Isafjordur cruise port

[Apple888888]

Hello All,

 

We'll be transatlantic on the NCL Prima in May out of New York and arriving in Isafjordur cruise port on May 23rd.  Anyone knows how far is the cruise port from town and are there any tours offer at the pier?  We'll be doing 10 days self drive golden ring road after we disembarked in Reykjavik on May 25th but skipping the Westfjords since we're not comfortable in driving the rugged roads.

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

I expect you will be tendering, and the tender dock is right in town. There appeared to be some tour vendors there when were there in July, but the tourism business is not huge in Iceland.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I just booked our excursion this week for the stop in Isafjordur.  We are doing the Dynjandi falls through Arctic Shorex.   They have a few different options.  There really aren't many activities to choose from.

[lynncarol]

Been to Iceland twice now. First time in 2006 for a week with a rental car.  The second time was in 2016 on a Transatlantic cruise where one of 3 stops in Iceland was Isafjorda. While we love Iceland, both of us were underwhelmed with Isafjordur. It seemed too small a village to accommodate the influx of so many tourists from the cruise-ship. Some folks took a ship excursion to a waterfall, but we just strolled around the harbor and visited the museum. 

Also, if you are spending 10 days in Iceland with a rental car, please consider visiting more than just the very crowded Golden Circle attractions.  There is so much more to see in this gorgeous country.

[janetcbl]

If there is an excursion to Vigur Island from Isafjordur and you are interested in nature, take it. Did this many years ago and it is one of my favorite memories from this area.

[Nitemare]

8 hours ago, Apple888888 said:

Hello All,

 

We'll be transatlantic on the NCL Prima in May out of New York and arriving in Isafjordur cruise port on May 23rd.  Anyone knows how far is the cruise port from town and are there any tours offer at the pier?  We'll be doing 10 days self drive golden ring road after we disembarked in Reykjavik on May 25th but skipping the Westfjords since we're not comfortable in driving the rugged roads.

 

Thanks!

We used Wildwestfjords for a tour to Vigur island a few years ago on a land visit. Do not wait until you arrive to book a tour, there aren't many operators in town since anytime there isn't a ship in town there may be 300 tourists visiting at a time (based on lodging options) so no need for many options

The cruiseport is right in town.  It's not much of a town, other than Reykjavik there aren't any Cities in Iceland.  If you can get a reservation at https://www.facebook.com/Tjoruhusid/

 

for lunch or dinner, DO SO, but only if you like the freshest seafood anywhere.

 

By the way, there is the Ring Road, which is a nice 10 day tour around the island, and the Golden Circle, which is a one day tour out of Reykjavik which is good for short time visitors.  There is no "Golden Ring", that phrase would just be confusing to locals or regular visitors

Edited January 27, 2023 by Nitemare

[MAVIP]

11 hours ago, Nitemare said:

The cruiseport is right in town.  It's not much of a town, other than Reykjavik there aren't any Cities in Iceland.  If you can get a reservation at https://www.facebook.com/Tjoruhusid/

for lunch or dinner, DO SO, but only if you like the freshest seafood anywhere.

Last year in May or June they asked us to call again in August for a reservation in September... And...the fish is 😋 

[edinburgher]

 both of us were underwhelmed with Isafjordur. It seemed too small a village to accommodate the influx of so many tourists from the cruise-ship.

 

Totally agree.  There is little to interest cruise pax unless they take a shorex. There were only a couple on offer and as  neither was of interest to us  we simply walked around for a short time and visited the small museum. We were back onboard in under 2 hours, but it could have been a bit less than that, even walking slowly.

Edited January 28, 2023 by edinburgher

[ljandgb]

The best part of Iceland is the landscape, and the isolation.  It makes for a great land trip, but cruises are at a disadvantage because beyond Reykjavik (200K population) and Akureyri (12K), all the other ports are in very small villages.  Iceland has a good enough economy, and a short enough tour season, that these villages do not revolve around the ships that come there.

[Apple888888]

Thanks all and I'll look into all the useful info and suggestions.  It seems there isn't much in this small town unless we booked tours.  I think we probably go for the calm water Kayaking.  Since we'll be disembarked in Reykjavik 2 days after Isafjordur and hire an mid size SUV for 10 days to drive the ring roads.  We can extent our stay in Iceland for as long as we want since we both retirees.  Has anyone driven from Reykjavik to the Westfjords in June and was it easy to drive there?  I read the Westfjords drive could be very rugged to Dynjandi waterfall and we'll be driving from May 26th from Reykjavik to the Southern Region so by the time we get to Akureyri, it'll be the first week of June.  The drive from Akureyri to Dynjandi is about 6 hours give or take or are there ferries get close to Dynjandi?  We then stay in the Westfjords for about 3 days before heading back to Reykjavik only the Westfjords drive is doable in early June.

 

Thanks!

