In poetic contrast, beside the volcano is a cold
and immensely glassy lake surrounded by desolate wilderness. The lake is
purportedly haunted by two 18th century ghosts. Weather or not you sense their
presence, the silence and scale of the view will prove unforgettable.
The tour is contingent on opening of interior
roads that are sometimes snowed-in well into the summer. Because the trip takes
12 hours, you will miss dinner on the north coast and the bonfire dessert.
Ice Cave Exploration Tour
This privately guided 4x4 adventure tour takes
you through a desolate crater row in Iceland’s rugged and exotic interior.
After an exhilarating 30-minute walk across a
lava field adorned by endless ropey lava, we’ll reach a 3500 year-old, 1200
feet long cathedral-like lava cave contains Iceland’s most breathtaking ice
formations. We’ll spend an hour inside the cave, observing the unbelievable
natural phenomena! Words alone can’t express the beauty and wonder of the
icy-blue formations, so we wont even try!
Included are transportation and gear including
lights, helmets, gloves and studded boots. Water-proof boots and warm clothing
is recommended. The trip is contingent on opening of interior roads that are
sometimes snowed-in well into the summer. This unique excursion takes five
hours. You’ll be done in time to explore the village, enjoy dinner and a
bonfire dessert.
Whale Watching and Horseback Riding Tour
A charming 1000 year-old fishing village on the
north coast is hands-down the best place to see whales in Iceland. With blue
whales even breaching in the harbor itself, its probably one of the best
viewing points in the world. Likewise, this tour boasts a 98% success rate in
spotting the gentle giants.
The harbor’s extending shores, strewn with
waving grasses and uncountable wildflowers, face an equally spectacular vision
of a snow-capped purple mountain range across the water, making it an ideal
location for horseback riding.
This unique combination excursion takes five
hours in total and includes both whale watching by-sea and horseback riding
by-land. Icelandic surf-n-turf?
Inexperienced riders needn’t concern- this trip
is fully-guided caters for all levels of skill. You’ll be done in time to
explore the village, enjoy dinner and a bonfire dessert.
Arctic Island Excursion
About 25 miles north of Iceland- set directly on
the Arctic Circle- lies an enchanting island community of only 150 friendly
people. The lively year-round outpost offers a moving glimpse of life as few in
the world know it.
The tiny settlement hosts a picture-perfect
church on single street a few blocks long, yet residents have cars and manage
to get world-class rock bands to play here regularly. All around town are
endless, eternal grassy expanses atop towering, sheer sea cliffs, in summer
teeming with hundreds of thousands of wild chicks born and raised here. The
scenery is hauntingly beautiful and the sense of isolation from the surrounding
Arctic Ocean below is at times hard to fully comprehend.
Included in the experience is a certificate
testifying you crossed the Arctic Circle, which ends up seeming trivial in face
of the profound experience you've just had.
This tour takes five hours, and starts in a city
about a one- hour drive from both your hotel and where we'll be having dinner
and a bonfire dessert.
Horseback Riding into Nowhere
The ruins of an abandoned 18th century fishing
village on a westward peninsula are set in an eternity of golden sand dunes
folding into grassy, wildflower-strewn hills. Massive black lava stones
punctuate the scenery, also taking the brunt of exploding surf all around.
Today, nobody lives here and all that remains
beyond the scattered ruins is an austere black church- a national treasure- and
Iceland's chicest boutique hotel where we'll be spending the night.
Nearby, 1000-year old ruins from settlement
times are still visible and an even older well made by pre-Viking Irish monks
that still draws water. Beside the well an ancient whale skeleton rests
undisturbed as it has, perhaps for centuries. Above us looms
the glacier Jules Verne chose as the setting for the entrance to the earth’s
interior in his novel, ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth.’
The awesome setting and the almost primordial
experience of riding on horseback create an utterly unforgettable experience. Inexperienced
riders needn’t concern- this trip is fully-guided caters for all levels of
skill.
Art Lover’s Island
Just a few feet off the coast of bustling
downtown Reykjavik lies one of the anomalies which makes Iceland so distinct
and appealing.
The historic island originally hosted a
settlement-era farm 1000 years ago. In the 18th century a stone church was
built that still stands, among other historic buildings, now housing art
collections and an up-scale restaurant.
On the same island are expansive grassy fields
facing Mount Esja and hosting several world-class artworks of massive
proportions, including a moving landscape installation by world-renowned
sculptor Richard Serra, a pavilion created by internationally-celebrated
Icelandic/Dansih artist Olafur Eliasson (who recently installed temporary waterfalls
in New York City's Hudson River), and most recently a light tower devoted to
peace, created by Yoko Ono who needs no introduction.
At times horseback
riding is available, enabling a remarkable perspective of the art, island and
unsurpassed views.
