About Tour
Iceland is home to numerous steaming geysers, volcanoes, massive landscapes, and sky-touching mountains. It is a place of extreme geological contrasts and has everything you need to visit once in your lifetime. But, if you are visiting Iceland for the first time, a visit to Westman Island (Vestmannaeyjar) is a must. Yes, bookmark Westman Islands and don’t forget to take a private tour of this place. Let’s find out what is there on the private tour to the Westman Islands.
Private Tour to this Magnificent Place Amidst Nature
The Westman Islands – Vestmannaeyjar, a group of approximately 15-18 islands and about 30 skerries sand rock pillars. The islands are located off the south coast’s mainland of Iceland. The submarine volcanic eruptions in resulted in the formation of these Islands and the islands are therefor located along the 30-km long volcanic fissure (southwest to northeast). The largest one is Heimaey, which is approximately 13.4 km2. You will see most of the islands well vegetated and having steep sea cliffs. The islands are home to thousands of birds that will fly above you as you sail into the islands. Bird hunting and egg collecting have been a tradition on the island for ages and the locals love this activity. It is simply magical to sail into the islands. The most common thing is to take the ferry called Herjólfur from Iceland’s mainland and to the islands. You will be sailing between the islands and the skerries with magnificent views and birds flying everywhere around. This feels like sailing into another world.
The islands are home to fishing grounds and Heimaey is listed amidst Iceland´s largest fishing stations. It is during the main season, people from different places flocked to this place to work and earn money. Nowadays, ships are larger than before, technologically advanced and the production has moved to factory ships. The history of the Westman Islands – Vestmannaeyjar is rich and you will get to witness the best here, a private tour to learn different things would be the best.
During the complete private tour, you will get to see puffins, and visit museums, and simultaneously visit up to Eldfell crater, which is the recently-erupted volcano. The whole trip will take approximately 14 hours to cover each destination while making you learn about the facts of this place too. From Reykjavik to the Westman Islands, it will take approximately 3 hours to reach the destination. So, make the most of your Iceland’s tour and go on a private tour to The Westman Islands.
Interesting locations to explore on the tour
Puffins & Bird Watching
The Westman Islands are a paradise for puffin lovers. The world’s largest puffin population is in Iceland and the Westman Islands have the largest puffin colony in Europe. The islands are the ideal place for bird watching in Iceland and the puffins are the most popular birds for visitors. The puffins only stay in Iceland during the summer season, from April to August. If you have booked this private tour to the Westman Islands during the summer time we will definitely go and see the puffins. In Stórhöfði puffin view point we can have a great view over the puffins
Beside the puffins you can find many other birds in the Westman Islands.
Norse Stave Church
A Norse Timber church is located on the island and is the only church of its kind in Iceland. The church was a gift from Norway. The church is located next to Heimaklettur in the old harbor of Heimaey Island, in the Skans area where a stone wall was built after the Turkish invasion in 1627 occurred.
Mountain Heimaklettur
Heimaklettur is a 279 meter high cliff, the largest rock around the harbor of Westman Islands. The cliff shelters the town of Westman Islands from the wind that comes from north. It is possible to hike up to the cliff all year round. It is a favorite activity among the locals. The view from the top is magical in all angels.
Eldfell Volcano - the eruption in 1973
On January 23rd in 1973, an eruption began on Heimaey, the largest islands of Westman Islands. The eruption lasted for 6 month causing all people on the island to evaluate their homes and belongings in just a few minutes. The inhabitants were woken by the police as they drove around, raising the alarm with their sirens. All people on the island went down to the harbor right away. The weather had been bad the day before and most of the ships were in the harbor. The boats ferried the people from the islands to Iceland’s mainland right away and noone got hurt.
The fissure grew to 1.600 meters in length and the lava began to erupt from it very quickly. In the next few weeks, the earth rose around the eruption to produce a small volcanic Mountain, called Eldfell. The English word for Eldfell would be Fire Mountain. In six months, a new volcano had appeared on the island and a new lava field lay on the east of Westman Islands. 360 houses had been buried by the eruption and many other houses were badly damaged.
Museums
Eldheimar is a popular museum in the Westman Islands. The eruption in the Westman Islands in 1973 forced the entire population of the islands to evacuate their homes on a moment´s notice in the middle of the night. Many of people lost their homes and belongings. This interactive, and very visual, exhibition tells this story in a way that makes it interesting and easy to understand.
Included
Pick up & drop off in Reykjavik or the capital area.
Private Guided sightseeing to all the best locations in Westman Islands
4G Internet WiFi on the vehicle.
Premium Icelandic Glacial Water Bottles.
Entrance fee to Eldheimar Museum and Sæheimar Exhibit
Not Included
Food & beverages
Herjólfur Ferry tickets
Entrance fees, unless specified
Available Extras
Rib Boat Safari Cruise
Activities
Attractions
What to bring
Dress according to weather
Warm clothes
Warm socks
Gloves & Headwear
Comfortable walking shoes
Camera (optional)
Good to know
- You need to book the Herjolfur ferry to Westman Islands. You can add it to your booking in the booking process.
- You can choose a vehicle for your private tour in the booking engine. We have vehicles for up to 16 people.
- The price that will show up in the booking engine is per vehicle / group.
- We recommend that you visit the Eldheimar Museum – a museum about the eruption in Westman Islands in 1973.
- Lunch, dinner, or any other meals along with additional entrance fees are not included in the tour fee unless mentioned otherwise. We will make stops to eat lunch and dinner at this tour. Westman Islands is known for great restaurants.
- You can choose departure time for the tour in the booking engine.
- This tour is perfect for groups.
- The total duration of the tour is about 10 hours and can increase depending on the number of stops you decide to add to the tour.
- Premium glacial water is available for you on board.
- The vehicles are equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi.
- We recommend you wear proper warm clothing, gloves, hat, scarves, and sturdy shoes with a water and windproof shell outer layer to stay safe from cold weather and water splashes.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
You can choose a pick up in Reykjavik or the capital area.
Your private guide will be in contact with you before the tour. You can send him information about what locations you are intersted in exploring.
When booking the tour, you can choose your vehicle.
Comfort Class
– Scoda Superb Limo; 1-3 persons
– VW Caravelle Executive; 4-7 persons
Business Class
– Mercedes Benz E-Class; 1-3 persons
– Mercedes Benz V-Class; 1-5 persons
– Mercedes Benz Sprinter; 6-11 persons
– Mercedes Benz Sprinter; 12-16 persons
Luxury Class
– Mercedes Benz S-Class; 1-2 persons
You will receive a full refund if the tour gets cancelled due to weather.
– We will charge a cancellation fee of 100% if booking is cancelled 7 days or less before event
– We will charge a cancellation fee of 50% if booking is cancelled 14 days or less before event
– We will charge a cancellation fee of 10% if booking is cancelled 30 days or less before event
Yes, and you definitely should! The setting on the tour is full of amazing, scenic views.
You will also find a tablet in the bus with information about the northern lights and how to photograph them.
Do you have a question?
We would love to hear from you
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Articles
- Vestmannaeyjar
- Elephant Rock
- Top Attractions in Westman Islands
- Puffins in Iceland
Restaurants & hotels
- Hotel Vestmannaeyjar
- Vestmannaeyjar HI Hostel
- Lava Apartments
- Gott
- Slippurinn
- Eyjabakarí
- Pizzza 67
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