What follows is a sample itinerary based on the Budget Scheme.
Day 1: |
Fly from UK to Keflavik and transfer to Reykjavik City Airport for a short flight to Akureyri. Transfer to your accommodation for evening meal. (As an alternative you can visit the Blue Lagoon upon arrival in Iceland and stay the night in Reykjavik flying north the following morning). |
Day 2: |
Meet your guide and travel north from Akureyri to catch the ferry to the island of Hrisey. This is the second largest island off the Icelandic coast and is home to substantial bird life. Return to the mainland and enter the huge glaciated valley, Svarfadardalur, which has numerous river terraces and landslip features as well as an interesting farm structure. At the heads of the side valleys there are small glaciers, which you may have time to visit. Explore the town of Dalvik before returning to Akureyri. |
Day 3: |
Spend time investigating the physical site and urban structure of Akureyri before walking to a vantage point to view the fjord where specific evidence of glaciation can be seen. Travel east to observe the de-glaciation features of Fnjoskadalur and Ljosavatn and continue to Godafoss, an impressive waterfall considered to be amongst Iceland's most picturesque. Visit Reykjadalur for a landform interpretation exercise before continuing to your farmstay accommodation for the next two nights. |
Day 4: |
Spend the day discovering the impact of volcanic activity around the Lake Myvatn area, taking in pseudo craters, lava lake formations, naturally heated caves, solfataras, ash cones and the Krafla eruption centre. Visit the Krafla geothermal power station and swim in the gorgeous blue geothermal waters of the Nature Baths, Myvatn's answer to the Blue Lagoon. |
Day 5: |
As you head for the town of Husavik visit the Laxa hydro-electric plant and walk to the summit of the nearby hill. Carry out a study of the town of Husavik, visit the Whale Museum or take a whale watching boat trip out onto Skjalfandi Bay. Travelling further north you can visit the Pleistocene deposits of the Tjornes peninsula and view the haf and nehrung coastline of Axarfjordur. Return to Akureyri for the night. |
Day 6: |
Transfer to the airport for the return flight to Reykjavik, and then onwards to Keflavik for the flight to the UK. |