Discover Greenland's glittering icebergs and wildflower-bedecked tundra while Iceland enchants you with its mighty glaciers and geothermal hotspots during this unique 14-day adventure. Search for a variety of Arctic wildlife—seals, walrus, whales, Arctic foxes, musk oxen, and with luck, polar bears. Photograph dramatic landscapes, including chiseled fjords, glittering glaciers, sculpted icebergs, and lush tundra blazing with purple saxifrage and moss campion. Explore by Zodiac to discover thousands of breeding seabirds, including kittiwakes, murres, dovekies, puffins, and rare ivory gulls. Visit colorfully painted villages and tiny fishing hamlets steeped in Viking history. Attend cultural performances and meet the hearty residents who share stories of survival in this harsh, yet ultimately beautiful land.
Highlights
Visit enchanting Narsaq surrounded by waters full of unique wildlife
Discover the historic Norse site named after Eric the Red’s wife
Explore Arsuk Fjord, home to one of Greenland’s largest bird cliffs
Enjoy Ammassalik’s culture & stroll through its brightly colored buildings
Hike across Skargaard Fjord to observe interesting geological formations
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Arrive in the Icelandic capital this morning and transfer to your hotel. Lunch and the remainder of the day are at leisure to enjoy this fascinating and colorful city. Gather this evening for a welcome reception followed by dinner and overnight at your hotel.
After breakfast, board your charter flight to Greenland. Board the Hebridean Sky in time for lunch. Enjoy an afternoon exploring the town, or take a hike for beautiful views over the fjord.
This morning visit Narsaq, built on a beautiful plain on the Narsaq Peninsula, and surrounded by waters rich with seals, salmon, Arctic char, and minke whales. Explore the small town with its brightly painted houses, museum, and local handicrafts market, and visit the remains of an old Norse settlement. Attend a performance by the local choir before lunch on board. In Brattahlid, visit the historic Norse site, named after Eric the Red’s wife who built the first Christian church in the New World.
This morning cruise along beautiful Arsuk Fjord, home to one of Greenland’s largest bird cliffs where thousands of kittiwakes, gulls, and guillemots breed. Zodiac excursions bring you close to the edges of the rugged cliffs, where in addition to the birds, you may also spot whales and seals. Ashore, nature hikes along the beach and to a nearby waterfall showcase the natural beauty of the area.
The 55-mile-long channel near the southern tip of Greenland offers breathtaking vistas as you cruise among a flotilla of ice. Volcanoes rise from the barren landscape, and icebergs, like tiny atolls, sit in pools of aquamarine waters. Steep, glacier-cut cliffs border the fjord with frozen waterfalls clinging to their edges like freeze-framed photographs. By Zodiac and aboard the ship, cruise the bays and finger-like offshoots of this truly spectacular display of geology and geography.
Today, cruise along the southeastern coast of Greenland. Now uninhabited, the region recalls its past civilization in skeletal sites of old Scandinavian and Inuit camps and settlements. Watch for seals, whales, and polar bears and, conditions permitting, go ashore in Napassorssuaq Fjord via Zodiac to explore this remote expanse of shoreline. Farther south, witness the portion of Greenland that fully lives up to its name. This is the most fertile part of the country; unlike the northern hunting and fishing villages, agriculture and farming are an important part of economic life.
This horseshoe-shaped inlet offers breathtaking scenery and an abundance of wildlife. Humpback whales are often found feeding in the nutrient-rich waters and ringed and harp seals haul out on the rocky shores.
The small settlement of Ammassalik is part of the municipality of the same name which covers an area five times the size of Denmark. Ashore, enjoy a cultural performance and stroll through the town’s brightly colored buildings to visit the excellent local museum. After this, there is free time to browse handicraft shops, or take a stroll around town. Those who wish may continue on a hike to Flower Valley, accompanied by naturalists who point out the varieties of local vegetation enjoying their brief seasonal bloom.
Cruise among enormous icebergs, calved by the numerous glaciers in this huge U-shaped fjord. Conditions permitting, hike along beaches littered with glacial moraine and observe interesting geological formations, including the Skargaard Intrusion, where magma was forced through the earth’s crust.
Spectacular mountains surround Nansen Fjord, clad in tundra dotted with seasonal wildflowers. By Zodiac, cruise among glittering icebergs, sculpted by wind and sea into fantastical shapes, watching for harbor, harp, and hooded seals on the ice floes. Conditions permitting, take walks along pristine beaches and across tundra-carpeted landscapes, keeping an eye out for musk oxen, collared lemmings, and Arctic foxes.
Join naturalists on deck to search for seabirds and marine mammals. Lectures recap your time in Greenland and prepare you for the wonders you witness in Iceland.
After breakfast take a walking tour of small, verdant Vigur, the summer home to vast numbers of puffins, black guillemots, Arctic terns, and eiders. The tiny community dates back to the late 1800s and boasts Iceland’s only windmill. During lunch on board, cruise northward to Ísafjördur, the trading and cultural center of the West Fjords. A cultural tour reveals the history and daily life of one of Iceland’s oldest fishing settlements and visits the region’s scenic highlights. This afternoon, enjoy free time in town to browse the local shops.
This morning sail past Iceland’s westernmost cape, the Látrabjarg cliff, a breeding ground for millions of seabirds including puffins, kittiwakes, northern fulmars, and thick-billed murres. By Zodiac, trace the coastline of Flatey Island before going ashore for a walking tour of the village. View the uniquely painted island church and the restored houses of islanders who earn a living fishing for cod and lumpfish.
Day 14: Reykjavík | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, disembark the Hebridean Sky and set out to explore Iceland’s classic scenic wonders known as the Golden Circle. Begin with Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounded by mountains and encompassing a vast lava plain of green moss and wildflowers. Continue to Gullfoss Waterfall where the Hvita River drops 96 feet in two voluminous cascades. The Geysir Center is a huge geothermal field of both boiling and tranquil multi-hued hot springs and bubbling mud pools. After lunch visit Fridheimar Farm, which produces tomatoes and cucumbers year-round in their impressive greenhouses and breeds Icelandic horses.
Transfer to the airport this afternoon for your independent homeward flight, arriving in the USA the same day.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Select a Date
Category 1
Amundsen Deck staterooms are 240 square feet and have two to four portholes.
Select a Date
Category 2
Byrd Deck staterooms are 225 square feet with large picture windows.
Select a Date
Category 3
Mawson Deck staterooms range between 220 to 240 square feet and feature large picture windows.
Select a Date
Category 4
Mawson Deck staterooms range between 220 to 240 square feet and feature large picture windows.
Select a Date
Category 5
Scott Deck staterooms are 260 square feet including private balconies.
Select a Date
Category 6
Shackleton Deck staterooms are 325 square feet including private balconies.
Select a Date
Owner's Suite
The owner’s suite is 370 square feet including a private balcony.
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
This was my first experience with Adventure Life - and I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip. The guides and local staff in both Buenos Aires and Uruguay were terrific - extremely helpful and accommodating. I really enjoyed meeting the friendly staff in Buenos Aires in person (I left my bags with them for the afternoon).
Karen Snider
TrustScore 4.8 | 175 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 175 reviews on
1 day ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
3 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
4 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
