Iceland, Faroes & the Shetland Islands

Here is a unique opportunity to combine time exploring Iceland, one of the most extraordinary and dramatic lands on the planet, the little-visited Faroes and the remote Shetland Islands. A voyage by small ship is the ideal way to get up close to nature and explore areas inaccessible to larger vessels and, aboard the 118-passenger MS Hebridean Sky with her expert team and fleet of Zodiacs, we will be able to land on remote islands and cruise close to shorelines and cliffs crowded with birdlife. Travelling in July we will be able to take advantage of the long days by spending time on deck looking for the variety of wildlife which inhabits the region.

We will set sail from the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik and spend six days discovering the natural wonders of Iceland. Witness the immense scale of the landscape dominated by towering snow-capped mountains, thundering waterfalls and spontaneously erupting geysers as we learn of the centuries old legacies of a Viking and Norse heritage. Europe’s least populated country offers the visitor a truly unparalleled experience of elemental forces at work. We will visit some of its most dramatic areas and, whilst we sail its waters, will look out for humpback whales, orcas, white-beaked dolphins and observe the colonies of seabirds.

Leaving Iceland we sail south for three days of exploration in the Faroe Islands; once a stopping point for Viking explorers this mysterious collection of 18 islands set in the North Atlantic is a paradise for walkers and bird watchers. Here, a highlight will be seeing the many puffins and other sea birds nesting as well as our day spent in the traditional village of Elduvik with its welcoming population of twelve. Finally, we continue our venture south past rugged coastlines to the Shetland Islands, Britain’s most northerly outpost, where we will spend our time exploring the deserted villages and ancient sites before arriving in Aberdeen.