Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[FoggyEthan]

3 hours ago, minka34 said:

There is some info on it here  https://fullsuitcase.com/westman-islands-iceland/

There are some stunningly beautiful hikes on the island of which I am completely incapable. I did have the thought to take a taxi to the southern end of the island and then walk back up along the trail along the western shore. Should be about an hour and a half. Seems like it should be doable, for me at least.

[patchicago]

8 hours ago, shipster60 said:

I saw a FB post about that excursion. They said they didn’t go on the boat today because the whales weren’t out in that area. I’m not exactly sure what that means. 

 

7 hours ago, C-sea said:

We're booked on this excursion in August. I guess I need to learn more about it. Will need to check on Viking's cancellation policy, if the Beluga Whales may or may not be there that will matter.

I saw that FB review of the excursion but I agree that it wasn’t very explicit. I think that the whales were in their indoor tank instead of being outside in their special area and so no boat went to them in their special area. What I am interested in finding out is if we get to the whale center via boat. I am interested in the rehab center but I’d love to see all that coastal magnificence up close and personal. I don’t sail until 8/3 so I have time to find a decent review.

[LindaS272]

7 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

There are some stunningly beautiful hikes on the island of which I am completely incapable. I did have the thought to take a taxi to the southern end of the island and then walk back up along the trail along the western shore. Should be about an hour and a half. Seems like it should be doable, for me at least.

I would highly recommend this idea if the weather is good. We took our rental car over and had good weather in mid-June. We drove to the south end and walked on the bluffs near the lighthouse. Fabulous views, easy walking, & puffins (from a distance). Reminded me of favorite island walks of mine in the Western Hebrides (Iona) and Ireland (Dingle).

Edited July 3, 2021 by LindaS272

[TayanaLorna]

8 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

There are some stunningly beautiful hikes on the island of which I am completely incapable. I did have the thought to take a taxi to the southern end of the island and then walk back up along the trail along the western shore. Should be about an hour and a half. Seems like it should be doable, for me at least.

This fullsuitcase.com website is Excellent.  Not only is the article on Heimaey but at the end there ars other great links for what to pack for the summer and why plus another in depth writing about the Myvatn area where the Northern Treasures tour goes.  Now i am really getting psyched.  Especially since we received our final travel documents too.

[Clay Clayton]

9 hours ago, firefox33 said:

I’ve never seen a “Chat” dialogue box while in MVJ.  How did you initiate it?

Hard to say.  Seems it just pops up sometimes.  I’d try swiping up and down and going back and forth to the menu like you are looking for something. 

[TayanaLorna]

11 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Hard to say.  Seems it just pops up sometimes.  I’d try swiping up and down and going back and forth to the menu like you are looking for something. 

Ha, this feature drives me Nuts.  Either it is in my way on MVJ or, when I wanted to use it, no where to be found!

[Mehroswitha]

 

During the Great Shore Excursion Scramble of 2021 we were very disappointed at being shut out of both the RIB tour and the belugas at Heimaey. Now we are feeling considerably better having booked a Puffins and Volcano minibus tour with Eyja Tours. It's only a short tour, but as a bonus, admission to the beluga sanctuary is included. Company and tour are both well-rated on Trip Advisor, and by booking through Eyja's own site we didn't need to pay in advance--just in case of tendering difficulties or reimposition of "the bubble." Departure spot is said to be just one minute's walk from our tender landing. 

[anaco_angler]

19 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Ha, this feature drives me Nuts.  Either it is in my way on MVJ or, when I wanted to use it, no where to be found!

It's there, or it's not there. If it does appear it will be in a red vertical box about two-thirds down the page at the right edge. The two times I used it weren't very satisfying but as they say, ymmv.

 

[Bejay219]

2 hours ago, patchicago said:

 

I saw that FB review of the excursion but I agree that it wasn’t very explicit. I think that the whales were in their indoor tank instead of being outside in their special area and so no boat went to them in their special area. What I am interested in finding out is if we get to the whale center via boat. I am interested in the rehab center but I’d love to see all that coastal magnificence up close and personal. I don’t sail until 8/3 so I have time to find a decent review.

On a B2B, took the boat ride yesterday around the island (very fun!) we were going to do the Beluga Whales next week.  We canceled as when we were done with the boat trip (same company does that and the Beluga 's) they said the boat part of the ride out to see them In a special area was canceled as the whales are relocated to the aquarium on land.  So we didn't think we wanted to pay that much to go to the aquarium. We spoke to another couple, they just went to the aquarium /rehab center, paid admission and saw the whales, puffins that were being rehabilitated. 

