Travel by panoramic coach on a tour that offers fascinating insights on the lives of those who make the sometimes-harsh landscape of Iceland’s Westfjords their home. Beginning from the pier, you’ll drive through the streets of Isafjordur and out along the coastal road for a tour of wondrously remote Bolungarvik, a fishing village towered over by its surrounding mountains. Nearby, you’ll stop at the outdoor Ósvör Museum, where a century-old fisherman’s hut has been restored, complete with the tools of the trade – and the fisherman.

On another leg of the journey, you’ll find yourself up amidst breathtaking views of the magnificent mountains of the Djup, largest of the West Fjords and the Buna River. Not far from that spot, you’ll stop to admire a beautiful stepped waterfall in Tunguskogur and take an opportunity to taste the freshest, clearest mountain water you may ever have encountered. Back in Isafjordur, you’ll stop in at the Maritime and Folk Museum, which calls one of the town’s oldest and best-preserved houses its home. The museum presents an excellent collection of artifacts related to the region’s maritime history – as well as a sizable accordion collection. Gotta have something to do during those long winters.

Bruges is an exquisitely preserved Medieval town. The general prosperity, visible in the opulence of the mansions and civic buildings, lasted until the end of the 15th century.

After a 30-minute drive from the port, you arrive in Bruges where your guided walk will start. Often called Die Scone or 'the beautiful', the charm of this lovely Medieval city will capture you immediately. Smaller and more contained than many other old Flemish cities, Bruges gives the impression that you have stepped back in time. Your guide will walk with you through the narrow, twisting cobbled streets, passing by picturesque scenes of ancient buildings, tree-lined canals and gabled facades. See the bustling marketplace, Belfry Tower, the Town Hall and the Chapel of the Holy Blood. The highlight of this walking tour will undoubtedly be a 30-minute canal tour. While sitting back in a small boat, you'll enjoy this short canal boat ride along the serene waterways of this romantic historical city. As Bruges is full of lace and chocolate shops, you will have lots of free time which will allow you to search for the perfect souvenir. Your guide will lead you by the romantic 'Lake of Love' back to your coach, that will bring you back to your ship.

Venture into the beautiful Thingvellir national park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site only about 30 miles from Reykjavik, and ranking at the top of Iceland’s attractions. This national park offers outstanding sceneries of mountains surrounding a vast lava plain covered in green moss and wild flowers. Head to the Geyser area where you’ll see hissing springs, bubbling pools and other geothermal phenomena. Lunch will be served nearby, amongst these scenic surroundings.

Another highlight of your day is the Gullfoss waterfall. The ‘Golden Waterfall’ is the most famous of the country’s many waterfalls. Here, the river Hvita drops 96 feet in two falls, creating an awesome spectacle. Being located on an old magma chamber, Hveragerdi is notorious not only for its abundance of hot springs, which heat the community’s greenhouse industry, but also for its earthquakes.

Enjoy an insider’s look at life in Edam by visiting a local family and touring a cheese-making facility to see how Edam’s famed cheese is produced. An enlightening walking tour will introduce you to the city. Here, you will see from the outside, St. Nicholas Church and the Edam Museum; which occupies an 18th-century sea captain’s house. For a deeper understanding of life in Edam, you will stop by a centuries-old residence and enjoy coffee and cake with the owners. They will elaborate on the long history of their home, how Edam has changed just in their lifetimes and what the future may hold. Still, it is impossible to escape the draw of cheese in Edam. More than a quarter of the cheese produced in the Netherlands is the city’s namesake cheese, a soft variety made with less milk fat than most other cheeses. While touring a cheese-making facility in town, you will watch the process and then taste samples.

Bicycle through the Waterland, a classic Dutch landscape that is ideal for bicycling as it is flat and spectacularly scenic. A ferry will take you to the Waterland, where you will begin pedaling at a leisurely pace well suited to the area’s laid-back ambiance. You can expect to see farmers going about their daily lives, brightly painted wooden houses and an impossibly green countryside crisscrossed with canals and dotted with seemingly endless rivers and lakes. Almost half of the Waterland is water, held in check by a series of dikes, and the landscape couldn’t be more beautiful. Expect to pass cows grazing in fields, iconic windmills pumping water out of the lowlands and a number of seaside villages, one of which you will stop in for a drink. The Waterland is also a paradise for water birds, and you will likely see countless swans and geese and perhaps even a godwit, the national bird of the Netherlands.

See the nature, meet some locals and catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in small Icelandic fishing towns during this enlightening tour. Included is a breathtaking drive through the West Fjord mountain landscape, where farms and villages huddle on narrow strips of land isolated between rocky ridges and deep fjords. Appearing as if an apparition at one point will be tiny Skrudur, Iceland’s oldest botanical garden. You’ll go in and have a look around. Over 100 years old, this dot-sized green oasis in the midst of the badlands proves what can be grown this far north.

Another curio you’ll encounter is the old shark-fishing town of Flateyri, perched on a spit of land projecting out into Onundarfjordur fjord and boasting a current population of about 200. You’ll take a guided stroll along main street and into the life of this mountain-surrounded outpost, entering an intimate little church where you’ll be treated to an Icelandic music program, and visiting the old bookstore that doubles as the village museum and archive. You’ll also have a chance to observe some town women at work in their handcraft workshop and to share a coffee break and chat with the Flateyrites.

Discover the fascinating world of whales by watching them off Iceland's northern coast and then visiting a unique whale museum. A stop at a legendary waterfall rounds out this tour.

