Compare Iceland Discovery by Intrepid Travel vs Iceland: Autumn Migration by Limosa Holidays

Day 1 Reykjavik

Hallo! Welcome to Reykjavik, which lies just below the Arctic Circle. The city sees around four hours of sunlight a day in winter and 22 hours or more in summer. Surrounded by volcanic peaks and crystalline ocean and boasting a vibrant arts and nightlife scene, Reykjavik's contrasts are utterly beguiling. Your adventure kicks off with a welcome meeting at 6 pm at your accommodation. If you arrive early, why not head to the National Museum, which depicts the history of Iceland from the ninth century – when the first Vikings from mainland Scandinavia arrived and settled – to the present day. Or perhaps join locals who gossip and chatter in the Laugardalslaug Geothermal Pool.

Day 2 Golden Circle / Hvolsvollur Valley

Make an early start to beat the crowds on the Golden Circle route. Head to Thingvellir National Park, home to the Parliament Plains and location of Iceland’s first parliament. Thingvellir also contains the Silfra fissure, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. The resulting gap is partly filled with fresh water and is clearly visible. From here head to the Geysir geothermal area, checking out Strokkur and watching as the geyser swells with blue water before erupting and shooting some 20-30 metres in the air. Be spellbound by the immense beauty and sheer power of the Gullfoss (Golden) double waterfall on the Hvita River, before proceeding to a remote farm in the Hvolsvollur region, our overnight stop for the night.

Day 3 South Coast / Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Begin the day with a visit to breathtaking Seljalandsfoss waterfall, followed by Skogafoss waterfall. At 25-metres wide with a 60-metre drop, this waterfall roars. You can feel its power up close with a strenuous walk up a windy set of stairs up to a stunning viewpoint. The black sands and bizarre, rectangular rock formations of Reynisfjara are up next. The last stop of the day is the famous Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. Make sure you head down to Diamond Beach, where some of the icebergs are washed onto the black sand. Your leader can help you book an optional walk on the mottled blue, grey and black face of one of the tongues of Europe's largest glaciers, the epic ice cap of Vatnajokull. From Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon it is not far to our overnight stay, located on another lagoon that is sheltered by a black sandbar.

Day 4 East Fjords / Modrudalur Valley

Start the day by returning to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. Cruise between jagged icebergs in an included boat tour. Then take a scenic drive along the rugged coast of the East Fjords. Enjoy spectacular views of high mountains, deep fjords, spectacular waterfalls, glaciers and quaint fishing villages. Make stops along the way at small but notable towns like Djupivogur, which became a member of the cittaslow movement in 2013 and is aiming to be the Happiest Town in Iceland, and drop by Egilsstadir, home to the mythic Lagarfljot Wyrm. Continue along mountain roads into the highland to the farm village of Modrudalur. At 469 metres (1539 feet) above sea level, Modrudalur is the highest inhabited place in Iceland, and snow can be seen almost year-round. Stretch your legs with a walk to the farm's church, built in 1949 by farmer Jon Adalsteinn Stefansson in memory of his wife. Spend the evening on this unique farm, which is small but rich in history.

Day 5 Lake Myvatn / Akureyri

Set off for magnificent Dettifoss, Europe's mightiest waterfall at 100-metres wide and with a 45-metre drop into the craggy shores of Jokulsargljufur canyon below. It’s so powerful that it’s vibrations can be felt underfoot. Continue to volcanic Lake Myvatn. Next is Namaskard, where steam rises from the sulphuric terrain and it’s hard to believe you’re on Earth and not Mars. Take a walk around the lava stacks and caves of Dimmuborgir and then observe the massive pseudo craters of Skutustadir. Continue to the crescent shaped Godafoss waterfall, where legend says a lawmaker priest threw the idols of the Norse gods when Christianity became Iceland’s official religion in AD1000. Travel on to Akureyri and settle into your accommodation for the evening.

