ljandgb

Totally agree to take extra time for your family investigations. Unlike ocean cruises, where port times and locations are set in stone well ahead, your river ship's schedule will be fluid as to where and when it is. That would totally stress me out trying to keep track of it.

We've enjoyed Avalon, but regardless, when evaluating an itinerary I'd look for a few things. How many evenings do you have in port? I enjoyed being able to go out to dinner or after dinner drinks in town. When the ship pulls out before dinner, you are at the mercy of whatever is happening on the ship that night for entertainment. I would also compare excursions. There really are differences even in the same towns.

KEF needs a good 3 hours, so you’ll need to be there by 2:30. You could look at half day Golden Circle tours. Troll and Arctic Adventures are two commonly mentioned companies. Or, go into Reykjavik and explore. Rent a car in town and drop it off at the airport. Maybe explore the Reykjanes peninsula on the way to the airport. Try the Sky Lagoon or Blue Lagoon.

Having been to both, if you’re talking about a cruise, I’d choose the Scandinavia cruise, for the reasons listed above. Iceland is amazingly beautiful, but difficult to explore from the few ports you’ll have. We actually did a 3 day Iceland stopover on the way to our Baltic cruise.

The very limited options mean they book well in advance. Iceland is not like other countries where you pull up to the pier and companies are out there recruiting customers for the day. Booking when you get there works fine for many parts of the world, just not Iceland.

I'd advise against booking thru Viator, as it's just a middle man and if you have any issues with timing or weather you will be unable to communicate with the tour company itself. I've not heard of that company. Troll and Arctic Adventures are two of the most commonly mentioned companies over on the TripAdvisor Iceland forum. I'd highly recommend you look over there for any specific advice. In general, there is not a lot of tourist infrastructure outside of Reykjavik and Akureyri. Most other ports are tiny villages, and there are not many (any?) tour choices outside of what the ship offers or just wandering around the village. There is no usable public transportation for tourists. Some ports will have nearby waterfalls, etc, you can get to with a short-moderate walk. TBH, Iceland is best seen with a land tour, but you are not alone. This question comes up frequently over on TA.

Definitely go over to the TripAdvisor forums, but in general, outside of Reykjavik and to an extent Akureyri, there is limited tourist infrastructure in the small towns, or even public transport to get anywhere. There just isn't enough business to make it viable. That means you book very early with the very few local providers, take a ship's tour, or just wander around on your own (which will be a short wander - these are VERY small towns.) Agree that trying to schedule anything in Isafjordur is iffy until ships can show they will reliably dock there. Agree that trying to book thru Viator or another middle man is not a great idea in general, but particularly when traveling to Iceland. Weather can impact tours any time of year and communicating thru Viator is next to impossible. I do like Viator as a way to see what's available, but I always book directly thru the company.

Aside from the differences like what is included or not (alcohol, excursions, chef's table, etc.) a few things I did not know to look for until I'd done our first river cruise were: - Dining options (is it a set menu or do you have choices?, if set, can you at least get a chicken breast, etc?, and is there an option of lighter meal that doesn't require the lengthy time the table service meals require?) Some lines set up a small plates version in the lounge of what's being served in the main dining room. You can grab what you want quickly and without fuss. -Where are you in the evenings? Some ships pull away from the dock before dinner and don't put back in again until after breakfast. That leaves you with limited options at night, and for me, limited time to explore a new city. I don't mind missing a provided meal if that means I can go out in town and try something there, or at least get an after dinner drink in a fun new location. -Assuming good water levels and no extra busing required, how long is the bus ride to the provided excursions, and/or is the ship generally docked within walking distance of the town. As docking positions and times are much more fluid than ocean cruising, it is very difficult to pre-arrange scheduled DIY tours in cities. The flip side, though, is that if you are docked in the middle of town, it can be very easy to just go out on your own to explore.

As that daughter is now 24, I’d say that ship sailed a looong time ago!

If you are flying in from the US or Canada I wouldn’t plan on going much further than Reykjavik the first day. The jet lag from that short flight is usually pretty brutal. You could get an early start the next day and go down the south coast, spend the night around Vik. Day 3 make your way back up to Rey, maybe swing by some of the golden circle. Day 4 consider an early Into the Volcano tour if it fits your times or one of the hot spring spas. I’m not sure what glacier lake you are talking about?

Brilliant, got it! Thanks so much. My husband does all the bookings so I hadn't even looked at those documents (and he apparently didn't remember that info was there.)

We are scheduled for the Viking Sky, October 31, 2024, Venice to Istanbul. I can't find the actual port times for our itinerary anywhere, which would be good to know so I can start planning some DIY tours. Am I missing something on their website? On other lines we've sailed, I'm pretty sure the arrival/departure times were already published by this time. My other option is to go thru each port's schedule independently, but surely Viking has this info somewhere??

