Vigur Island Isafjordur Iceland

Vigur Island is a small island located in the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord in Iceland. To get to Vigur Island from Ísafjörður, which is the largest town in the Westfjords region, you'll need to take a boat or ferry since the island is not connected by a bridge or road.

Isafjordur was the last stop on my cruise before heading back to Reykjavik, had booked a shore excursion to see the birds of the island. 

Travel to Ísafjörður: If you're not already in Ísafjörður, you'll need to make your way to this town first. You can do so by flying to Ísafjörður's small airport or by driving if you're already in Iceland.

Vigur Island Isafjordur

The boat or ferry ride from Ísafjörður to Vigur Island offers beautiful views of the surrounding fjords and landscapes. Depending on the tour, you might have a guide on board who provides information about the area.

Explore Vigur Island: Once you arrive at Vigur Island, you'll have the opportunity to explore the island's unique natural beauty, including birdlife, historical sites, and landscapes. The island is known for its birdwatching opportunities, particularly its puffin colonies.

The island has a few charming structures, including a historic farmhouse and a lovely old windmill. It's also a great spot for hiking and enjoying the tranquil atmosphere away from the busier tourist areas. 

Happy Travels! 

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Things to do in Akureyri Iceland

Nestled along the shores of one of the most breathtaking fjord 'Eyjafjordur' in Iceland, Akureyri is Iceland's second largest City. The traffic red stop lights are in the shape of heart and Akureyri City bus is free of charge and will take you anywhere you need to go in town.

This was a one and half day stop on my Iceland and Norway Cruise. Iceland Air has flights from Reykjavík City Airport (RKV) to Akureyri Airport (AEY), the flight takes only 45 minutes, car rental or taking a Bus would be your other option. 

Day one - I explored the city on foot. The ship I was on docked at the port and My first stop was Akureyrarkirkja or The Church of Akureyri is a Lutheran church, and is a landmark church with a 3200 pipe organ, intricate wood doors, and stained glass. After the Church visit and walking up and down the stairs, I walked along Kaupvangsstræti in the middle of Akureyri, it is nick named Art Street, Icelandic names of Street are not easy to pronounce.  

Day Two - Amazing Iceland

Godafoss

After Breakfast took a Shore Excursion and my first stop was Godafoss or Waterfalls of the Gods, it is about 45 minutes drive from Akureyri, the tour guide explained the story behind the name, around 10th century a Norwegian Viking Chief took the ideals of Norse Gods Odin, Thor, Loki, ect and threw them in the waterfalls and converted to Christianity hence the name Godafoss.

There are tour companies in town and also car rental companies in case you didn't plan ahead to visit the falls.

Godafoss

Myvatn lake 

Myvatn Lake 

Hiking Trails with small volcanos that you can walk around, Amazing views, great for Photographers, the tour only gave us 30 minutes to explore, so did not hike one of the trails as this is not a place where one can be left behind and has to find their way home. There is some kind of mosquitos in the area which didn't bite and didn't bother me, though some folks wore hat with a net around, regardless the lake and the views are beautiful and a must see.

Dimmuborgir

Its a lava field, with lava rocks and shapes. Their are walking trails, I hiked the trails and took a few photos and videos.

Mt. Namafjall and the boiling mud pools

Its a geothermal area with fumaroles and mud pots, the hot springs produce a lot of Sulphur and the whole place smells, in Iceland they used to mine Sulphur to make gun powder. Stay on the marked trails and paths as a fall with uneven soil and boiling mud pots will surely land you in the hospital.

The whole tour took over 6 hours and we did stop for Icelandic lunch and coffee on the way. 

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Reykjavik Iceland July 2022

 

Visited Reykjavik In July 2022, my 2nd trip to this beautiful island, it was a cold July day. My flight arrived at 7 AM and my hotel check in was at 2 PM.

Keflavik  Airport to  Reykjavik - It is about 50 km from Keflavik International Airport to City Center, taxi is expensive and can cost close to $125 or more. Take the shuttle the 2 bus companies are Airport Direct and Flybus, right before you exit the Airport you'll see the bus booths. The cost in July 2022 is about USD 22. There is also Gray Line Iceland busses. 

