Iceland with Vantage Deluxe World Travel

We took an 11-day tour of Iceland in July ’04 with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (90 Canal St., Boston, MA 02114-2031; phone 800/322-6677). The cost for two of us, including all airfare and an overnight stay in Baltimore on our return, was $7,328.

We flew United Airlines to Boston and Icelandair from Boston to Reykjavik. The Boston-Reykjavik leg was five hours and only the evening meal was served, and we were charged for all drinks except coffee or water.

Upon landing in Iceland we were met by our guide, Pirko Dadason, who was personable, knowledgeable and very helpful throughout the tour.

We started the tour right away. After visiting several interesting sights we stopped at a coffee shop, as breakfast had not been served on the plane. We immediately found Iceland to be quite pricey: our two cups of coffee and two muffins came to 1,730 krona, then about $13. We were thankful that all the rest of the breakfasts, two lunches and all dinners except one were covered in the tour price.

As we traversed the island, Iceland’s landscape was forever changing, from very green farmland (hay is the principle crop) to something reminiscent of a moonscape. There are 30 active volcanoes. We enjoyed seeing pristine glaciers, pools of bubbling mud, geysers, lakes and awe-inspiring waterfalls.

The tour was quite comprehensive. We traveled by bus along the western coast to the northeast and then flew back to Reykjavik to board a bus to tour the southeast coast. Highlights included the Snaefellsness peninsula, a farm visit, visits to churches (including one built in 1500) and the re-created homes of Eric the Red and Leif Erickson and puffins galore. We also flew to Grimsey Island on the Arctic Circle and enjoyed talking to some of the few people who live there.

The accommodations throughout the trip were, I am certain, the best available and quite good. The included meals were excellent. We thought the pacing of this tour was very good. There were some walks over rough terrain to see the various sights, and these required a degree of agility.

If you want to buy souvenirs, Reykjavik is your best bet — there were few other opportunities to do so on this tour. English was spoken by a great many.

We would be happy to answer any questions about our Vantage tour.

RAY HUMPHREY
Denver, CO