World Wildlife Fund

Across the Far North: Iceland to Greenland

Aboard the Clipper Adventurer

 

From $9,480 per person, based on double occupancy; single rates from $15,880.

Trip Overview

Iceland's volcanic legacy reveals a geological wonderland of steaming fissures and fumaroles, chasms, lava flows, thermal pools and 10,000 waterfalls. We visit colorful towns and villages and see the westernmost region of Iceland, at Latrabjarg Cape, where millions of guillemots nest. Meanwhile, Greenland reveals gargantuan icebergs, twisting fjords and fascinating cultural history.

This trip can be combined with our Spitsbergen to Iceland tour, which runs July 13 – 29, 2009.

Trip Itinerary

Sunday, July 26, 2009: Depart U.S.
Depart this evening on your independent flight to Reykjavík.

Monday, July 27: Reykjavík, Iceland
Arrive in the Icelandic capital in the morning and transfer to our hotel. Lunch and the remainder of the day is at leisure to enjoy the city’s architecture, shops and museums. Gather this evening for a welcome reception followed by dinner and overnight. (D)

Tuesday, July 28: Reykjavík / Embark
After breakfast, explore the “Golden Circle” – Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. We begin by exploring Thingvellir National Park, which is on the rift between the European and the North American plates and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surrounded by mountains and encompassing a vast lava plain of green moss and wild flowers, it is regarded as a sacred place in A.D. 930, the world’s oldest legislative body first convened here. Continue to the Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland’s most famous, where the Hvita River drops 96 feet in two voluminous cascades. The Geysir Center is a huge geothermal field of sapphire and emerald-colored hot springs, bubbling mud pools and other geothermal phenomena. After lunch, drive to the Nesjavellir geothermal area before boarding the Clipper Adventurer. (B,L,D)

Wednesday, July 29: Snaefellsnes Peninsula / Flatey Island / Látrabjarg
In the early morning, round the cape of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, characterized by dramatic rock arches carved by the Atlantic waves and sail into Breidafjördur Bay. The region is known for its waterfalls, hot springs, an extinct volcano, and the Snaefellsjökull Glacier, which is thought to have magical energy and healing powers. This was the setting for Jules Verne’s 1871 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. As we cross the bay, watch for seals, whales and the rare white-tailed eagle.

Board Zodiacs for a cruise along the coastline of Flatey Island in Breidafjördur Bay before going ashore for a walking tour of a village. Islanders earn a living fishing for cod and lump fish and grow most of their food. This evening, we sail past Iceland’s westernmost cape, the Látrabjarg cliff. With millions of seabirds – including puffins, kittiwakes, northern fulmars and thick-billed murres – it is considered the largest bird cliff in the North Atlantic. (B,L,D)

Thursday, July 30: West Fjords / Vigur / Isafjördur
The glacier-carved terrain of the West Fjords is a rugged, natural paradise. After breakfast, arrive at Vigur and enjoy a walking tour of the small island, which is the summer home to puffins and eiders. Meet the sole family that lives on the island. During lunch on board, cruise northward to Isafjördur, which was the West Fjords’ trading and cultural center for centuries. Visit the towns of Bolungarvik and tiny Osvor. Enjoy magnificent views on the way back to Isafjördur, where we will visit the maritime museum. (B,L,D)

Friday, July 31 & Saturday, August 1: Scoresbysund, Greenland
Named for the Danish Arctic explorer William Scoresby, who mapped the area in 1822, the largest fjord system in the world is a remote wilderness that is home to large numbers of Arctic wildlife, including whales, polar bears and Arctic foxes Spectacular mountains surround the fjords, and the tundra blooms with seasonal wildflowers. Inuit ruins and old trading stations speak of a long and arduous history of subsistence living. Cruise by Zodiac among icebergs, watching for clusters of harp seals on the ice floes and whales in the nutrient-rich waters. Polar bear sightings are possible. On walks along beaches and across the tundra, look for musk oxen, collared lemmings and Arctic foxes. (B,L,D)

Sunday, August 2: At sea

Monday, August 3: Ammassalik
At the small settlement of Ammassalik, enjoy a cultural performance and stroll through the town or go on a hike with naturalists along a river toward a waterfall. (B,L,D)

Tuesday, August 4: Southeast Coast / King Frederik VI Coast
Now uninhabited, this region recalls its past civilization in skeletal sites of old Scandinavian and Inuit camps and settlements. Watch for seals, whales and polar bears as we look for opportunities to land by Zodiac and explore the shoreline throughout the day. As we journey southerly, we will come to the portion of Greenland that lives up to its name. This is the most fertile part of the country, and unlike in the hunting and fishing villages farther north, agriculture and farming are an important part of
economic life here. (B,L,D)

Wednesday, August 5: Prins Christian Sund
The 55-mile-long channel near the southern tip of Greenland has a spectacular display of geology and geography. Volcanoes rise from the barren landscape, icebergs sit in pools of aquamarine waters, glacier-cut cliffs border the fjord and waterfalls are frozen. (B,L,D)

Thursday, August 6: Brattahlid / Narsaq
This morning, disembark in Qassiarsuk to visit the historic Norse site called Brattahlid. It was named after Erik the Red’s wife, who built the first Christian church in the New World. Memorials on the site commemorate his settlement on the island in 982, and local guides will share the story of the Vikings in Greenland. Later, visit the 1,700-resident town of Narsaq, which was built on a plain on the Narsaq Peninsula and is surrounded by waters rich with seals, salmon, Arctic char and minke whales. Explore the small town, with its painted houses, museum and handicrafts market and visit the remains of an old Norse settlement. For those interested in geology, this area has many rocks and minerals found nowhere else in the world. Wrap up the visit with a performance by a local choir before setting sail for the Arsuk Fjord. (B,L,D)

Friday, August 7: Arsuk Fjord
Cruise Arsuk Fjord, home to one of Greenland’s largest bird-breeding cliffs. Zodiac excursions take you along the edge of the cliffs to look up at sea birds and into the water for minke whales and seals. Ashore, nature hikes along the beach and to a nearby waterfall showcase the beauty of the area. (B,L,D)

Saturday, August 8: Nuuk
Billed as the world’s smallest capital, harbor-side Nuuk is home to 18,000 residents. The town is the center of Greenlandic culture, which we’ll study at the National Museum of Greenland. The museum displays Inuit mummies that were discovered farther north, at Uummannaq. Walk through the town’s old and new quarters and visit the open-air market. (B,L,D)

Sunday, August 9: Kangerlussuaq / Disembark Clipper Adventurer / Ottawa, Canada
Cross the Arctic Circle and sail through the Kangerlussuaq Fjord to a town of the same name. Watch for ivory gulls and peregrine falcons along the way. Disembark and set off for a tour of the Inland Ice Cap. Via motor coach, follow a small mountain road through the countryside to the ice cap or to Russell Glacier. More than 3,500 musk oxen live here, along with caribou, polar hares, reindeer, Arctic foxes, gyrfalcons and white-tailed eagles. Return to Kangerlussuaq for a brief tour and stop at the local museum. Continue to the airport for your charter flight to Ottawa. Upon arrival, transfer to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

Monday, August 10: Ottawa / U.S.
Transfer independently to the airport for your flight home. (B)