Iceland and the Faroe Islands: Part I – Following the Vikings

Posted on   July 18,2025   By John and Linda Compisi

Iceland, “The Land of Fire and Ice”, is a fascinating island nation located on the mid-Atlantic Ridge between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Its nickname is based on its dramatic, diverse landscapes, including volcanoes, glaciers, and geothermal regions. Iceland is packed with jaw-dropping sights!

We visited there late last summer as part of our nearly 30-day Viking Cruise, British Isles & Iceland Explorer. We were mesmerized by the mysterious, dramatic, stunning and just plain awesome geological and landscape features.

This is Part I of our 3-part series chronicling our 4-week adventure ‘Following the Vikings’ through Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, the Shetland Islands and the British Isles.

Our adventure began as we flew from San Francisco to London where we acclimated to the time change. We spent a couple nights in London and did some sightseeing. Our highlights for London will be addressed in Part III.

We departed London for our 2.5-hour flight, via British Airways, to Keflavik, the international airport serving Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Upon landing, the driver we had pre-arranged (Viator) met us and delivered us to the cruise terminal in Reykjavik, about a 50-minute drive.

Reykjavik is the globes northern most Capital city as well as the largest city in Iceland. The official language in Iceland is Icelandic, however it appeared most everyone speaks English.

We arrived pier side just in time to process in and board. Viking has the process down and before we knew it, we were onboard with a welcome cocktail in hand. We found our way to our stateroom which was very familiar as it was the same exact stateroom we stayed in when we did a previous Viking Ocean Cruise. Viking makes things easy by having all ocean ships virtually identical in design and layout.

We had a typically delicious dinner and hurried off to the first of many presentations, ‘Iceland – Land of Fire & Ice’, presented by the resident historian (Viking always has onboard historians, geologists, guest lecturers, etc. depending upon the nature of the cruise destinations.) Historian Knut Nesse gave a fascinating lecture on the Viking history of Iceland (from the 9^th Century).

On our first full day on the Viking Venus, we departed on our first excursion, the famous Golden Circle tour. The Golden Circle is about 190 miles and 7.5 hours, including detours, that highlights Iceland’s natural and historic wonders. Starting and ending in Reykjavik, the tour includes Þingvellir National Park, the Geyser Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfalls (which gives its name to this tour).

Thingvellir (Þingvellir) National Park sits in a rift valley caused by the separation of 2 tectonic plates (North American and Eurasian Plates), with rocky cliffs and fissures like the huge Almannagjá fault. At different points within it, it is possible to see both cliffs that mark the ends of the continents. Walking between two continental plates was sort of weird but truly amazing. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also the location were many scenes in the Game of Thrones were filmed.

Thingvellir National Park is a cornerstone of Icelandic identity—where nature, history, and geology converge in spectacular fashion. Birthplace of Iceland’s Parliament: The Althing was established here in 930 AD, making it the world’s oldest surviving parliament.

After departing Thingvellir National Park, our tour took us to Geysir Geothermal Area, about a 40-minute drive. Strokkur, being the most well-known, is an easy walk from the parking lot. Strokkur erupts very frequently (every 5-10 minutes) shooting a hot stream of water and steam high into the air (50-70 feet high although as high as 130 feet occasionally). Our tour included an excellent lunch buffet in a conference facility near the parking lot.

We departed Geysir Geothermal Area and arrived at Gullfoss Waterfalls about 10 minutes later. Gullfoss translates to “Golden Falls”. The distinctive two-tiered drop totaling about 105 feet makes Gullfoss dramatic and powerful as the waters of the Hvita River cascade into the deep canyon. The Hvita River originates from the Langjökull glacier, about 23 miles away, the 2nd largest glacier in Iceland. This incredible display of nature’s power is not to be missed.

The Gullfoss Visitor’s Center offers food, refreshments and fun souvenirs from Iceland. If you’re lucky you’ll see a herd of Icelandic Ponies, like we did.

Once we returned to the ship, we had time for happy hour and dinner as our ship weighed anchor to sail overnight to Ísafjörður, the Capital of the Westfjords region of northwest Iceland. While underway, we were treated to Orca sightings. A real thrill.

Ísafjörður is known for its stupendous landscapes and is home to Iceland’s oldest timber-frame houses, dating back to the 18th century. The town was settled by the Vikings in the 9th Century. We enjoyed the nearby whaling/fishing museum, Ósvör, where the young male docent made us howl with laughter as he described life for the fishermen in this tiny outpost. The Ósvör Museum is a remake of one of the fishing huts from centuries earlier. Later, we visited Skutulsfjörður Waterfall, a small but majestic cascade located in Ísafjörður’s “playground”.

Later that evening the Viking Venus, departed Ísafjörður and headed overnight for Akureyri, nicknamed the “Capital of the North”. Akureyri is located on Eyjafjörður Fjord, the longest fjord, 60 km (36 miles) in Northern Iceland. With around 20,000 residents, it’s Iceland’s second-largest urban area. We took a 4.5-mile hike with a 900’ elevation change. We saw sheep grazing freely and mountain goats in the distance. This was an amazing tour. 

After cruising overnight, our next port was Seyðisfjörður, in the Eastern Region of Iceland. The town of Seyðisfjörður is located about 11 miles (17 km) from the Norwegian Sea deep into the Seyðisfjörður fjord. While there we enjoyed the Food & Viking Festival including entertainment by Jón Hilmar Kárason and Björt Sigfinnsdóttir. Both are internationally renowned artists who have selected the simpler life in their Icelandic home. They shared examples of traditional and popular Icelandic music. Björt had a small acting and singing role in the Hollywood blockbuster, Justice League.

We departed Seyðisfjörður and had our first sea day sailing the chilly Norwegian Sea enroute to the Faroe Islands. On board, the guest lecturers, an ambassador and other onboard experts presented various classes including a Port Talk about the heritage, culture and history of Tórshavn (the Capital) and the Faroe Islands. The 22 Islands are about midway between Iceland and Norway. The Faroe Islands are like a real-life fantasy novel—windswept cliffs, turf-roofed villages, and puffins galore.

We had reserved two excursions and enjoyed them both. The first was the Faroe Islands Vistas which included an hour-long bus tour around the Capital of Tórshavn. The second excursion, ‘Scenic Vistas and Coastal Villages’ was quiet amazing. We visited the oldest church in the Faroe Islands, Saint Olav’s Church (Ólavskirkjan), located in the village of Kirkjubøur on the island of Streymoy. It was built before the year 1200, making it not only the oldest church in the Faroes but also one of the oldest still-in-use churches in the region. A verified medieval gem. We also visited Dúvugarðar, a historic farmstead located in the village of Skarðsvík. Life was hard.

After our all too brief stay on Streymoy Island, we reboarded our ship for our 2^nd day at sea (the North Sea this time) as we headed for Geiranger, Norway and the end of the first leg (9 days) of our month-long cruise.

Come back soon to read about our adventures in Norway, in Part II – Following the Vikings.

NOTE: Viking Cruise Lines is very well known cruise operator for Ocean cruises, River cruises and their research Expeditions. We have previously sailed Viking from Seward Alaska to Vancouver, BC. We think they are one of the best, for adults, in the business. No kids and no Casinos.