Cruise along chiseled fjords packed with icebergs for up-close views of glittering glaciers on our brand-new expedition that explores the Arctic region of Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. You'll search for beluga whales, and seabirds such as razorbills, guillemots, and kittiwakes, and enjoy a hike through Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Highlights
Cruise along chiseled fjords for up-close views of glittering glaciers
Search for marine mammals, including beluga whales in Saguenay
Hike through Gros Morne National Park; this UNESCO World Heritage Site
Discover the eroded sea stacks and cliffs of the Mingan Archipelago
Attend a cultural performance at Taiilaq and meet with friendly locals
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 the Reykjavík Hilton Nordica. 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 a hotel.
After breakfast, 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, then embark Le Champlain.
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.
The small settlement of Tasiilaq 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.
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.
The 55-mile-long channel near the southern tip of Greenland offers breathtaking vistas as you cruise among a flotilla of ice. Mountains rise from the barren landscape, and icebergs, like tiny atolls, sit in pools of aquamarine waters. Steep, glacier-cut cliffs border the fjord; frozen waterfalls cling 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.
Considered by some to be the long-sought-after Vinland depicted in the Norse sagas and settled by Leif Ericson in A.D. 1000, L’Anse aux Meadows was only officially rediscovered in 1961. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, it remains the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America and represents the earliest evidence of a European presence in the New World. Visit the living history Viking trading settlement of Norstead.
In Gros Morne take a hike to the Tablelands, a landform that resembles the surface of the moon. Much of Gros Morne’s fame comes from this huge extrusion of the earth’s mantle thrust violently to the surface over 450 million years ago. The park is also rich in wildlife—caribou, Arctic hare, fox, weasel, lynx, and an occasional black bear. Alert spotters may observe fin, minke, humpback, and pilot whales in the offshore waters.
Be on deck as the ship approaches Gaspe to view stunning Percé Rock, an imposing limestone sea stack with a large arch “piercing” the rock. On nearby Bonaventure Island, step ashore for nature walks to observe interesting geology and over 300 species of birds, including black-legged kittiwakes, common murres, and a large colony of northern gannets.
Havre St. Pierre is the gateway to the spectacular Mingan Archipelago, a chain of islands, islets, and monoliths of element-sculpted limestone. Whales and seals are often spotted frolicking among these bizarre formations, and seabirds nest along the sheer rock cliffs.
The Fjord du Saguenay offers some of Canada’s most breathtaking scenery. As the ship cruises along this narrow waterway, you are surrounded by cliffs that tower from 500 – 1,000 feet. Keep an eye out for resident wildlife, including peregrine falcons, black bears, seals, and beluga whales.
Day 16: Quebec City | Disembark
1 Breakfast
Transfer to the airport for your independent flights home.
This itinerary is no longer available. For other trip ideas, please visit Arctic Cruises & Tours.
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.
Category 1
Ocean-view suites on Deck 3 are 204 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 43-square-foot private balcony.
Category 2
Ocean-view suites on Deck 4 are 204 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 43-square-foot private balcony.
Category 3
Ocean-view suites on Deck 5 are 204 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 43-square-foot private balcony.
Category 4
Ocean-view suites on Deck 6 are 204 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 43-square-foot private balcony.
Category 5
Ocean-view suites on Decks 3, 4, 5, and 6 are 290 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 64-square-foot private balcony.
Category 6
Ocean-view suites on Decks 5 and 6 are 344 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 86-square-foot private balcony.
Suite
Ocean-view suites on Decks 5 and 6 are 484 square feet and have a sliding glass door leading to a 322-square-foot private balcony.
Owner's Suite
This ocean-view suite on Deck 6 is 484 square feet and has a sliding glass door leading to a 322-square-foot private balcony, including a private hot tub.
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
Kate was great to work with in the planning stage. She was prompt, helpful, and efficient. Our tour guide, Edwin, was knowledgeable and passionate. We were very happy to have traveled with Adventure Life, it made the trip easy and a true pleasure. We could concentrate on enjoying the experience rather than the details of travel.