I really enjoyed Copenhagen. We came in 2 nights early before embarking there for our Baltic cruise. I quite liked our hotel, the Scandic Palace. It was next to city hall, right around the corner from the beginning of the Stroget (the main pedestrian street), and across from Tivoli. The main train station, which has a line directly to the airport, was on the opposite side of Tivoli from us, and an easy walk.

Agree. I really liked Bratislava, but not sure it would be worth a 2 hour bus ride. We were docked city center. There is soooo much to see in Vienna that I think your time would be better spent there, regardless of what you see in the city.

FWIW, Iceland is really best seen as a land trip. If there's a Norway only itinerary that goes where you'd like, you can just add a quick stopover in Iceland, and honestly you'd see more of Iceland.

I love Smartwool products. I have several shirts in light to mid-weight, socks, a neck gaiter, and a hat. Waterproof outer layers really just depend what you want. I hike, so looked for ones that I can zip on over my boots so I don't have to take my boots off in a sudden downpour. I also wanted light weight, as the ounces add up in a back pack. My rain jacket is breathable, with vents under the arms. My husband, on the other hand, golfs, and his rain gear is bulky and heavy, but he's fine with it as mostly it rides in his cart (he drags it out for trips also.) REI and Moosejaw are two companies I like for outdoor gear and technical fabric items. They have good online stores, and Moosejaw has free returns.

The sides of the Mekong are not developed the way that most European rivers are. It is a combination of wild swamp, small floating fish hatcheries, and small farm plots. There would be nowhere to bike, unlike along the Danube for instance. We went with Avalon and did all the extensions - 2 nights Hanoi, 1 night Halong bay, 2 nights HCMC, 2 nights Siem Reap, 2 nights Bangkok. It was totally worth it. Great vacation. There are bike opportunities in Siem Reap, as renting bikes to see the temples is a thing. Be warned, though, that we saw several folks by the side of the road with their bikes looking completely deflated. I suspect they were not prepared for the heat. We were there end of November and it was still so very hot and humid.

We flew Hanoi to HCMC, Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, and Siem Reap to Bangkok. My husband and I both had regular sized carry on luggage and a small backpack as our personal item. We didn't have any problems on any of the flights. In fact, my husband's carry on had been fully expanded which made it pretty fat and no one seemed to care.

There was a lady on our cruise that dressed nicer than everyone else. She looked quite nice, with long shift dresses and light jackets and gauzey over-dresses, with a different pair of fancy heels, usually 2 different outfits a day. She was the one everyone talked about. LOL. Mostly of the "how many suitcases did all THAT take??"

Very casual. I brought a pair of Tevas and a pair of tennis shoes (princess and pea feet with orthotics here too!) Honestly, you can also buy some elephant pants once you get there. Touristy yes, but seriously light weight and cool. My friend, who resisted until almost the very end said "it's like air conditioning for your legs!" One of those trip reports are mine. I don't remember if I mentioned the one thing I needed more of was deodorant. I travel very light, carry on only, and I brought enough deodorant to last for a few weeks longer than I needed BUT did not factor in that I was showering 3-4 times a day, so was applying 3-4x more than I planned. Same would go for any toiletry you have limited amounts of. You can get more there, but something to consider.

As I get old, I don't function for long without a nap that first day. Because the flight is short to Iceland, you won't get much sleep on the plane. When possible, I try to get the hotel for the night before, and let them know I'm coming in early the next morning. I chalk it up to travel expense and it lets me dump luggage, shower, then power nap before heading out for the afternoon.

We embarked in Copenhagen, and had arrived a couple days early. If the ship is leaving at 4:00, I agree you may not have time to do Tivoli for any length of time and still see some of Copenhagen. We took a taxi to the port, which seemed to not be near anything interesting and in an industrial part of town. I'd think the ship would offer shuttles to some point of tourist interest.

My kids really liked Tivoli. It is just across the square from the beginning of the pedestrian zone, so you could explore a bit from the park, if you can tear the kids away.

No way would I want to arrive at 6:00am then, sit around with my kids for 8+ hours before getting on the ship. Even just walking around Reykjavik for that long would be torture. Don't forget that you will most likely be extra jet lagged as the time difference is the same as the rest of Europe but with a much shorter flight. I never get any good sleep on that flight. With 4 people, a private tour will not be much more expensive than joining a group. Your luggage can either stay with you (it will be perfectly safe in the car there) or the company can hold it for you. I'd definitely try to go out and see at least something. With someone else driving, you can nap between stops. If you really want to do it up big, check out Inside the Volcano. That would take up a big chunk of the day and I guarantee the kids would be wowed.

Oh totally. My kids would not have done well on a river cruise until 10-12. They would have needed more room to move and be loud, let loose some night time energy. But international travel, in general, is good at almost any age of kid.