Untamed Iceland (2012)

Reykjavik • Stykkisholmur • Akureyri • Selfoss
  • 11 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $259 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 12 days
  • from only:
  • $3445
  • $288 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
NEW—Enhanced Itinerary
NEW—Private Departures
Is this Adventure Right for You?
It's Included
Unique Accommodations
Extend Your Adventure
Worlds of Fire: Iceland's Westman Islands
Greenland: Gateway to the Arctic
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your adventure, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two adventures to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the OAT adventure that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your adventure
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your adventure with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of OAT adventures to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Orlando, Portland, OR

13hrs

Boston

5hrs

Denver

10hrs

Dallas, Houston, Phoenix

12hrs

Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

MinMinneapolis, New York (JFK)

6hrs

San Diego

16hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Reykjavik, Iceland. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the OAT family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on an OAT trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-955-1925 or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Worlds of Fire: Iceland's Westman Islands

3 nights from only $1295
Westman Islands

Few places are as off the beaten path as the remote Westman Islands, an archipelago off of Iceland’s southern coast blessed with a kaleidoscopic beauty of red cliffs, black sand, and green countryside, framed by blue sea and sky. Experience the scenic, historic, and cultural gifts of one of Iceland’s major fishing ports and the premier home of the Atlantic puffin. This is a unique destination rarely seen by Americans.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension only available on select departures. Ask your Adventure Specialist for details.

It's Included

  • Airfare from the Westman Islands to Reykjavik
  • Ferry from Reykjavik to the Westman Islands
  • Accommodations for 2 nights in the Westman Islands and 1 night in Reykjavik
  • 7 meals—3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 3 dinners
  • 4 small group activities
  • All land transportation
  • Services of our own OAT Trip Leader
  • All transfers
Day 1
Depart U.S.

You’ll fly overnight from the U.S. to Reykjavik, Iceland.
Day 2
Arrive in Reykjavik/Ferry to Westman Islands

In Reykjavik, we’ll be met at the airport by an OAT representative and transferred to the coach that will carry us along a scenic coastal route to Selfoss. Here, we’ll pause for breakfast before continuing on to Landeyjar Hofn Harbor, where we’ll board a ferry bound for the Westman Islands. This small cluster of about 15 volcanic islands and 30 skerries off Iceland’s southwestern coast is sparsely populated and rarely visited by Americans, but it delights those who do. Enjoy time to settle into our hotel on Heimaey—the largest and only inhabited Westman Island—and enjoy lunch on your own before gathering with our small group for a stroll through the downtown area and dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 3
Worlds of Fire walk/Museum of Natural History/Dinner with local entertainment

We enjoy a morning tour of Heimaey, the largest of the Westman Islands. Most of Heimaey’s 4,800 residents depend on the sea—and never was that more true than in 1973, when the island was devastated by massive eruptions of lava that sprayed into the air through fissures in the ground. Amazingly, the entire fishing fleet was in harbor, and everyone on the island was rescued. Eruptions continued for five months, reshaping the island, adding about 15 percent to its territory, and creating Eldfell, a volcanic cone. The island’s major town, also called Heimaey, has since been rebuilt, and today it is one of Iceland’s major fishing ports.

We'll discover the effects of the volcanic eruptions of 1973 on a Worlds of Fire walk on the lava fields. In some areas of Heimaey, the ash rose as high as the tops of telephone poles, and as you walk above streets and buildings, you may come upon excavations that let you catch glimpses of the town as it existed before that fateful year.

After an included lunch at a local restaurant we will visit the Museum of Natural History. In the museum's aquarium, view uniquely Icelandic marine species such as the jelly cat, often brought here by sailors eager to preserve their country’s natural wonders. The museum also features displays of stuffed birds and fish, as well as one of the world’s best collections of Icelandic minerals, such as agate and jasper. You'll also visit the Byggdasafn Folk Museum.

This evening, you’ll have a chance to find out more about what life is like today in this remote hinterland as we enjoy dinner at a restaurant, followed by entertainment presented by some local residents.
Day 4
Boat tour/Storhofdi hike/Transfer to Reykjavik

After this morning's briefing, we'll view the Westman Islands’ scenic splendor from a different perspective—on a boat tour. Then, after lunch on our own, we'll enjoy a scenic hike at Storhofdi, a peninsula off the southern tip of Heimaey. Next, enjoy an afternoon at leisure before taking the short flight back to Reykjavik, where we dine together at a local restaurant this evening.

Day 5
Reykjavik/Join main trip

Today we meet the rest of our group as we begin our Untamed Iceland adventure.