This is a terrific tour if you like to enjoy the best of visiting Westman Islands. The local guide is born and raised on the island so he knows the it by heart. We will visit all the highlights and most popular places of the island. It is possible to combine the tour with a boat tour, hikes or other activities. We will make it a dream day on the island, the guide taking you through the history of the island, the stories of the people and show you his favorite spot on the island.
We start the tour where it suits you, we often meet guests in front of the ferry which is convenient when you come to a new place for the first time. Our guides are geniuses at seeing which of the ferry's passengers are coming on a tour with Viking Tours and we love welcoming people to the Westman Islands. Our car is a Mercedes V-class that can accommodate up to 5 passengers.
We ask our guests if they have special wishes about where to go and what they like to see in the Westman Islands. Being on a private tour gives you the opportunity to take decisions about the tour; what to see and how long to stop at each location.
Our guides are all born and raised in the Westman Islands and live here with their families. It is special to grow up in a place like the Westman Islands; the powerful nature shapes the people and their attitudes to life, the people in the Westman Islands know the dangers of the sea and know that nature does not see the will of man, but men must bow to the forces of nature. The solidarity of the community is unique and the adage "it takes a village to raise a child" proves its value in the Westman Islands.
The time in the 2-hour private tour passes so fast as the island has so much to offer despite its size, we make up for the size with a rich history and incredibly beautiful nature. We recommend visiting the Sprangan, Herjólfsdalur (the valley), elephant rock, Stórhöfði (Great Cape), the new lava field and if we have time the crater in the middle of the volcano erupted in 1973 and Skansinn.
Sprangan is a training station for rope swinging, when men descended and collected eggs from nests in earlier times it was necessary to practice in a save place. Seabird eggs were a valuable food source when people lived only of the nature.
The valley is best known for the large music festival that has been held for most years since 1874. The national festival of the island is a 3-day music festival that the islanders enjoy with their families and guests from Iceland. However, the valley has a much longer history; e.g. the first settler of the Westman Islands lived in the valley and you can still see the ruins of his house.
Elephant rock is the most famous landmark of the islands. Locals joke that elephant rock is the prototype of this large mammal as we watch our elephant plunge its trunk into the sea.
Great Cape is one of the windiest places in Europe and the view from the top is breathtaking. Great Cape also has a bird watching house and in the summertime we can watch puffins in a huge puffin colony as well as enjoy the view of the black beach below.
The new lava field was created when Eldfell, our newest volcano, erupted in 1973. People were awakened and left their homes with nothing but uncertainty. The eruption submerged a third of the houses but also enlarged the island to the east. The stories of the people who experienced the natural disasters is so magnificent that it alone makes this tour unforgettable.
Skansinn is an area that is rich in history and fun to walk around. There, e.g. we see the Stave Church, Landlyst Museum, the old fort and the sea tanks for the old pool that went under lava. Listening to the stories of the pirates who enslaved the people of Westman Islands and watching the area where the horror took place is incredible.
In our opinion, a private tour with Viking Tours is the best tour you can get in the Westman Islands. Visitors' experience of this tour is always “WOW”, exploring the island with a local and seeing their favorite places and hearing the stories of real people who experienced natural disasters that can hardly be imagined and when laughing at these stories we can feel how magnificent life is.
