Trip itinerary

Day 1 - Monday

Departure from Ísafjörður at 19:00 on the sailing yacht AURORA. 2-3 hour sailing to Hesteyri. We will anchor off the old village and take a quick walk on shore before sleeping onboard AURORA for our first night.

On the way there and/or with a short walk onshore we have an opportunity to see different species of birds such as: Puffin, Black Guillemot, Whooper Swan, Eider, Fulmar, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Arctic Tern, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Raven, Cormorant, Shag and many others.

Day 2 - Tuesday

We will spend the morning exploring a bit around the old Hesteyri village. There are  a few houses used as summerhouses as well as remains of an old Norwegian whaling station - last used in the early 1900´s.

Of course we will keep a sharp lookout for the Arctic Foxes.

In the afternoon we will move the boat over to the fjord of Veidileysufjordur and anchor there. We are now in the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve where nature rules. The vegetation is surprisingly lush. Over two meter high Angelica grows down to the coast and the lowlands and slopes are decorated by spreading patches of Wood Crane's-bill, Fleabanes, Cotton grass, Lady Smock and other wildflowers. In the rocky and sandy areas we also have flowers such as Wild Thyme, Oysterplant, Arctic Poppy, Roseroot, Moss Campion and Thrift. In the hills we can find Crowberries (Blackberries) and Blueberries (Bilberries) later in the summer.

We´ll keep our eyes open for the Harlequin ducks. Iceland is their only breeding grounds in Europe and they are both beautiful and fun to look at.

Tonight will be spent at anchor in Veidileysufjordur.

Day 3 - Wednesday

Early in the morning the group will leave to hike over to the north coast of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and the bay of Hlöðuvík. The hike will take us over a 600m pass with great view of the surrounding area.

While the group hikes over the pass the AURORA will sail around to meet them on the other side. There is also an option for people to sail with the boat instead of doing the hike.

We'll sail along the coast of Snæfjallaströnd and around the headland of Bjarnanúpur. There we will be in close proximity to cliffs with large Fulmar colonies and meet other birds on the ocean such as Kittiwake, Arctic Tern and Guillemots. We will sail along the coast of Grænahlíð. There we may see remains from wrecks of two British and one Icelandic trawlers that ran aground there in the fifties and sixties.

We will sail around the headlands of Ritur, Straumnes and Kögur and anchor off the old settlements in Hlöðuvík.

This is a prime place to locate the Arctic Fox dens and check out the cubs who by now should be around seven weeks old.

Night will be spent at anchor in Hlöðuvík.

Day 4 - Thursday

We will sail from Hlöðuvík and enter the bay of Hornvík under the huge cliffs of Hælavíkurbjarg. In these cliffs there are the world's largest colonies of Common Guillemot and Brünnich Guillemot but also major populations of Kittiwake, Razorbill and Fulmars.

We will sail close to shore with the 300m cliffs towering overhead. Weather and sea-state permitting we will sail through the narrow pass behind the cliff of Súlnastapi. This gives us a chance to see thousands of birds up close and interesting as well is to see many hundred birds diving under the boat.

In addition to the birds that we mentioned before we may also see others such as Puffins, Ravens, Gyrfalcon and Arctic Skua. More rare are Great Skua and Gannets.

We will continue towards the head of the bay and anchor there.  Hornvík is a prime location to see Arctic Foxes and a location for many research operations. Usually there are around six fox pairs on dens in the bay and a few single individuals.

There may also be an option for all or part of the group to hike between Hlöðuvík and Hornvík instead of sailing with the yacht.

Dinner will be onboard the yacht at anchor.

Day 5 - Friday

Today there will be no sailing but we will focus on the magnificent birdcliff of Hornbjarg to check out the seabird colonies there as well as look for the Arctic Foxes. We will hike up to the edge of the cliffs and along the length of the cliffs. This is a hike of 3-5 hours. The birds we will see in the cliffs are primarily Common Guillemot, Brünnich Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar and Kittiwake.

It is estimated that there are about 1 million breeding pairs of Guillemot in Hornvík and Hælavík.

Twice every day huge flocks of Kittiwake gather for a fresh water bath in the river and in one particular lake. This is a very interesting sight and we will try to make time for a short walk into the valley to see this. There we may also see Whooper Swans, Ringed Plover, Arctic Skua, Snow Bunting, Purple Sandpipers and Red Necked Phalaropes.

We will have dinner onboard the yacht at anchor.

Day 6 - Saturday

We will leave the anchorage around 8am and head back towards Ísafjörður. Depending on the interest of the group we have an option of sailing a small detour north of the Arctic Circle. The arctic circle is only around 5 nautical miles north of Hornvík bay at 66º 33' 39" N. On the way there we may see whales such as Orcas, Minke whale, Humpback whale as well as Porpoises and Dolphins.

There is an option to stop by at the small island of Vigur. This is a very unique place where man and nature have coexisted in balance and harmony and where thousands of seabirds come ashore to breed during the short summer. There are large colonies of Eiders, Puffins, Arctic Terns and Black Guillemots. Apart from these birds there are a few passerine species such as Snow Bunting, Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipits. With luck a White Tailed Eagle or Gyrfalcon can be spotted. It may also be possible to spot King Eiders. They often pair with common Eider females, producing exquisite looking hybrids.

The island also has a cultural and architectural history worth exploring. There is the only windmill in Iceland and the oldest house on the island is the recently renovated Viktoría House, built in 1860. Vigurbreiður is a rowing boat for eight people, over 200 years old. We will spend 3-5 hours walking around the island and stop for coffee and freshly baked cakes in the Viktoría house.

We plan to be in port in Isafjordur again around 16:00.