My airport shuttle bus dropped me off at the Hallgrímskirkja Church, my hotel was 5 minutes walk from there. I dropped off my bags at the hotel and went to explore the city till it was time time to check in. Not much has changed since my visit 6 years ago.

Harpa concert hall and conference center, Reykjavík

Stay - I stayed at Guesthouse Aurora, very comfortable room with shared bathroom, cost was U$D 125 with breakfast included.

The above 2 photos I took during my walk are Hallgrímskirkja Church and Rainbow street in Reykjavík. The next day I was off to the Reykjavík harbor to take a ship to Norway, I was gone for 11 days. 

On my return to Reykjavik after my cruise, the next day I had an early morning flight to Stockholm and onwards to Tallinn Estonia. For those early morning flights I prefer to stay near the airport as the flight was at 7AM, I stayed one night at Nupan Deluxe Hotel, it was 10 minutes from the Keflavik Airport. There were several eating places nearby within 5 minutes of walking and I had dinner at a fast food place called Biryani, the food was really good.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions below.

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Iceland South Coast and Waterfalls

It was a cold and rainy morning, still this trip was the best part of my visit to Iceland in March 2016. Bought my tour tickets at a Tourist Guide, Below are the stops the tour bus took us.

Skogafoss waterfall - Skógafoss is one of Iceland's largest and most beautiful waterfalls. From Reykjavik it takes about 2 hours to get to the falls. 

There are stairs alongside the cliffs, you can climb to see the falls from the top. You don't need to be great shape to climb up, though I was out of breath by the time I got the top. The views from the top are worth climbing the stairs.

Black Sand Beaches by Reynisfjara in South Iceland

Once in a lifetime chance to see Black Sand beaches. The waves can be huge, word to the wise not to get too close to the water.

A Cave by Basalt columns at Reynisfjara beach, the cave is not too deep



A 10 minute walk on the beach and you can see the gorgeous sea arches. As per my tour guide, one person flew his plane through the Arch.

Basalt columns at Reynisfjara beach are in geometric shapes



Tourists taking Pictures by the Columns.

The tour Bus stopped by the Glacier, we got off the bus to see the Glacier, there were people doing the Glacier walk, if you are interested in Glacier walk, Check with any one of the Visitors Center in Reykjavik. 



Seljalandsfoss Waterfall was the last stop on the tour, if you want to take great photos or remember the experience you had at the falls, do go behind the falls.There is a path and some stairs where one can go behind the falls, you will get wet and your shoes will get wet.



It was a cloudy day, more light would have added more color to the pictures, on a sunny day one can even see a rainbow by the falls, regardless it was pretty amazing to see South of Iceland.

Link to My Golden Circle Classic Tour Post

Comments?

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Golden Circle Day Tour Iceland

March 2016, I used Grayline Iceland for Golden Circle Classic Tour, it was around $85 USD, I booked the tour in Iceland, one can book tours online also. The tour company Van picked from my hotel at 8:30 AM, we went to the Bus depot and boarded a regular bus. Drop off was at 6:30 PM

Þingvellir National Park, Iceland

This was our first stop, about 40 minutes outside Reykjavik, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its by Lake Thingvallavatn, largest lake in Iceland. Info on the National Park can be found on UNESCO webpage at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1152

The lake with the hills in the background is beautiful, there is a viewing area one can walk to. To get up close to the Church and buildings, on a tour you'll not be able to do that, not enough time, you'll need to be driving for that.

They have a small Cafe and restrooms there, I had a hot soup there, much needed as I didn't have enough time for breakfast that morning.




Gullfoss Waterfall

Next stop Gullfoss Waterfall and the best part of the tour. Walked the trail and got as close the waterfall as allowed, I had a weatherproof Jacket and did get wet from the mist, incredible views made up for the cold and wet.

Popular tourist destination, they have a restaurant and clothing/souvenir shop there. The tour bus will stop there for 45 minutes, enough time to see the falls and get a bite to eat.

The water flows down a Canyon, its pretty amazing, I couldn't pronounce the name of the Canyon, Icelandic is not an easy language.


Strokkur Geyser

Next Stop was to see Geysir. Strokkur Geyser is active and shoots hot water up a good 20 feet in the air every 10 minutes, the water is hot and will burn you if you come in contact. As much as I was tempted to touch the flowing water, I resisted.

I didn't want my camera getting wet, I keep a 2nd point and shoot camera handy, shot a clip

Skalholt Church

This is an old Church, its been restored, there is a Viking log Cabin next to the Church, for history of the Church check their wiki page . The highlight was an Icelandic Song our guide sang in the Church.




Icelandic Horse Park

This was the last stop before returning back to Reykjavik, they had a cafe, got a much needed hot coffee. The horses are friendly, there is an outside fenced area where people were taking pictures with the horses to post on Social Media, or atleast the ones on the bus next to me. Some tour buses will have WiFi

Horse Show -  there is an entrance ticket to see the horse show, I did see the show, its done very well and later you can see the horses and talk to the riders. Some people in our tour didn't see the Show, I guess they didn't want to have to pay for the ticket, these are once in lifetime things to do and see, so my advise is see the show.

Remember not to call Icelandic Horses a Pony. They are beautiful.




One can do the Golden Circle and Northern Light tours on the same day, it will be a long day though as Northern Lights end at 2 AM. 

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Visited Iceland in March 2016

Church of Iceland

Iceland is one of the most beautiful scenic Countries I have been to, from Mountains, rivers, Waterfalls to black sand beaches.


I visited Iceland in March 2016, March is still very cold, the reason for going in March is to see the Northern lights, after April 15 the chances of seeing the northern lights are slim due to longer daylight hours.


I took the Golden Circle tour and the 
Southern Iceland tour, they were both worth it.
Also did the Northern Lights night tour.

Stay - I stayed at the Metropolitan Hotel in Reykjavik, right in Down Town and walking distance to Shops, restaurants and tourist attractions 


Reykjavik Airport 

Iceland is an expensive country, budget accordingly. Airport to city shuttle is USD 20. Cab to city is over 100 USD. From Airport to city center is about an hour.

Hallgrímskirkja - I walked from my hotel to the Hallgrímskirkja church, picture above, there is a cost to take the elevator to the top, one can buy a ticket at the Church Gift Shop

Picture above I took from the top of the church

Food  Got to try the delicious Fish and Chips in Reykjavik

Northers Lights - 

Amazing, no other words to describe it. I booked a tour in Reykjavik, the tour bus picked me up at 10 PM in the night and drop off was 2 AM. The tour will only operate on a clear night, and that to you are not guaranteed you'll see the northern lights. If you are going to photograph the lights, my suggestion is to use a tripod, since I didn't have a tripod I couldn't get a 30 second exposure that I would have liked to have. Anyways it was a clear night and I got to see the lights. A must Do/See, dress warm.

Harpa Located by the Reykjavík city center, Harpa is Concert Hall and Conference Centre, Great for taking Night Photos from the street.

National Museum of Iceland

It tells the story of Iceland, history and has artifacts, my opinion don't go out of your way to see it, I spent an hour there. Pictures I took while at the Museum.





Blue Lagoon - I didnt do the Blue lagoon, its on the way to the airport, you can stop during or on your way back to the airport, best to check with Visitors center in Reykjavik.

During my Northern lights and other 2 tours, every tour guide told us last McDonalds in Iceland closed in 2008, and the second and more important thing is 'Don't call an Icelandic horse a Pony' 

Anyways I saw the Horses, petted them, and they are beautiful, and friendly. There are 80,000 Horses in Iceland.




Street Art in Reykjavik



Photo Below taken on a walk by the Harbor



I have booked a tour of Greenland in 2022 with a stop over in Iceland in 2022 

Having watched the Show Vikings on Amazon Prime, Iceland was discovered by Floki Vilgeroarson and he is often credited with being one of the first Norse explorers to intentionally discover Iceland. According to the sagas, he sailed to Iceland in the 9th century, around the year 865, after hearing stories of a land to the west.

Floki is said to have brought livestock with him, and upon his arrival, he initially encountered harsh conditions, which led him to name the island "Iceland" after seeing a fjord filled with ice. Despite the challenging start, his journey played a significant role in the Norse settlement of Iceland, paving the way for future explorers and settlers.

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