Akureyri - Jewels of the North tour

Hello, everyone. We will be in Akureyri in May on Celebrity Eclipse and are thinking of booking their 5 1/2 hour "Jewels of the North" excursion which visits Godafoss, Lake Myvatn, and the geothermal field near Namafjall Mountain. (Royal Carib offers the same tour.) Can anyone who has done this tour tell me how strenuous it is? The cruise line rates it "moderate". We will be traveling with two 87 year olds. They are both in good shape but ... 87 is 87, you know? Thanks for any info.

kathy

Consider asking over on the Iceland forum at TripAdvisor. While they may not have done the exact excursion, the folks there will be familiar with the sites. I know from experience that the south coast sites are an easy, flat walk, but have no idea about where you'll be.

I've visited all of those on a land trip, and I don't recall any of them being particularly strenuous.

Thanks, kaisatsu. That is the impression I have gotten from my research. Just wanted to double check. SO looking forward to our second trip to Iceland!

k.

It is very doable in a day and not too much walking. If you go to the pseudo craters there is more walking, and I recall the wind being strong enough for small person warnings the day we were there. There is no real need to go to the tops of the craters if you cannot or don't wish to do it. If the tour includes Dimmoburgir, there is walking, but the paths are paved.

We did the ‘Jewels of the North’ tour 18 months ago, with Disney Cruise Line. We really enjoyed it and recommend it. I do not recall it being strenuous walking, being mostly on the level and you could walk as much or as little as you wanted really. We are unfit and in our sixties and had no problems as far as I remember.

Thanks, marylizcat! I think we will go ahead and book that tour. On our first day in Reykjavik we dock at 2 pm and are booked on a 10 hour South Coast tour. (We did the Golden Circle on a previous visit.) I don't want to do anything too long or strenuous in Akureyri or mom-in-law and her sidekick may never want to cruise with us again. :)

kathy

We did the ‘Jewels of the North’ tour 18 months ago, with Disney Cruise Line. We really enjoyed it and recommend it. I do not recall it being strenuous walking, being mostly on the level and you could walk as much or as little as you wanted really. We are unfit and in our sixties and had no problems as far as I remember.

Were there many kids on this tour? I’m debating between this one and leisurely Akureyri + Godafoss. I have two well traveled kiddos with me.

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Were there many kids on this tour? I’m debating between this one and leisurely Akureyri + Godafoss. I have two well traveled kiddos with me.

 

 

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Sorry, but I can’t remember. Disney does quite a few excursions where they offer an ‘adult only’ version, so we would have done that if offered.

Unless they are very young, I would think that children might be interested in the geothermal area, with all the bubbling pits etc. Does the Leisurely one go there?

Sorry, but I can’t remember. Disney does quite a few excursions where they offer an ‘adult only’ version, so we would have done that if offered.

 

 

 

Unless they are very young, I would think that children might be interested in the geothermal area, with all the bubbling pits etc. Does the Leisurely one go there?

No worries. The leisurely one does the city area plus Godafoss. I do think they would be interested in the bubbling pits so I’ll try to get jewels of the north. This is for next simmer but I’m in planning mode [emoji16]

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On our first day in Reykjavik we dock at 2 pm and are booked on a 10 hour South Coast tour.

Can you tell me who you booked the South Coast tour through? We would like to see the South Coast, but the Disney Magic's schedule has us off the boat at 8:30, and that seems to be the pick up time for many of the tour operators. Thanks in advance for your help!

Can you tell me who you booked the South Coast tour through? We would like to see the South Coast, but the Disney Magic's schedule has us off the boat at 8:30, and that seems to be the pick up time for many of the tour operators. Thanks in advance for your help!

We (and a number of others on our Roll Call) did the South Coast tour several days ago using GeoIceland. They are a terrific company to work with, the tour guide was one of the best we’ve ever had, and the tour was fantastic. Private operators should be able to adjust their schedule to your ship’s time. Our pickup at the pier began at 8:30 am for a 9 am departure.

No worries. The leisurely one does the city area plus Godafoss. I do think they would be interested in the bubbling pits so I’ll try to get jewels of the north. This is for next simmer but I’m in planning mode [emoji16]

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In July we visited Akureyri and did a tour with FAB tours. 16 seater bus but there were only 8 of us including 2 teenagers. Had a fabulous day, they picked us up at the port and took us to many different places. They were quite strict about the time we had at each place but this was necessary in order to fit everything in. They also gave us choices, someone wanted to bathe at Lake Myvatn but then decided against so that we could spend time at the bubbling pools so we just had a quick lunch stop at Lake Myvatn. The guide was excellent giving us loads of information. He also offered to bring us back to the ship or drop us in the town so we could walk around and make our own way back to the ship (10 minutes walk) I would very much recommend this tour - Akyuryri was our favourite place in Iceland!