choose your destination:

Iceland

Land of fire and ice

DATE: 24 August – 01 September 2012 (spring tour)

GROUP: minimum 6, maximum 12

A must do tour for your bucket list

“Die avontuur is te gou verby. Ons het vir ‘n week deur ‘n land van vuur en ys gery waar die aarde sy warm asem uitblaas, maar ook sy skoonheid in oorvloed wys. Dit is tienvoudig mooier as wat ek verwag het.” Dolf Els!
“This tour is just a cut above the rest and a brilliant experience - I will be back” – Dirk de Jongh!

Introduction:

Iceland is in all senses surprising with an educational level of 99% and the highest per capita readers in the world. The infrastructure is good; the food of the highest order and the beauty and variety makes for unforgettable images in your mind. Life underneath the surface of the earth, however, is the thing that will mesmerize you the most. Imagine, hot water of 100 degrees ejecting 40 meters into the air every 10 minutes, steam bubbling out of the earth, a drive through a 32 km crater … the world’s longest, or standing on the edge of the volcano responsible for the ash cloud over Europe in 2010, or driving on a glacier with an 800 m thick ice layer beneath you. It is impossible to leave Iceland untouched. There are two ways of exploring Iceland – driving the highways or driving the back roads. In true Live the Journey spirit, we will be taking the back roads to ensure the best possible experience, still including the highlights and sleeping in great accommodation. We have compiled the programme in such a way as to allow enough free time to explore Reykjavik at your own pace and time, before departing to the more remote parts. There are great shops, beautiful little streets, top restaurants and lots of history. Then an adventure of a lifetime begins when we drive our converted 4 x 4 vehicles on mountain trails that are not accessible to everyone. You drive your own converted vehicle with big wheels, 38 to 44 inches. Arctic Trucks in Iceland has converted and adapted Hilux, Cruisers and Patrols to make them more suitable for their local driving conditions … these conditions being glaciers and ice. To make it more rewarding we will follow an off-the-beaten track through spectacular Iceland scenery. We will see sprouting geysers, beautiful waterfalls, volcanoes, drive on a black sand beach, see the world’s largest volcanic canyon and bath in hot springs. Don’t miss out on this expedition!

Includes

• Transfer from Keflavik Airport to hotel in Reykjavik
• 1 night’s accommodation in Reykjavik pre the Arctic Truck expedition
• Accommodation, vehicle (self-drive), fuel, 3 meals daily, guide, communication radio’s and entrance fees during Arctic Truck expedition.
• 1 night’s accommodation near Keflavik Airport post the Arctic Truck expedition.

Excludes

• International flights - estimated return flight costs: R14 000.00 pp
• Transit visa for the UK (application takes 10 days)
• Schengen visa for Iceland (application takes 3 weeks)
• Travel, medical and luggage insurance
• Drinks
• Meals not specified
• Porterage and gratuities
• Things of a personal nature

ITINERARY

Day 1: 24 August    -     Depart Cape Town

20:10 Depart on BA58 from Cape Town to London Heathrow, Terminal 5

Day 2: 25 August     -    Arriving in Iceland

06:45 Arrive in London at Heathrow, Terminal 5. Proceed to Terminal 1
13:00 Depart on FI 451 from London Heathrow to Keflavik Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland
15:00 Arrive in Reykjavik. Transfer from the airport to a hotel in the city. Rest of the day at leisure.
Things that you can consider doing are exploring the town of foot or visit the Blue Lagoon by taking one of the regular bus transfers.
O/N Hotel in Reykjavik (dinner)

Day 3: 26 August    -   Reykjavik

Breakfast and morning at leisure to explore the city or time for shopping. Your Live the Journey tour leader will accompany you while exploring the beautiful Reykjavik.
16:00 Transfer from your hotel to Arctic Trucks for a short briefing on off-road techniques, driving in Iceland and the car equipment. Then we will start the tour and drive to our first accommodation, huts in southern Iceland.
For the next couple of days we will overnight in huts in beautiful, but remote parts of Iceland.
We chose an off-the-beaten track route for a true Icelandic experience where huts are the only accommodation option.
Dinner at a local restaurant
O/N Self-catering huts (breakfast and dinner)