Day 6 Akureyri / Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Situated at the head of Iceland's longest fjord, Akureyri is the nation's second-largest city. Embark on a short walking tour of the town, taking in the striking church and other local sights. Later, continue to Snaefellsnes Peninsula, home to the magnificent Snaefellsjokull Glacier, which played a starring role in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Next up is Lysuholslaug, where you can bathe in thermal pools (depending on the season) or check out the Icelandic horses grazing in the fields. Look forward to an included home-cooked dinner this evening.

Day 7 Snaefellsnes Peninsula / Reykjavik

Continue exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, beginning with the white beach at Budir, then go on to Arnarstapi, where a short stroll along the coastal cliffs exposes you to rich bird life and other wonders of nature. Continue on to the basaltic pebble beach Djupalonssandur. In the afternoon head back to Reykjavik to complete your circuit of Iceland. You may wish to book an optional whale watching tour for late afternoon if you are here between May and December. The rest of the evening is yours for the taking. Perhaps head out for dinner with your fellow travellers and toast with a glass of Brennivin, a savoury schnapps.

Day 8 Reykjavik

Today is departure day and time to say sjaumst (see you soon)! Check out time is at midday. If you are departing later, you can arrange with reception to store your luggage at the hotel. If you wish to spend more time in Reykjavik, we'll be happy to book additional accommodation for you (subject to availability). Please speak to your booking agent at the time of booking. Perhaps browse some of the city's great art galleries. If you feel like something more active, book yourself on a Silfra Fissure snorkelling adventure, where you’ll discover this underwater ridge with water visibility of up to 120 metres. Alternatively, while away the hours with a soak in the geothermal waters of the famous Blue Lagoon.

Day 1: To Keflavik & Hveragerði

Our autumn birdwatching tour to Iceland begins with a scheduled Icelandair flight from London to Keflavík, where Trausti will be waiting to welcome us. We head east across the autumn landscapes of the Reykjanes Peninsula, to Hveragerði, where we stay tonight. There should be time to enjoy a little birding along the way - and we could see our first Harlequin Ducks.

In autumn, waders are present around Iceland's southern shores - both rocky and sandy - and our first port of call will be Garðskagi, at the very tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula. It’s jutting position means we could get close views of many of the commoner migrating shorebirds, such as Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin - and there is always the chance of stumbling across something more unusual. The Reykjanes Peninsula makes a great spot to start our tour and, in addition to shorebirds, we may see Gannets and divers offshore.

After dinner this evening, and on all other evenings if weather conditions allow, we’ll be ready to head out to see the Northern Lights. *1 Night Hveragerði

Days 2 – 3: Landeyjahöfn, Heimaey & Westman Islands

We begin by exploring the valleys and rivers of southern Iceland, searching for Barrow’s Goldeneye, one of Iceland's special birds, which frequent the pools and lakes. We’ll also visit the world famous hot springs at Geysir. Later, we travel southeast to Landeyjahöfn in time to catch our midafternoon ferry to the Westman Islands. Though it is only a short crossing (ca. 35 minutes), there should still be some auks - including Black Guillemot - about and we’ve a good chance of seeing Manx Shearwater and Minke Whale from the boat.

Having deposited our bags at the hotel, located in the main town of Heimaey, we will be able to explore the harbour area before dinner. Iceland and Glaucous Gulls should be about, attracted by the fleet of fishing boats - the waters around the Westman Islands contain some of the North Atlantic's richest fishing grounds.

Heimaey is the largest of the Westman Islands and, next day, we have a full day to explore it, visiting key sites for landscapes, seaviews and birds. All of the islands are formed by geologically recent volcanic activity and Heimaey is well known for the eruption that took place on the island in 1973.

There should still be some Puffins and other auks offshore and we’ll also look for cetaceans from the land. Autumn passerines could include Greenland and Northern Wheatears, White Wagtail and Snow Bunting. Given the right weather conditions... and a lot of luck, the Westman Islands are well positioned to pick up the odd vagrant coming out of North America; in recent years, a small number of American thrushes (including Hermit and Swainson’s) have turned up here, and warblers have included Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll.

