesthouse with private bathroom facilities
(optional hotel upgrade available upon request), 8 breakfasts, 6
dinners, entrance fees to Hellisandur turf house muesum, Eric the
Red’s homestead, Glaumbær folk museum, Eyrabakki trading
center and Northern Iceland horseshow.
Not
Included: Luggage porterage usually not available at accommodations.
Meals not identified by B – breakfast, L – lunch and
D – dinner. Travel insurance is available upon request from
IST’s insurance company – TravelGuard International.
Note:
Some tour departures may feature a reverse itinerary. Some tour
departures may include guidance in a second language such as French.
Prices
(includes all taxes and airport fees)
IST-132
Price: $3180.00 per person staying in a double room
Single supplement: $494.00 add-on for single room occupancy
Includes round trip US flights from East Coast Icelandair gateways.
Call for pricing from non-East Coast gateways.
Route
Map:
