Iceland and Greenland

Upon arrival in Reykjavik, transfer to the hotel. Later this evening, gather with fellow travelers for a welcome orientation and dinner.

Today we visit Hellisheidi Power Plant, which produces electricity for more than half of the population of Iceland. Learn how green, sustainable energy is produced at one of our planet's largest single-site geothermal power plants. After lunch together, the afternoon is free to explore Reykjavik independently.

Begin the day with a drive through lava formations of all shapes and sizes to the geothermal fields of Krysuvik, where powerful jets of steam escaping from deep below the Earth’s crust share the landscape with multicolored pools of boiling mud. Continue to Njardvik on the northern coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula to visit to Viking World, a museum housing a fully seaworthy replica of a typical Viking ship. Return to Reykjavik for lunch and embarkation on Vega.

The enchanting town of Isafjordur sits at the foot of a volcanic plateau, where even the center of the town seems to be part of the natural environment. This morning, explore the tiny fishing village of brightly colored houses and visit the Westfjord Heritage Museum, whose collections focus on the town's maritime history. After lunch, enjoy a panoramic tour of the dramatic landscapes that define the Westfjord Peninsula.

Spend today at sea, crossing the Denmark Strait toward Greeland. Attend lectures and briefings from our faculty leader and expedition staff, relax, and enjoy some of Vega's many amenities.

One of the most remote towns in the world, Ittoqqortoormiit is inaccessible by ship for nine months of the year. The town’s 450 present-day residents are largely self-sufficient, hunting and fishing to keep the community alive. Ittoqqortoormiit is also our gateway to the Scoresbysund fjord system—the world’s largest fjord network with an area of over 15,000 square miles.

These two days are spent exploring this vast system of fjords, where large basalt mountains create a striking backdrop to the brilliant white ice floating in mirror-like waters. The mountains offer protection from the Arctic winds, providing excellent shelter for Greenland’s iconic wildlife. Keep a lookout for Arctic foxes and mountain hares along the frozen shores. And with the help of our expedition team, we may see the little auks, fulmars, snowy owls, and great black-backed gulls that abound here. Whales, walrus, and seals are also common sightings.

King Oscar Fjord, which forms the northern border of the Scoresby Sound, is a seemingly endless maze of valleys, where mountains, deep water, and sparkling ice create an overwhelmingly dramatic landscape that photography simply cannot capture. It is an other-worldly place, seductively beautiful and hostile at the same time. One highlight of our time here is Berzelius Bjerg, a mountain of sharply striated bands of color that provide evidence that millions of years ago these mountains were part of a seabed.

Our lecture program continues as we return to Iceland across the Denmark Strait. Relax and enjoy cruising the open sea.

Seydisfjordur is regarded by many as one of Iceland’s most picturesque towns, not only due to its impressive surroundings, but also because nowhere in Iceland has a community of old wooden buildings been preserved as well as here. Enjoy an easy walk around the old town with a local guide, including a visit to the beautiful Blue Church, an arts and crafts market, the Skaftfell Art center, and the Technical Museum, which houses the oldest mechanic shop and the first telegraph station in Iceland. In the afternoon, explore the Skálanes nature reserve with its high coastal cliffs that are home to more than 40 bird species.

A small town on a peninsula near the mouth of Berufjörður fjord, Djupivogur is framed by an awe-inspiring pyramid-shaped mountain. It serves as a gateway to Vatnajökull National Park, Europe’s largest, covering 14% of Iceland, including ice caps, waterfalls, glaciers, canyons, craters, and volcanoes. Travel to the park’s Jökulsárlón Lagoon, Iceland’s deepest lake, where icebergs float on the surface of the water all year long, offering resting spots for passing seals.

Heimaey is the largest island of the Westman Islands Archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland and is the summer home to millions of puffins and other seabirds. Our tour of this rugged island includes incomparable landscapes of volcanoes, including Mt. Eldfell, whose eruption in 1973 required the evacuation of the entire population of the island. Visit the Eldheimar Museum, housing an interactive exhibition on the 1973 eruption. Toast our journey during a farewell dinner onboard Vega this evening.

After breakfast aboard, disembark and transfer to the airport for flights homeward.