Day 4: 27 August            Þingvellir - Gullfoss – Geysir

First on our program is a visit to Þingvellir National Park, the site of the old parliament and a place of great historic importance. This birth place of democracy in Iceland is a symbol and an emblem of Democracy, the park is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. After that we visit the Great Geysir geothermal area. There we will take a look at the areas namesake and its neighbour, Strokkur a feisty geyser which spouts every 5-10 minutes. Close by we find Gullfoss, one of Iceland’s most beautiful waterfalls; in two giant steps the water falls 32 meters into a deep gorge. In the afternoon, we will drive close to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano where we will spend the night in a hut.
O/N Self-catering huts (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner)
Driving: 6 hrs total Walking: 2 hrs total

Day 5: 28 August               Þórsmörk – South coast – Hrífunes

We start the day with driving into Þórsmörk or the valley of Thor. On the way into the valley we will stop at the site where the flood came down during the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull.
From there we head to the south shore of Iceland where we can drive on endless black sand beaches along the North Atlantic shore break. We will round up the day by ending up in a remote farm house at Hrífunes. We might even get to see the first Northern lights of the season.
O/N Self-catering lodge. (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner)
Driving: 7 hrs total Walking: 2 hrs total

Day 6: 29 August         Fjallabak – Eldgjá – Landmannalaugar.

Today we will start the day by driving into Fjallabak or behind the mountains as we call it.
This is one of the most spectacular areas in Iceland with endless tracks and beautiful coloured mountains in pink, brown, green, yellow, blue, purple, black and white. We will view the largest volcanic canyon in the world Eldgjá (fire canyon) … 270m deep and 600m wide at its greatest. The day ends in Landmannalaugar (the people’s pools) in a region near the volcano Hekla. There we can take a bath in one of the geothermal hot springs.
O/N Self-catering hut (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner)
Driving: 7 hrs total Walking: 2-3 hrs total

Day 7: 30 August        Háifoss – Þjórsárdalur - Reykjavík

Today we start heading back to civilization. On our way to Reykjavík we will stop at the waterfall Háifoss. With a height of 122m it is the second highest waterfall in Iceland. We will then drive down into Þjórsárdalur Valley. The whole valley was buried under volcanic ash in the year 1104 following the eruption of the volcano Hekla. We will visit Stöng a former Viking homestead in beautiful surroundings. We wil end the day at our hotel close to the airport.
O/N Hotel near the airport (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner)
Driving: 5 hrs total Walking: 2 hrs total

Day 8: 31 August        Reykjavík

Transfer from the hotel to the Airport.
07:40 Depart from Reykjavik on FI 450 for London Heathrow, Terminal 1
11:45 Arrive at London Heathrow
Proceed to Terminal 5.
19:30 Depart on BA59 from London Heathrow, Terminal 5 for Cape Town.

Day 9: 01 September       Arrive

08:00 Arrive in Cape Town

END of service

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Cost per person sharing:  

Land arrangements: Cost per person based on 2 people per Arctic Truck: Euro 2880.00 pp

Special notes:

If you make your own flight arrangements and arrive at a different time than the given time on the itinerary at Keflavik Airport, the airport transfer will be for own account and is not included in the quoted rate.
Clients are responsible for their own visa applications. Live the Journey will provide guidance and information, but clients must apply in person. Take into account that you first need to apply for a UK Transit visa (takes 10 days) and then for a Schengen visa for Iceland via the Danish representation in South Africa. The application for the Schengen visa takes 3 weeks.

Bookings:

Deadline for bookings: 1 JULY 2012

It is important to book immediately to finalize numbers and to obtain the best possible flight ticket rates – the sooner flights are booked, the cheaper the rates.

Payments:

~ A 10% tour deposit as well as the full flight costs are required at time of booking
(contact us for a booking form),
~ 40% payable 3 months prior to departure,
~ 50% 6 weeks prior to departure