We will go this Friday and check it out.  The aquarium is just steps from the dock where the tenders come in! 

Not sure how long they will be @ the aquarium, she said they were fixing the nets/surrounding the enclosure. 

[Bejay219]

8 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

There are some stunningly beautiful hikes on the island of which I am completely incapable. I did have the thought to take a taxi to the southern end of the island and then walk back up along the trail along the western shore. Should be about an hour and a half. Seems like it should be doable, for me at least.

 I would double check my answer here, but the island has no taxis, there are only a couple hundred of people on the island, extremely small little downtown.  Please check carefully before you set out.  There were people hiking way up on one of the mountains, if you can get all the way up, you still need to get down.  Be safe! 

[Dukefan]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Hard to say.  Seems it just pops up sometimes.  I’d try swiping up and down and going back and forth to the menu like you are looking for something. 

The Chat box is a small red box that appears on the right side of MVJ.   Since it is not there all the time I think it only appears when a Chat Person is available because I have used it 4-5 times and never had to wait for a person.  Each time I have used it, I have found the folks very helpful.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Dukefan

[FoggyEthan]

21 minutes ago, Bejay219 said:

 I would double check my answer here, but the island has no taxis, there are only a couple hundred of people on the island, extremely small little downtown.  Please check carefully before you set out.  There were people hiking way up on one of the mountains, if you can get all the way up, you still need to get down.  Be safe! 

I have checked, no fear. The taxi company confirmed I can just call any time and ask for a taxi. So that's reassuring. I figure it'll be easier to get the taxi in town, hence my plan to taxi first to the southern end of the island and then walk back. But, of course, expect the unexpected. Maybe we'll have to hitchhike. 😎

[VI_Lounger]

38 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

The Chat box is a small red box that appears on the right side of MVJ.   Since it is not there all the time I think it only appears when a Chat Person is available because I have used it 4-5 times and never had to wait for a person.  Each time I have used it, I have found the folks very helpful.

The chat box is definitely a mystery and comes and goes. For some reason,  if it wouldn't pop up in my regular browser,  I'd log out and sign on using incognito browsing and then it would work. Who knows. At first I thought they could track how often I tried to chat so I was being blocked. Especially when I kept getting the same chat person named Dalton. Now I wonder if he is a robot. Yes, these are things I actually ponder. But dalton the robot was always helpful!

[JM0115]

1 minute ago, VI_Lounger said:

The chat box is definitely a mystery and comes and goes. For some reason,  if it wouldn't pop up in my regular browser,  I'd log out and sign on using incognito browsing and then it would work. Who knows. At first I thought they could track how often I tried to chat so I was being blocked. Especially when I kept getting the same chat person named Dalton. Now I wonder if he is a robot. Yes, these are things I actually ponder. But dalton the robot was always helpful!

I believe the chat function pops up when an agent is available.  Of course it could be a bot too!

[LindaS272]

57 minutes ago, Bejay219 said:

 I would double check my answer here, but the island has no taxis, there are only a couple hundred of people on the island, extremely small little downtown.  Please check carefully before you set out.  There were people hiking way up on one of the mountains, if you can get all the way up, you still need to get down.  Be safe! 

The island has taxis and the population is about 4,000 people.

[BQEC]

2 hours ago, Mehroswitha said:

 

During the Great Shore Excursion Scramble of 2021 we were very disappointed at being shut out of both the RIB tour and the belugas at Heimaey. Now we are feeling considerably better having booked a Puffins and Volcano minibus tour with Eyja Tours. It's only a short tour, but as a bonus, admission to the beluga sanctuary is included. Company and tour are both well-rated on Trip Advisor, and by booking through Eyja's own site we didn't need to pay in advance--just in case of tendering difficulties or reimposition of "the bubble." Departure spot is said to be just one minute's walk from our tender landing. 

Thank you. Very useful info.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I would love to hear more about the Heimaey excursions offered by Viking or available vendors.  I initially was interested in the Viking-arranged boat trip as I hoped to see puffins.  But then I waited too long to book and missed out on that excursion.  As I've had a little bit more time to research things, I've become totally unsure of just what I want to do on that day. Of course, the more I research, the more I want to do it all, and usually you just can't do that on a single cruise day!  But as more people do the Iceland cruise, I'm hoping I can get more feedback on excursions and explorations.  I wish someone would report on the 2 included excursions, the two boat rides (wildlife and RIB - any puffins sightings on these, or are the puffins all too far up the cliffs?) and provide more info on the Beluga excursion, especially if in early August it is likely to NOT include belugas in the semi-wild). I think I have a good idea of what the ATV trip and Eldfell Mountain extension hike entail, and I saw the post about the Eyja Puffins and Volcano tour (thanks). 

