Wonders of the North & East
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Description
This six day privately guided tour will show you the best of North and East Iceland. Visit the main sights in North and East Iceland along with more hidden sights such as Drangey Island. Drangey Island is a bird watching paradise. The island is a nesting colony for thousands of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots, gannets, kittiwakes, fulmar, shearwaters along with ravens and gyrfalcons. The island is a sheer-sided palagonite rock approximately 180m high and provides a wonderful view over the whole fjord. This private tour is ideal for returning travellers and if you want to stay out of the main crowds of Iceland and experience something truly unique.
Itinerary
When you arrive in Iceland at Keflavik Airport, your private driver will greet you at the arrival hall and take you to Reykjavik where you will get the chance to have a nice lunch before taking your flight to Akureyri in the afternoon. When you land in Akureyri your guide will take you to Siglo Hotel for the night.
Fly from Reykjavik Domestic Airport to Akureyri (Duration approx 40 min)
Fly from Reykjavik to Iceland’s capital of the North, Akureyri. The flight takes approximately 40 minutes, resulting in more time for you to explore the wonders of the North.
Today you will start the day by driving to Hofsos for a once-in-a-lifetime boat ride to Drangey island (Approx. drive 40 minutes). Drangey island is a bird-watching paradise. The island is a nesting colony for thousands of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots, gannets, kittiwakes, fulmar, shearwaters, along with ravens and gyrfalcons. The island is a sheer-sided palagonite rock approximately 180 meters high and provides a wonderful view over the whole fjord.
A trip to Drangey is a unique experience combining sightseeing, birdwatching, sailing, and hiking. There is a man-made path to the top of the island along the face of the cliffs. While hiking you can get up close to the puffins that frequently sit resting within a few meters of the path. During the hike, our tour guides tell the ancient stories of Grettir the Strong, a viking that lived on the island in exile and more recent ones of how the island’s resources have been harvested from past to present. This experience is suitable for individuals of all ages. After this amazing experience, you will head back to Siglo Hotel
Today you will make your way to Akureyri the capital of the north. Visit the popular Akureyri Church, stop at the powerful Goðafoss Waterfall and continue to Lake Mývatn where you will explore the natural beauty of Lake Mývatn and its lunar landscapes with visits to the lava formations at Dimmuborgir and Skútustaðagígar pseudo craters. Mývatn is a volcanic lake in northern Iceland. A short distance away, near Námafjall Mountain, is Hverir, a hot-springs area with boiling mud pots and fumaroles. Dimmuborgir is an incredible lava field, packed with sky-high rock pillars and lava caves. The dramatic expanse formed in a volcanic eruption 2300 years ago. After exploring the surrounding area around Mývatn you will go bathing in Mývatn Nature Baths that have a naturally heated man-made lagoon, with mineral-rich waters known for their health-giving properties before checking in at Fosshotel Mývatn for the night.
On this day you will start to drive to the Eastfjords of Iceland. East Iceland is characterized by small villages, dramatic coastlines, narrow fjords, waterfalls, and mountains. The nature is always close and the scenery is breathtaking. You will start heading to Egilstaðir town (Approx. drive 2 hours) where you can have a nice lunch before your guide will take you to your hotel.
In the morning you will visit Petra’s Stone Mineral Collection Stöðvarfjörður before heading to Djúpivogur Bay. You might not recognize the name of this place but this is one of the most photographed spots in the region. By the harbour in this lovely little village, you will find a bay called Merry bay. In that bay, you will find distinctive outdoor artwork hidden away from sight. The outside artwork consists of 34 huge granite eggs which represent the eggs of each of the nesting birds in this area. Afterwards continue to Vestrahorn, Vesturhorn or Stokksnes, these are all names for this same place. The Horn area is below Vestra-Horn, a 454-meter-high mountain. It is an interesting geological site composed of un-stratified plutonic rock, mostly gabbro but with some granophyre. East of the mountain is a strange-shaped outcrop called Brunnhorn that stretches out to sea. You will also visit the remote Viking village there. In reality, it is a film set for an Icelandic movie that was never filmed. Meanwhile it remains open to the public. In the afternoon you will take a flight to Reykjavik from Höfn town.
Afternoon flight – Fly to Reykjavik (Duration 1 hour)
In the evening you will fly from Höfn to Reykjavik where you will be picked up and taken to your hotel in downtown Reykjavik.
On the last day you will be picked up by a private driver and driven to the airport in time for your flight. *You have to be at Keflavik airport 2 hours before departure.
Included
- Driving guide according to the itinerary
- Private Boating Tour to Drangey
- Domestic Flight to Akureyri
- Domestic Flight to Reykjavik
- Entrance to Myvatn Baths
- Departure Transfer
- One night at Hotel Borg (Deluxe Room with breakfast)
- Two nights at Siglo Hotel (Deluxe Room with breakfast)
- One night at Fosshotel Mývatn (Lake View Room with breakfast)
- One night at Fosshotel Eastfjords (Superior Room with breakfast)
Not Included
- Lunches and dinners
- International Flights
Map
Here’s a map overview for this tour.