We’ll see the new volcano of Eldfell, which erupted in 1973 and led to the evacuation of the island. In the distance, out to the southwest, beyond some smaller islands, we’ll see the new island of Surtsey, which famously grew from an undersea eruption in 1963. For those that want, there will be the chance to take a late afternoon boat trip round the island of Heimaey; this takes about 1.5 hours, but is entirely weather dependent at this time of year and so not included in our tour price (allow ca. £35 per person, payable locally). Two nights Heimaey

Days 4 – 5: Eyjafjallajökull, Dyrhólaey & Vatnajökull National Park

We take the morning ferry back to the mainland, then spend a very pleasant day travelling east across the magnificent scenery of southernmost Iceland. We’ll search for ‘Iceland Wren’, a subspecies that is most closely related to the form on St Kilda and numbers between 3000-5000 birds in total.

Our two days in the southeast could well be days of wild geese and glaciers. We should get good looks at flocks of Pink-footed Geese as they congregate before their migration, and visit the snout of a splendid glacier - this is the area of Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused so much chaos to air travel in Europe! We’ll do some seawatching from the spectacular south-pointing promontory of natural arches and stacks at Dyrhólaey, watching for Manx Shearwaters, Gannets and Great Skuas. Further east, we cross the plains of lava and volcanic sand to reach Skaftafell, in the immensely scenic Vatnajökull National Park, where we’ll spend the next two nights.

Vatnajökull is Iceland’s largest icecap and our movements along its southern edge will be set against its magnificent backdrop. The south side of Vatnajökull is characterised by lofty, majestic mountain ridges, with outlet glaciers descending between them onto the lowlands. At this time of year, in the relatively sheltered valleys at the southern edges of the glaciers, wind-blown vagrants from Europe can turn up and we’ll keep our eyes open for these as we travel. The scenery is superb and we’ll visit the glacial lake at Jökulsárlón, situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, and admire the varied sculptural icebergs floating on it or stranded on the shore. We’ll do some coastal birding here too, seeing flocks of geese and Whooper Swans gathering to migrate south and with a good chance of Red-throated and Great Northern Divers. We could encounter Ptarmigan, Raven, Common (Mealy) Redpoll and Icelandic Redwing just about anywhere, as well as Merlin and Gyr Falcon, too.

Our hotel at Skaftafell is located under the Vatnajökull ice cap and we can enjoy an evening stroll to the nearby glacier. Two nights Skaftafell

Day 6: Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Vík, Stokkseyri

Departing the National Park, we retrace our steps westwards today, making a number of short birding stops along the way. We’ll call in at several waterfalls and take time to explore the dramatic canyon at Fjadrargljufur, near Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where the hexagonal tops of basaltic columns form dramatic paving.

The south Iceland coastline produces many good birds in autumn and we should enjoy good views of groups of migrating Pink-footed Geese as well as waders including large flocks of Golden Plover, sometimes containing thousands of birds. We’ll see Harlequins on the rocky shores and Gyrfalcons frequently make an appearance to prey upon the waders. Although we’re a little late for phalaropes, there’s a chance of Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes passing offshore during a seawatch at Vik.

Returning full circle, we arrive back at our first our hotel in Hveragerði this evening. Night Hveragerði

Day 7: reykjanes peninsula, fly london

We head west about an hour to the capital Reyjavik and spend our final morning on the Reykjanes Peninsula, looking out for Great Northern Divers, Harlequin Ducks and Long-tailed Ducks offshore. This area regularly picks up the odd vagrant, especially shorebirds and duck, and we will visit 'hot spots' such as the promontories at Seltjarnarnes and Garðskagi, hoping for something special to round off our trip in style! Knot, Turnstone and Sanderling are likely amongst the more familiar wader species, but in late September there's a chance of coming across more unusual visitors such as White-rumped, Baird’s and Buff-breasted Sandpipers from North America. Cetaceans are occasionally present offshore along with Gannets, Eiders, divers, auks and gulls. It’s a great way to end the trip!

All too soon we will find ourselves back at Keflavík Airport for farewells to Trausti and our flight home. Evening arrival in London, where our autumn birdwatching tour to Iceland concludes.

*1  Northern Lights: Please note that aurorae occur intermittently and can’t of course be reliably predicted. Chance plays a large part, and there may well be no aurora activity during your short stay in Iceland.