 

There are lots of vendors (Eyja, Viking Tours, Island Boat Tours, Ribsafari, etc.) but I can't seem to narrow down what I'd like the best. So if anyone has advice, I'd love to hear it. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

3 hours ago, Bejay219 said:

On a B2B, took the boat ride yesterday around the island (very fun!) we were going to do the Beluga Whales next week.  We canceled as when we were done with the boat trip (same company does that and the Beluga 's) they said the boat part of the ride out to see them In a special area was canceled as the whales are relocated to the aquarium on land.  So we didn't think we wanted to pay that much to go to the aquarium. We spoke to another couple, they just went to the aquarium /rehab center, paid admission and saw the whales, puffins that were being rehabilitated. 

We will go this Friday and check it out.  The aquarium is just steps from the dock where the tenders come in! 

Not sure how long they will be @ the aquarium, she said they were fixing the nets/surrounding the enclosure. 

Thanks for doing this.  Any puffin sightings on the boat trip? I can't decide what I want to do.

[DaveSJ711]

4 hours ago, Bejay219 said:

 I would double check my answer here, but the island has no taxis, there are only a couple hundred of people on the island, extremely small little downtown.  Please check carefully before you set out.  There were people hiking way up on one of the mountains, if you can get all the way up, you still need to get down.  Be safe! 

Heimaey’s population is about 4,500. 

[patchicago]

5 hours ago, Bejay219 said:

On a B2B, took the boat ride yesterday around the island (very fun!) we were going to do the Beluga Whales next week.  We canceled as when we were done with the boat trip (same company does that and the Beluga 's) they said the boat part of the ride out to see them In a special area was canceled as the whales are relocated to the aquarium on land.  So we didn't think we wanted to pay that much to go to the aquarium. We spoke to another couple, they just went to the aquarium /rehab center, paid admission and saw the whales, puffins that were being rehabilitated. 

We will go this Friday and check it out.  The aquarium is just steps from the dock where the tenders come in! 

Not sure how long they will be @ the aquarium, she said they were fixing the nets/surrounding the enclosure. 

Thank you so much, this is exactly what I wanted to learn. I hope you have the same wonderful weather this week.I hope you have the same wonderful weather this week.

[carld]

We are arriving early for the August 24th cruise and will be staying in a downtown hotel.  I figured with luggage etc we would just take a taxi from the hotel to the ship on the 24th.  Does anyone know what time people not taking Viking transportation can get checked in and on the ship?  Also, how easy is it to get a taxi from a downtown hotel to the cruise port and what should it cost?  Thanks

Carl

[DJVKN]

11 minutes ago, carld said:

We are arriving early for the August 24th cruise and will be staying in a downtown hotel.  I figured with luggage etc we would just take a taxi from the hotel to the ship on the 24th.  Does anyone know what time people not taking Viking transportation can get checked in and on the ship?  Also, how easy is it to get a taxi from a downtown hotel to the cruise port and what should it cost?  Thanks

Carl

We took a taxi from city center this morning. Taxis are readily available and hotel can arrange for one. It’s about a 10 minute drive from city center to the port. We checked in with Viking onto the ship at 10:50. Stateroom was available at12:30ish. 

[Bejay219]

3 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

The island has taxis and the population is about 4,000 people.

Opps... You are so right!  Sorry for the misinformation. 

[Bejay219]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Thanks for doing this.  Any puffin sightings on the boat trip? I can't decide what I want to do.

Yes, but not up close.  On the boat ride we saw them up on the side of the mountain, they nested in the grass. Saw them up close on Vigor Island. 

But it was a great trip! 

[Buddysmom10]

13 hours ago, Mehroswitha said:

 

During the Great Shore Excursion Scramble of 2021 we were very disappointed at being shut out of both the RIB tour and the belugas at Heimaey. Now we are feeling considerably better having booked a Puffins and Volcano minibus tour with Eyja Tours. It's only a short tour, but as a bonus, admission to the beluga sanctuary is included. Company and tour are both well-rated on Trip Advisor, and by booking through Eyja's own site we didn't need to pay in advance--just in case of tendering difficulties or reimposition of "the bubble." Departure spot is said to be just one minute's walk from our tender landing. 

Yes I am thinking of doing the same tour!  Not sure what your date is but mine would be 8/13.  I wasn't sure how far we are from their departure area but it's good to know it is very close to where we will be.