Discover, Plan & Go!

Day 1: Reykjavik

Upon arrival at the airport in Keflavik you will transfer to your hotel in Reykjavik where your Expedition Leader will meet you for a welcome and orientation dinner this evening.

Day 2: Embark on the Mikheev

Today we’ll explore Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital. Late this afternoon, we board our ship in the port of Keflavik, near the international airport. The largest of the North Atlantic islands, Iceland is sure to inspire you with its ruggedly beautiful landscapes of glaciated mountains, fjords, volcanoes, and coastal cliffs and beaches. We’ll sail north to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and view Snaefellsjokull, a snow-capped volcanic cone. Watch for whales as they gather in the mellow evening light.

Day 3: Breidafjordur - Látrabjarg

This morning, we may catch a glimpse of a white-tailed eagle above the broad bay of Breidafjordur, where Erik the Red set sail to discover Greenland. We’ll cruise around the basalt island of Klofningur, home to breeding shags, fulmars, and great black-backed gulls. Sailing to the north side of the bay, we’ll board zodiacs to travel to Látrabjarg at Iceland’s westernmost point, where cliffs are filled with birds, rocks are covered with basking seals, and delicately carved sea caves exist alongside the world’s largest razorbill colony.

Day 4: Isafjordur Peninsula - Hornvik

Today, we’ll visit the Isafjordur Peninsula, with its imposing basalt mountains scoured out by Ice Age glaciers. We’ll sail to Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and into Adalvik, a sheltered fjord that has been deserted for 50 years. Continuing our voyage along the Hornstrandir Peninsula, we’ll spot the remains of farmsteads dotting the coastline. At Hornvik, a walk to the top of a sea cliff will take us to one of Iceland’s biggest seabird colonies, with thousands of Brünnich’s guillemots and kittiwakes.

Day 5: Whale Watching, Arctic Birds, and Fjords

The spout of whales and the northern migration of skuas will accompany us during the next two days at sea. If the weather allows, we’ll sail towards the edge of the east Greenland pack-ice to look for harp, hooded and ringed seals. An optional hike in the shadow of the Drangajökull glacier will reward us with exquisite fjords.

Day 6: Grimsey Island

If the weather allows, morning will find us sailing past the tiny island of Kolbeinsey, created by a submarine eruption. Later, on Grimsey Island, within the Arctic Circle, we’ll watch colonies of kittiwakes, razorbills, puffins, fulmars, and Arctic terns.

Day 7: Borgarfjôrdur

If weather conditions allow, we’ll land on the wild and windswept volcanic sands of Heradssandur, formed from debris deposited by glacier rivers. On the marshlands of braided channels, whooper swans, greylag geese, and several species of ducks and skuas breed, while the sea teems with harbor seals. This afternoon, we’ll stop at Borgarfjôrdur, a small village that produces jasper, a precious stone found only in this part of Iceland. Alternatively, we’ll land at Alftavik, in the natural harbor Lotna, which hasn’t been inhabited since 1904.

Day 8: Iceland’s East Coast and Papey Island

At Skrudur (on Iceland’s east coast), we’ll cruise by zodiac to a 525-foot-high gannet island and a large cave. We’ll then sail to the island of Papey, once home to ninth-century Irish monks, but now the residence of thousands of seabirds.

Day 9: Westman Islands: Puffins and Gannets

On Heimaey, a fishing port and the Westman Islands’ only permanent community, a short walk will reveal the results of a 1973 volcanic eruption, which destroyed one-third of the town and almost sealed off its vital harbor. By zodiac cruise among other Westman Islands, we’ll circumnavigate Surtsey, born in 1964 from volcanic activity, and Sulnasker and Hellisey, with brimming populations of northern gannets.

Day 10: Home

After breakfast, we’ll disembark in Keflavik.