[Nitemare]

On 1/28/2023 at 6:25 AM, Apple888888 said:

Thanks all and I'll look into all the useful info and suggestions.  It seems there isn't much in this small town unless we booked tours.  I think we probably go for the calm water Kayaking.  Since we'll be disembarked in Reykjavik 2 days after Isafjordur and hire an mid size SUV for 10 days to drive the ring roads.  We can extent our stay in Iceland for as long as we want since we both retirees.  Has anyone driven from Reykjavik to the Westfjords in June and was it easy to drive there?  I read the Westfjords drive could be very rugged to Dynjandi waterfall and we'll be driving from May 26th from Reykjavik to the Southern Region so by the time we get to Akureyri, it'll be the first week of June.  The drive from Akureyri to Dynjandi is about 6 hours give or take or are there ferries get close to Dynjandi?  We then stay in the Westfjords for about 3 days before heading back to Reykjavik only the Westfjords drive is doable in early June.

 

Thanks!

Our 4th trip to Iceland we sort of did that.  My wife and a friend went to Iceland before I and her friend's husband came.  It was their first trip and my wife gave her friend a 3 day "overview", then they picked us up at the airport and the other couple did a south shore tour and we went right to WestFjords.

 

I slept much of the way after that overnight flight and missed the scenery en route, but we then spent 5 nights in that region and felt like we saw about 2/3 of the sights there (not counting Hornstrandir, which needs a couple days in itself.

 

For a one day visit from a ship, if you can't get a tour to Dynjandi or Vigur, I'd rent a car and Do It myself.  SO easy to drive in Iceland.  Just take precautions when renting a car in Iceland to document the condition it is in when you pick it up and drop it off as it is easy to get a ding or dent there.  Insurance is important, too, for that reason

[Bimmer09]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:23 PM, Nitemare said:

We used Wildwestfjords for a tour to Vigur island a few years ago on a land visit. Do not wait until you arrive to book a tour, there aren't many operators in town since anytime there isn't a ship in town there may be 300 tourists visiting at a time (based on lodging options) so no need for many options

The cruiseport is right in town.  It's not much of a town, other than Reykjavik there aren't any Cities in Iceland.  If you can get a reservation at https://www.facebook.com/Tjoruhusid/

 

for lunch or dinner, DO SO, but only if you like the freshest seafood anywhere.

 

By the way, there is the Ring Road, which is a nice 10 day tour around the island, and the Golden Circle, which is a one day tour out of Reykjavik which is good for short time visitors.  There is no "Golden Ring", that phrase would just be confusing to locals or regular visitors

NItemare-I am looking at Wildwestfjords for a visit to the falls-how was your experience with them?

Going in June with Celebrity Apex.

Norris

[fishman620]

We will be in Isafjordur, this August on the NCL Prima and doing a shore excursion to Dynjandi Falls and Westfjords with  arcticshorex.com

[Nitemare]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:09 AM, Bimmer09 said:

NItemare-I am looking at Wildwestfjords for a visit to the falls-how was your experience with them?

Going in June with Celebrity Apex.

Norris

We enjoyed our Vigur trip.  Nice boat ride, good hike, a bit of learning, and yummy pastry!

[shirazcruiser]

 For those who have visited Isafjordur on a ship, did you tender or dock?  We'll be on the large Sky Princess.  Thanks!

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

 For those who have visited Isafjordur on a ship, did you tender or dock?  We'll be on the large Sky Princess.  Thanks!

Tender. It really is a small port.

[tammyjw305]

We booked Wildwestfjords for July too. It was pending for several days, but I emailed after seeing this post and got a confirmation today. I emailed before about the early time with it being a tender port; they said that they scheduled tours 30 mins after published ship arrival time and would wait for those signed up, while people were still tendering in. 

 

Tammy 

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

On 3/12/2023 at 7:10 PM, tammyjw305 said:

We booked Wildwestfjords for July too. It was pending for several days, but I emailed after seeing this post and got a confirmation today. I emailed before about the early time with it being a tender port; they said that they scheduled tours 30 mins after published ship arrival time and would wait for those signed up, while people were still tendering in. 

 

Tammy 

Did you book with them to go to Vigur?

[CruiserBruce]

On 3/12/2023 at 6:53 AM, shirazcruiser said:

 For those who have visited Isafjordur on a ship, did you tender or dock?  We'll be on the large Sky Princess.  Thanks!

The port can take a small cruise ship. Mid to larger ships will tender.

[red4u2]

On 1/27/2023 at 2:13 PM, janetcbl said:

If there is an excursion to Vigur Island from Isafjordur and you are interested in nature, take it. Did this many years ago and it is one of my favorite memories from this area.

Did you see Puffins?

[Nitemare]

On 2/9/2024 at 11:20 PM, red4u2 said:

Did you see Puffins?

During early summer you will see puffins and LOTS of other birds on that excursion, including Eiders

[red4u2]

On 2/11/2024 at 9:55 AM, Nitemare said:

During early summer you will see puffins and LOTS of other birds on that excursion, including Eiders

Thank you!  i waited too long to figure out excursions and I'm waitlisted for it right now and direct it's all booked too!

[bluedevilnjfl]

Anyone know how to get to Vigur island if the cruise excursion is sold out?

[janetcbl]

18 hours ago, bluedevilnjfl said:

Anyone know how to get to Vigur island if the cruise excursion is sold out?

Try iceland-highlights.com. If nothing is listed it may be because the eider ducks chicks are hatching. If the excursion is “sold out”, this may be the reason. No visitors are permitted at this time (I am remembering this from awhile ago, it may be incorrect.) Check on line or Google Vigur Island Eider ducks.