Tour Advice for Iceland and Norway Please!

[rockymtnmom]

We are sailing on the NCL Spirit next July, with stops in Iceland and Norway.  We have been to Iceland before during a stopover on our way to Europe a couple of summers ago, and have done the Blue Lagoon and driven the Golden Circle ourselves.  This time, our cruise will take us to Akureyri too.  I am looking at booking a guided tour, as I'm not sure if it would be worth the hassle of renting a car for just the day.  Has anyone had experience with FAB Travel?  I am looking at the Lake Myvatn excursion, which includes a dip in the Nature Baths (we really enjoyed the Blue Lagoon the last time).  I've seen positive reviews for FAB Travel on Trip Advisor, but was wondering if there is another company that is highly recommended by cruisers that I haven't come across yet.  

 

We are also stopping in Geiranger and Nordfjordeid, Norway.  NCL does not have any excursions listed for these ports yet, and I've had little luck finding independent tours.  Are these ports suitable for do-it-yourself touring, or would it be best if I find a guided tour?  I'm traveling with my family (F & M 50, F15). 

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!  Thanks!  

[dfish]

In Geiranger we did a bus trip up to the top of Mt. Dalsnibba and a RIB adventure through Geiranger Fjordservice.  https://www.geirangerfjord.no/english

[dronnygirl]

We did Iceland and Norway in July with Marella cruises. We did a tour with FAB in both Akureyri and Reykjavik so they gave us a discount.  Our favourite was Akureyri where our tour guide was English but lived in Iceland.  He was very interesting and took us to the places mentioned on their website. There is lots to see and, as there were only 8 of us, we were able to make choices. We went to the Myvatn nature baths and had a quick lunch there but decided not to swim as we wanted to fit in more sightseeing. As we had time, we asked to be dropped in Akureyri on the way back and we walked the last few minutes to the ship. Pleased we did as it's a great little town. I'd definitely recommend FAB tours.

[Nitemare]

We've done Myvatn and BL and prefer Myvatn.  Myvatn is natural (BL is manmade), much less expensive, and less crowded, so significantly more relaxing

[kaisatsu]

1 hour ago, Nitemare said:

We've done Myvatn and BL and prefer Myvatn.  Myvatn is natural (BL is manmade), much less expensive, and less crowded, so significantly more relaxing

The Mývatn baths are also man-made, as clearly stated on their own website:

The water supplies for the lagoon run straight from the National Power Company´s bore hole in Bjarnarflag. The water has a temperature of about 130°C when it arrives to the huge basin beside the lagoon itself forming an impressive, man-made hot spring... The lagoon itself is a man-made construction, its bottom is covered by sand and gravel.

[Turtles06]

We had some time at the Myvatn Nature Baths in August during a full-day tour from Akureryi.  They were wonderful, and I wish we'd had hours to spend there!  (My wife and I were the only folks on our mini-bus who opted for the Baths; everyone else had lunch.  I think we made the far better choice!)

 

OP: these are not the folks we used in Akureyri, but we had a great tour out of Reykjavik with GeoIceland, organized via their northern Iceland travel partner Saga Travel.  You might check with Saga on what they have out of Akureyri.    

 

 

(Myvatn Nature Baths, photo by turtles06)

[Nitemare]

On 12/5/2018 at 7:18 AM, kaisatsu said:

The Mývatn baths are also man-made, as clearly stated on their own website:

The water supplies for the lagoon run straight from the National Power Company´s bore hole in Bjarnarflag. The water has a temperature of about 130°C when it arrives to the huge basin beside the lagoon itself forming an impressive, man-made hot spring... The lagoon itself is a man-made construction, its bottom is covered by sand and gravel.

Good to know.

 

The rest stands: Cheaper, friendlier, less crowded

[exploringtheplanet]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 7:00 PM, rockymtnmom said:

We are sailing on the NCL Spirit next July, with stops in Iceland and Norway.  We have been to Iceland before during a stopover on our way to Europe a couple of summers ago, and have done the Blue Lagoon and driven the Golden Circle ourselves.  This time, our cruise will take us to Akureyri too.  I am looking at booking a guided tour, as I'm not sure if it would be worth the hassle of renting a car for just the day.  Has anyone had experience with FAB Travel?  I am looking at the Lake Myvatn excursion, which includes a dip in the Nature Baths (we really enjoyed the Blue Lagoon the last time).  I've seen positive reviews for FAB Travel on Trip Advisor, but was wondering if there is another company that is highly recommended by cruisers that I haven't come across yet.  

 

We are also stopping in Geiranger and Nordfjordeid, Norway.  NCL does not have any excursions listed for these ports yet, and I've had little luck finding independent tours.  Are these ports suitable for do-it-yourself touring, or would it be best if I find a guided tour?  I'm traveling with my family (F & M 50, F15). 

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!  Thanks!  

There is a roll call set-up for the July 7th departure on the spirit! Would love for you to join in on the conversation!

[lynncarol]

In Akureyri we took a full day tour with Saga and were very pleased with the experience. Our guide was great (and seemed to be related to everybody), we were given ample time to explore the various sites and even had a late lunch at the Nature Baths after our swim was over. Price was very reasonable too. 

[LondonTowner]

We went to Iceland a few years ago and booked tours with some other passengers from our Roll Call. I can’t remember the our company names, but they were very good and we found them on Tripadvisor.

 

Norway is very easy to DIY or book local tours. Look on the tourist board website VisitNorway.no