Your local guide is born and raised on Westman islands and knows it like the back of his hand. He will take you to all the highlights and most popular places of the island. It is no problem if you like to combine the tour with a hike, boat tour or other activities. It can be your dream day on the island, the guide is taking you through the remarkable history of the island, tell you the stories of the small island people and show you his absolutely favorite spot on the island.
We often start the tour in front of the ferry which is convenient when you come to a new place for the first time, but if you prefer us to meet you elsewhere it’s no problem, just tell us in front. We love welcoming people to the Westman Islands and always look forward to meeting new guests. The car is a lovely minibus with all modern facilities to provide a comfortable and memorable experience exploring Westman Islands.
When you take a private tour it gives you the opportunity to take decisions about the tour; what to see and how long to stop at each location. If you have special wishes about what to see or where to go just tell us and we will take you there.
Our guides are born and raised in the islands and live here with their families. It is different growing up in a small place like the Westman Islands; the forceful nature shapes the people living here and their attitudes to life is connected to the dangers of the ocean. People living on volcano islands knows they must bow to the forces of the nature, and they do. The solidarity of the community is strong and the adage "it takes a village to raise a child" proves its value in the Westman Islands.
The tour is 2-hours, and it passes so fast as the island has so much to offer even though how small it is, the island makes up for the size with a rich history and unbelievable nature. We recommend our guests to visit Sprangan, Herjólfsdalur (the valley), elephant rock, Stórhöfði (Great Cape), the new lava field and if there is time we can drive to the crater in the middle of the volcano erupted in 1973 and Skansinn.
Sprangan is the islanders training station for rope swinging, when men and boys descended and collected eggs from nests in earlier times it was necessary to practice well in a save place. Eggs from the seabird nests were valuable food source in earlier days.
The valley is known for a large music festival, first held in 1874. The national festival of the Westman Islands is a 3-day music festival, people of the island enjoy the festival with their families and friends. A lot of guests come for the festival and the valley has over 15 thousand guests partying there. However, the valley has a much longer and interesting history; e.g. the first settler of the islands lived in that valley and we can still see the ruins of his house.
Elephant rock is the most famous landmark of the Westman Islands. Locals sometimes joke that elephant rock is the prototype of the large mammal as we watch our huge elephant plunge its trunk into the sea.
Great Cape is one of the windiest spots in Europe and when at the top the view is breathtaking. Great Cape has a bird watching house in its middle and in the summer we can look at the puffins in a large puffin colony as well as enjoy the view to the black beach below.
The new lava field was created in the eruption 1973, Eldfell is the name of our newest volcano. People woke up during the night and left their homes with almost nothing. The eruption enlarged the island to the east but also submerged houses to the west. The stories of people we know, who experienced those natural disasters are magnificent so it alone makes this tour unforgettable.
Skansinn is rich in history and fun to walk around that area. E.g. we can see the Stave Church, Landlyst Museum, the old fort and sea tanks for the old pool that went under the lava. Listening to stories of the pirates who enslaved the people in the 16. century and watching the area where the horror took place is incredible.
In our opinion, a private tour with VikingTours is the very best tour you will get in the Westman Islands. Visitors' experience of the tour is always “AMAZING”, exploring the island with a local guide and seeing our favorite places in the island. Hearing the stories of real people who experienced natural disasters and it’s hardly imaginable how, but we promise you will be laughing at some of these stories.
