Djupivogur & Heimaey, Westman Islands shore excursions

[Maple30]

We'll be on a HAL cruise in July, and looking for independent tours at these 2 ports. Any suggestions, and can you generally pick up a tour at these ports?

I've found a Djupivogur private tour (don't need private, but no cheaper for more guests) going to the glacial lagoon, Stokksnes and Hofn, but at $418AUD pp, it's very expensive. Has anyone done this tour? It's on Viator and provided by Artistica Tours which have very few reviews.

Also a bit of a concern is that it's the last port, and hoping it gets back in time.

I'm struggling to find anything for Heimaey.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[ljandgb]

I'd advise against booking thru Viator, as it's just a middle man and if you have any issues with timing or weather you will be unable to communicate with the tour company itself.

 

I've not heard of that company.  Troll and Arctic Adventures are two of the most commonly mentioned companies over on the TripAdvisor Iceland forum.  I'd highly recommend you look over there for any specific advice.

 

In general, there is not a lot of tourist infrastructure outside of Reykjavik and Akureyri.  Most other ports are tiny villages, and there are not many (any?) tour choices outside of what the ship offers or just wandering around the village.  There is no usable public transportation for tourists.  Some ports will have nearby waterfalls, etc, you can get to with a short-moderate walk.

 

TBH, Iceland is best seen with a land tour, but you are not alone.  This question comes up frequently over on TA.

[Nitemare]

Heimey has some great RIB boat excursions you should be able to book directly.  They cancel them in bad weather -- we had wind on our day there a few years back and all tours were canceled (as was our ferry back to the mainland), but we were there in September and it gets windy in Iceland around that time.   We had a car and explored the island, loved it, but the RIB boat would have been a blast

[janetcbl]

Heimaey is easy to walk around and has an excellent museum that relates the story of the volcano eruption in 1973. 

[Maple30]

8 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Heimey has some great RIB boat excursions you should be able to book directly.  They cancel them in bad weather -- we had wind on our day there a few years back and all tours were canceled (as was our ferry back to the mainland), but we were there in September and it gets windy in Iceland around that time.   We had a car and explored the island, loved it, but the RIB boat would have been a blast

Thanks for all the information. Do you think we'd be able to book one of the RIB tours once we're there and the port? We wouldn't go on anything if it's windy, so prefer not to prebook that type of tour. We're not into wild activities 😆

[Nitemare]

16 hours ago, Maple30 said:

Thanks for all the information. Do you think we'd be able to book one of the RIB tours once we're there and the port? We wouldn't go on anything if it's windy, so prefer not to prebook that type of tour. We're not into wild activities 😆

I wouldn't be surprised if fellow cruisers had booked them all in advance.  They cancel when it's windy

[ljandgb]

The very limited options mean they book well in advance.  Iceland is not like other countries where you pull up to the pier and companies are out there recruiting customers for the day.  Booking when you get there works fine for many parts of the world, just not Iceland.

[Maple30]

Just an update and a thankyou for the information given. I have booked Artistica Tours for Djupivogur and have another couple joining us and hoping more will join. At present there's 30 guests from the ship doing their tour in small groups.

In Heimaey I've booked a 2 hour tour with Eyjatour.

[blackfly]

Maple30.  How did you book Artistica Tours?  Their website is very vague.

[Maple30]

8 hours ago, blackfly said:

Maple30.  How did you book Artistica Tours?  Their website is very vague.

Yes it is, I've been in contact with them direct numerous times. The company has been operating land based tours since 1995 and have just started offering cruise ship tours. They've got 4 guides and cars and can accommodate 41 passengers across their vehicles. They also have access to a larger bus for groups up to 40.

 

At present they are in the process of finalising their website where you can book direct for a cheaper price. It should be up and running by the end of the month. They require a deposit of 50 euro, and you can pay the deposit on the day by cash or credit card.

 

I've got 1 couple joining us and are getting the full day tour for 230 euro each. Still looking for another couple or two which can drop the price to 225, then 220 pp. At present you can book on TA, Get you Guide etc, but it's dearer.

 

I was very wary considering the lack of reviews, but they told me they're new to shore excursions and the couple of tours that the guide Adriana gave had excellent reviews, so we're going with them. Anything's better than the overinflated ships tours which are in USD, so add 50% for Australians. A similiar ships tours would cost us $524 AUD PP for a 5 hour tour with no lunch!

 

 

[spartacheer]

On 4/16/2024 at 4:17 PM, Maple30 said:

I've got 1 couple joining us and are getting the full day tour for 230 euro each. Still looking for another couple or two which can drop the price to 225, then 220 pp. At present you can book on TA, Get you Guide etc, but it's dearer.

 

 

 

We are a party of 5 and are still looking for something in Djupivogur. Do you think that there would be room for us? 

[Maple30]

On 4/17/2024 at 8:17 AM, Maple30 said:

Yes it is, I've been in contact with them direct numerous times. The company has been operating land based tours since 1995 and have just started offering cruise ship tours. They've got 4 guides and cars and can accommodate 41 passengers across their vehicles. They also have access to a larger bus for groups up to 40.

 

At present they are in the process of finalising their website where you can book direct for a cheaper price. It should be up and running by the end of the month. They require a deposit of 50 euro, and you can pay the deposit on the day by cash or credit card.

 

I've got 1 couple joining us and are getting the full day tour for 230 euro each. Still looking for another couple or two which can drop the price to 225, then 220 pp. At present you can book on TA, Get you Guide etc, but it's dearer.

 

I was very wary considering the lack of reviews, but they told me they're new to shore excursions and the couple of tours that the guide Adriana gave had excellent reviews, so we're going with them. Anything's better than the overinflated ships tours which are in USD, so add 50% for Australians. A similiar ships tours would cost us $524 AUD PP for a 5 hour tour with no lunch!

 

 

I made an typo error. You pay the deposit at the end of this month when their website is finalised. You can pay the BALANCE on the day

[Maple30]

8 hours ago, spartacheer said:

We are a party of 5 and are still looking for something in Djupivogur. Do you think that there would be room for us? 

Are you on the same cruise? We're in Djipivogur on Monday 29th July. This is not the official roll call for our cruise, leaving Amsterdam on the 20th July.

I had just put up this forum question regarding the 2 ports I was still looking for tours from.

I'm not sure how big our minibus is. Artistica advertise groups of up to 8. I'll ask them how many seats the bus has.

[spartacheer]

18 hours ago, Maple30 said:

Are you on the same cruise? We're in Djipivogur on Monday 29th July. This is not the official roll call for our cruise, leaving Amsterdam on the 20th July.

No, sorry. We are not on the same cruise. We are in Djupivogur on Monday 10 June. I misread your post. I am interested in the Artistica Tour though. I've emailed them two times, and haven't heard anything back. -)

[Maple30]

5 hours ago, spartacheer said:

No, sorry. We are not on the same cruise. We are in Djupivogur on Monday 10 June. I misread your post. I am interested in the Artistica Tour though. I've emailed them two times, and haven't heard anything back. -)

That's strange re emailing them. They take about 2 days to get back to me, probably because of the time difference. If you do go, let me know how it was please. The communication I've had with them has been pretty good.