Board your overnight flight to Iceland.
6:20am arrival. Breakfast at Viking world museum. Enter Blue Lagoon (lunch on own). Travel to Reykjavik for a guided ‘street art and history of Reykjavik’ walking tour. 3-course dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Reykjavik.
Breakfast at the hotel.
10:30 Today will start our day with an extraordinary tour: THE LAVA TUNNEL! Experience one of the longest lava tubes in Iceland! The group will explore an underground lava tube created by the mighty power of a volcanic eruption over 5, 000 years ago on a journey through the Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel. Living on an island created by a mantle plume also has its dangers and our guide will highlight Iceland's volcanic activity to you! We will take a moment of reflection inside the volcano.
Lunch en-route.
After our tour, we will board our private coach and pass over the Hellisheidi mountain pass to see huge clouds of steam coming out of the modern pumping stations and learn about how they supply Reykjavik’s hot water. Our fascinating, educational tour of the GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT will teach the group how all of Iceland runs on sustainable, green energy.
Afterwards, we will settle into our hotel for the evening for dinner and overnight.
Overnight in Hotel South Coast.
Breakfast at the hotel.
8:30am check-out of the hotel and board your coach bus.
In the morning, we’ll continue our journey east, stopping to visit the brand-new LAVA CENTRE at Hvolsvöllir. Here, we’ll be treated to a cinematic interpretation of Iceland’s many recent volcanic eruptions. We’ll learn more about the island’s explosive geography at an interactive exhibit about active and dormant volcanos.
We will see beautiful waterfalls along the way: Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Skogafoss. Lunch (at own expense) will be along the way to Vik.
Upon arrival to Vik, we’ll take a hike at Reynisfjara - “the black sand beach” to take a close look at the hexagonal basalt Columns. In Iceland you don’t just see nature in action, you also understand how the island’s residents are inspired by their environment.
Afterwards, attend THE LAVA SHOW: you will meet a local man who melts down basalt rocks into live lava using a high temperature smelter! With our safety goggles on, we’ll listen to his first-hand account of what it’s like to live through a volcanic eruption.
Continue to your beautiful hotel in the countryside - overnight and dinner at Fosshotel Vatnajökull. Don't forget to keep your eyes open for the northern lights tonight!
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning prepare for an adventure: Bear witness to one of the world's rarest natural phenomena: Iceland's ethereal Blue Ice Caves. Embark on a guided winter adventure in Vatnajokul National Park, departing the famous Glacier Lagoon. Ride a Super Jeep to the glacier, then hite inside one of the stunning ice caves.
Students can grab lunch at the on-site snack bars around the lagoon.
This afternoon the group will enjoy a beautiful view of icebergs float out to sea from the infamous Jokulsárlon GLACIER LAGOON, and walk on DIAMOND BEACH where we can touch man-sized chunks of glass-like glacial ice with our bare hands. Keep an eye out for the seals! The group will talk about how climatic changes have caused the glaciers in Iceland to melt at alarming rates. Your guide will point out fresh signs of the glacier disappearing all around the landscape we’re in.
Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00am check-out of the hotel and board the bus.
Morning visit to the original GEYSIR where we’ll see a massive plume of water explode out of the ground in a field teeming with bubbling and boiling puddles that smell of Sulphur. Shortly after, we visit the massive GULLFOSS WATERFALL where we witness the power of glacial meltwater converging in massive rivers that help power hydro-electricity. Feel the spray of the waters of the glacial River Hvítá as it plummets down into a 32-meter deep crevice. We’ll talk about the fine line between preserving and using such powerful natural environments to support human habitation in such extreme environments. The electricity produced could be used for more than just powering their homes. International conglomerates ship enormous quantities of bauxite to Iceland to use its vast supplies of water and cheap electricity to create aluminium. Think about that for a moment... bauxite is not found in Iceland, but the glaciers have helped aluminium become one of the countries top 3 industries.
Next, enter Þingvellir National Park, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of a few centimeters per year. Þingvellir was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural value in 2004, and is the site of a stunning rift valley and the Rock of Law, the first Viking parliament.
Continue the drive west and check into our city centre hotel in Reykjavik. Two thirds of the population lives in Reykjavik while the rest are dotted around the coastline in tiny hamlets. The otherworldly interior is as good as deserted. While walking around downtown Reykjavik, we see how even the sprawling urban heart of the nation lives in close interaction with the Atlantic ocean and its weather patterns.
Group farewell dinner this evening in the city centre.
Overnight Reykjavik.
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning we will have time for souvenir shopping or the group can opt to visit one of the many historical geothermal pools (at own expense with the Icelandic guide and teachers).
Prior to lunch, the group will enjoy delving into Iceland’s ancient roots with a guided tour of the SAGA MUSEUM to hear the personal stories of the first settlers and individuals that shaped the country and its history. As we hear their story, we can literally look them in the eye as we see life size replicas of them acting out key moments in their lives.
After lunch, depart for the airport for your flight home.
