Isafjord - I need help!

[CHACruiser]

I have booked (and can cancel!) a shorex thru HAL - Life and Culture of Isafjord... 3 hrs. For some reason I am not sold on this shorex - or any of the others they offer for that matter....except Vigur Island, where the birds will have already migrated from. Is there anyone who has done an independent tour here? Is it a good city to tour independently? And does anyone remember any of the highlights you would suggest? Or a HAL tour that you took which you really enjoyed? Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

[Pete Jackson]

We did the Vigur Island tour in July 2005, and it's a great boat ride with magnificent scenery, and we saw a whale breaching repeatedly! I don't know if whales will be in 'season' at the time you are going.

The boat landing at Vigur is rickety, and bouncy in windy conditions (which are common there), so if you are handicapped, it wouldn't be a good bet. The day we went, it was so windy that the birds wouldn't come out!

In fact it was so windy that our ship (Prinsendam) decided not to anchor in Isafjord since tendering would be too difficult, but locals recommended that the ship go instead to nearby Westfjord which was protected from winds in that direction. The tendering at Westfjord was easy and we took a bus to Isafjord town through one of Iceland's many tunnels (there is even an intersection with another tunnel along the way!).

The town itself is rather small, but the culture shore-ex could be interesting if you get the right Icelandic tour leader. It's a remote corner of Iceland with many fjords jutting in from the coast in different directions. It's also the coolest part because it's so close to Greenland, so dress appropriately!

[RuthC]

...one of Iceland's many tunnels (there is even an intersection with another tunnel along the way!).
Isn't that the neatest thing! I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. :eek: And it's miles long! With the one-lane and turn-offs so traffic can pass. Amazing.
I think it was worth the shore excursion I took just to go through that tunnel twice.

[TedC]

We very much enjoyed Vigur Island - the wildlife, the remoteness, and the great baked goods at the farm house. It was one of our best excusions.