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Isafjordur Viking Village Excursion

Wyoming2010

By Wyoming2010,
in Holland America Line

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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We are deciding on our excursions for next August's cruise, but I cannot seem to find anything for the excursion HAL is offering to the VIking Village in Isafjordur.  Has anyone done it?  Is it worth it (my daughter is an adult, but lives and breaths VIking history).  Thanks much.  

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Mary229 "Live from...." Rare

Mary229

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I was there a few years ago. There is a viking "museum" at the terminal.  I did not go into that as it looked a little touristy to me.   There is a town museum honoring the first female physician and upstairs has an accordion museum - which was quite entertaining.  I walked the entire town and as much countryside as can be gone to by foot and still had plenty of time to do nothing.  I looked at your excursion and I am not familiar with that one.  

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

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Perhaps HAL means the Viking Village in Thingeyri, which, according to the link below, can be visited on a tour from Isafjordur.

https://fantasticfjords.is/vikings-waterfalls/

 

We visited Isafjordur with HAL two years ago, and a bunch of us from our Roll Call booked several mini-vans for a private tour out to the Dynjandi waterfall.

 

If you haven’t already done so, I would also ask your question in the Northern Europe forum, where you’ll have additional folks who are familiar with Iceland. 

 

 

Edited by Turtles06
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VacationCharlene

VacationCharlene

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Not sure of what you are referring to but in case you are also visiting St. Anthony, Newfoundland Canada

https://www.stanthony.ca/lanse_aux_meadows.php

this link is for the L'Anse Aux Museum which HAL does have a tour to.  Similar to what you make referenc

You can also think about joining your rollcall, on this website, for others traveling to the same places.  We are going on the Voyage of the Vikings in 2021 and there is a rollcall for that to view BUT I dont think anyone has written about what you are asking specifically as of yet. Best of luck and happy voyage

 

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RuthC

RuthC

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2 hours ago, VacationCharlene said:

Not sure of what you are referring to but in case you are also visiting St. Anthony, Newfoundland Canada

https://www.stanthony.ca/lanse_aux_meadows.php

this link is for the L'Anse Aux Museum which HAL does have a tour to. 

I've been there, and it is excellent. Nearby is a recreated Viking village, showing what L'anse aux Meadows would have looked like when the Vikings lived there. 
If the village in Iceland is anything like the two areas in St. Anthony, then it would be worth the visit, IMO. 

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seaoma

seaoma

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1 hour ago, Wyoming2010 said:

Nope, just asking about Isafjordur.  Thanks though. 

 

On that note, has anyone used Westjords Tours in that port?  

 

Have you checked the Ports of Call board here on Cruise Critic?  You might find someone there that can answer your question. You will be accessing recommendations from all cruisers, not just HAL.

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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I can'I n 

1 hour ago, seaoma said:

 

Have you checked the Ports of Call board here on Cruise Critic?  You might find someone there that can answer your question. You will be accessing recommendations from all cruisers, not just HAL.

 

 

I tried, but can't find anything for Isafjordur  

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WisRiver

WisRiver

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In September, 2019 we did the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings.  For our stop in Isafjordur we booked the excursion "Dynjandi and the Westfjords"  It was a five hour tour and we spent about 2 hours driving.  However, the scenery was incredible.  Here is a link to the tour we took.  https://www.wildwestfjords.com/shore_excursions/Dynjandi_Waterfall_The_Westfjords/

 

We had a break in the rainy weather when we got to Dynjandi, so we were able to hike to the top of the falls.  We had enough time to walk around the small town of Isafjordur on our own.  

 

We were traveling in August, so be prepared for cool, rainy weather followed by warm sunshine.  

 

Enjoy.

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StLouisCruisers

StLouisCruisers

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5 hours ago, Wyoming2010 said:

Nope, just asking about Isafjordur.  Thanks though. 

 

On that note, has anyone used Westjords Tours in that port?  

 

No I haven't but I went back to my photo book which I make after every cruise, and checked out what we did there.  I didn't do a Viking village tour, but what we did do is walk around the small town of Isafjordur.  The ship I was on (Caribbean Princess) had more passengers than the entire town's population.  It was small, that's for sure.  That afternoon I went on a ship's tour to Skrudur to see the world's northernmost botanical garden, way out in the "countryside" away from town.  Then the tour moved on to Flateyri, a 200 year old fishing village partially destroyed by a landslide in 1995.  We stopped at a local church for an Icelandic musical program followed by tea and homemade pastries at an art workshop.  In addition, we visited an old bookshop.  That was about it.  Interesting but not a Viking village.

 

I hope you get to visit what you most want to see.  

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Wyoming2010

Wyoming2010

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5 hours ago, WisRiver said:

In September, 2019 we did the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings.  For our stop in Isafjordur we booked the excursion "Dynjandi and the Westfjords"  It was a five hour tour and we spent about 2 hours driving.  However, the scenery was incredible.  Here is a link to the tour we took.  https://www.wildwestfjords.com/shore_excursions/Dynjandi_Waterfall_The_Westfjords/

 

We had a break in the rainy weather when we got to Dynjandi, so we were able to hike to the top of the falls.  We had enough time to walk around the small town of Isafjordur on our own.  

 

We were traveling in August, so be prepared for cool, rainy weather followed by warm sunshine.  

 

Enjoy.

 

Did you like that tour company?   I've had a few emails with them and they seem to be very accommodating to customizing a tour for us.   Since HAL is charging $735 for the three of us just to do the 3-hour trip to the village (which is outrageous), Westfjords is willing to do a 6-hour tour that includes the village, the Falls, the Arctic Fox Center and a couple of towns for a couple hundred more.  [It's quite a shock to see their price listed as $130,000 Kroner  LOL]

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DeeDee Groff

DeeDee Groff

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5 hours ago, WisRiver said:

In September, 2019 we did the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings.  For our stop in Isafjordur we booked the excursion "Dynjandi and the Westfjords"  It was a five hour tour and we spent about 2 hours driving.  However, the scenery was incredible.  Here is a link to the tour we took.  https://www.wildwestfjords.com/shore_excursions/Dynjandi_Waterfall_The_Westfjords/

 

We had a break in the rainy weather when we got to Dynjandi, so we were able to hike to the top of the falls.  We had enough time to walk around the small town of Isafjordur on our own.  

 

We were traveling in August, so be prepared for cool, rainy weather followed by warm sunshine.  

 

Enjoy.

 This is the same tour I took with the same company on the 2017 Voyage of the Vikings.  It was a wonderful tour that could not have been any better, and the customer service both via email and on the ground was exemplary.

 

The advice you have posted about the weather is spot on.

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WisRiver

WisRiver

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Wyoming:

 

We like Wild Westfjords, and would use them again if we were in the area.  Their cost was reasonable compared to the HAL tour.  We were a group of eight in a 12 passenger van, compared with the 40 passenger bus used by the HAL tour.

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