Starting off from the pier, you'll first drive through northern Iceland's lush valleys to Husavik, the first Icelandic town to offer whale-watching cruises. It was a natural fit as the nutrient-rich waters of Skjálfandi Bay attract a diversity of species that include the Humpback, Minke and Orca.

Upon arriving in Husavik, you'll board a boat ideally designed for viewing marine life and cruise into the bay to look for whales feeding on krill, plankton and small fish. During the three hours aboard, you may see Humpbacks raising their uniquely patterned flukes above the surface before diving, slender Sei Whales spouting through their blowholes, or massive Blue Whales gorging, as they typically consume an astounding four tons of tiny krill daily. It's also likely that you will spot some other marine life, such as playful harbor porpoises and white-beaked dolphins.

Following this once-in-a-lifetime experience, you'll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then visit the award winning Husavik Whale Museum. Here, you will have an excellent opportunity to learn even more about cetacean behavior.

Continuing on, you'll make your way to thundering Godafoss, an Icelandic word meaning "Waterfall of the Gods." The name refers to an event that supposedly occurred 1,000 years ago when an Icelandic chieftain threw statues of the Norse gods into the water to symbolically demonstrate Iceland's conversion to Christianity. Whether the legend is true or not, it's quite a sight to behold the Skjalfandafljot River cascade over the horseshoe-shaped cliff and plummet into the roiling tempest below. Afterwards, you'll transfer back to the pier where your tour concludes.

A scenic ride through the charming Flemish countryside takes you to Ghent, a delightful town that is proud of its medieval heritage.

Your guide will lead you to the pontoon where you’ll board a canal boat for a fun and thorough exploration of the city. As you cruise through the historic city, see highlights such as the impressive castle of the counts, the Fish Market, 13th century monasteries and the ancient port of Ghent along with its mercantile houses. Once your canal cruise ends, you’ll have free time to independently explore this gracious city. You may choose to enjoy a locally brewed beer in one of the stylish bars, or maybe a coffee in one of the waffle houses. Strolling along the narrow streets, many of which are pedestrian, you’ll be enthralled by the unique architecture, while the shops will tempt you with their fine chocolates, Flemish lace and other locally-crafted wares.

Travel by boat to the island of Vigur, famous for its huge colonies of sea birds and tiny colony of friendly locals. The journey is both scenic and swift; just about half an hour to traverse the Djupfjord to Vigur, where a cluster of red-roofed buildings sits tranquilly against a dramatic snow-capped backdrop. This sparsely populated islet is home to thousands of feathered citizens – comical puffins, eider ducks, guillemots and sometimes-overprotective arctic terns who love to swoop.

Upon arrival, you’ll have a chance to observe local life on the island, where the farmers make a living by harvesting the down of eider ducks – and provide essential protection for their nests and chicks. It’s hard not to feel like you’ve stepped back in time as you meet with the tiny band of welcoming inhabitants. Their relaxed, easy manner and unique lifestyle will certainly make an impression. Once you’ve seen how the humans live here, you’ll take a leisurely guided island walk to see how Vigur’s resident birds thrive in their own natural habitats. As your visit draws to a close, refreshments will be served by the farmer’s family before the boat ride back to Isafjordur.

The exquisitely preserved medieval town of Bruges is a veritable jewel. Step back in time as you begin your guided walk through Bruges, often called 'Die Scone' or 'the beautiful'. The charm of this lovely medieval city will capture you immediately. As you walk through the narrow streets, passing by picturesque scenes of ancient buildings, tree-lined canals and gabled facades, you’ll see the bustling marketplace, The Belfry Tower, the Town Hall and the Chapel of the Holy Blood.

The highlight of this walking tour will undoubtedly be a 30-minute canal tour. While sitting back in a small boat, you’ll enjoy the serene waterways of this romantic historical city. Since Bruges is full of lace and chocolate shops, you’ll certainly find the perfect souvenir as you explore the area on your own. To end this perfect tour, your guide will lead you by the romantic 'Lake of Love' on the return drive to your ship.

Mix with the locals on a walking overview tour of the largest and liveliest town in the West Fjords. Surrounded by dramatic mountains and arcing into its namesake fjord on a curving spit of land, it’s tempting to envision Isafjordur as a remote and unworldly outpost. But on this survey of town, you’ll soon discover that there’s a surprisingly cosmopolitan vibe afoot here, blending seamlessly with an undeniable frontier character. The old town still has blocks lined with some of Iceland’s oldest wood-and-tin houses, built by the early fishing merchants who found prosperity here in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it’s also home to a thriving arts and emerging culture scene.

Though isolated, Isafjordur is the kind of place that independent and eccentric thinkers have always been drawn to. Your knowledgeable guide will relate some of that history and lead the way as you soak up the town’s relaxed ambiance and most interesting sights. One of those will surely be the Maritime Museum out at the tip of the spit. Set up inside one of the town’s oldest and best-preserved houses, the exhibits include an excellent collection of maritime artifacts – as well as a sizable accordion collection.

This excursion is organized for those guests who have previously visited Bruges or who want to explore independently. Transfer to the entrance of the old city, where you will have approximately 5-hours of free time to take in the activity of your choice. A tour escort will be aboard to answer any questions you may have regarding the best places to see or shop. The escort will remain at the drop off point to further assist you if needed. Return to your coach at the appointed time and place for your return drive to the ship; please be punctual.