Westfjords & Highlands of Iceland Adventure Photo Workshop

Schedule

Itinerary

DAY 1 – Arrival in Reykjavík

As always, we will need to be flexible and adjust to the weather conditions to make the most out of our workshop and travel safely.

Arrival in Iceland and check into your hotel in Reykjavik. In the evening, we meet for a group dinner in Reykjavik where we briefly go through the tour itinerary, safety instructions, and some practical things before we start our adventure in Iceland. If you arrive early, you can photograph some of the top attractions in the city such as the Harpa concert hall, Hallgrimskirkja, the Sun Voyager or Perlan.

DAY 2 – Snæfellsnes Peninsula

We start early in the morning and travel from Reykjavik to Snæfellsnes peninsula. The whole peninsula is a photographers paradise, with many different seascapes, rock formations, a glacier, lava fields, birds and even whales.

Snæfellsnes is a 90 km long peninsula that offers you a world of diversity. Friendly towns and villages, spectacular mountains, a multitude of bird species nesting on treacherous cliffs, beaches of sand and pebbles that are popular among horsemen and rock skimmers, remnants and relics scattered here and there of times and ways of life long past.
The Snaefellsjokull National Park is at the westernmost part of the peninsula, including the mystical glacier Snaefellsjokull, as well as other unique sites such as Djúpalónssandur, Þúfubjarg, and various lighthouses and churches.

One of the main highlights of Snæfellsnes is Kirkjufell mountain and its waterfall, Kirkjufellsfoss. The mountain is often referred to as the guardian of Grundarfjörður’s northwestern vista, and possibly one of the most photographed spots in Iceland. It has appeared in Game of Thrones and is one of Iceland’s best-known mountains.

DAY 3 & 4 – Látrabjarg & the Atlantic Puffin

We visit Látrabjarg and stay in the area for two nights, explore the coastline, lighthouses, stranded boat and of course we’ll spend a lot of time on the famous sea cliff Látrabjarg which is perhaps the best location to photograph Puffin in Iceland.

Látrabjarg is one of Europes biggest bird cliffs, a home to birds in unfathomable numbers. This westernmost point of Iceland is really a line of several cliffs, 14 kilometers long and up to 441 m high. And it’s as steep as it gets, dizzyingly so. Safe from foxes, the birds are fearless and provide stunning photographic opportunities from close range. The puffins are particularly tame and are the ones frequenting the grassy, higher part of the cliffs

Another highlight is Rauðisandur (Red Sand), which is precisely that: a beach with endless red sand. The magnificent hues of the sand differ with daylight and weather, and the beach is the biggest pearl in a string of coves with sand ranging in colors from white through yellow through red to black, and in coarseness from very fine to chips of seashells. Just pure sand enlivened by countless seabirds and seals, an oasis with unique tranquillity. Forget everything, except maybe getting the perfect shot of the ever-changing hues of yellow, orange and red.

DAY 5 – Dynjandi & Önundarfjörður

We keep on exploring the Westfjords and head out to Dynjandi Waterfall in the bottom of the fjord Arnarfjörður. This breathtaking waterfall has been The Westfjords most famous attraction for years. Measuring 30 meters wide at the top and 60 meters at the bottom, Dynjandi is about 100 meters high, it’s one of the most beautiful in all of Iceland. Below it, a series of waterfalls cascade. Arnarfjordur is one of the most beautiful fjords in the Westfjords because of its diverse landscape, magnificent mountains and the natural masterpieces of Ketildalir and the Dynjandi waterfall.

From there keep on going into Önundarfjörður with its stunning landscapes and the amazing Korpudalur & Holt beach. The small fishing town of Flateyri with its museum of Nonsense. After a photography stop in Önundarfjörður, we head into the capital of the Westfjords, Ísafjörður and stay there overnight.

DAY 6 – Ísafjörður

Our hotel is based in the picturesque town of Ísafjörður, the largest in the Westfjords with around 2.500 inhabitants. It is an ancient church site and a trading post since at least the 16th century, although a real town did not start to form until after the mid-19th century. The growth of the town was triggered by salt fish production, and ever since then, the fishing industry has been vital for the community. A notable fact about Ísafjörður is that they host the European Championship in Swamp soccer.
You will explore the town and its surrounding areas with the amazing views of Bolafjall in the neighboring town of Bolungarvík. The place offers a staggering view over Ísafjarðardjúp, Jökulfirðir and some people say all the way to Greenland.

DAY 7 – West of Iceland

We will drive through many deep fjords past small fishing towns on the way. Each a true fjord in its own right, with plenty to see and explore. Ísafjarðardjúp has a wealth of animal life. Many birds nest on the three islands within it, seals can be found on the shores, and whales can often be seen within the fjord.

We finish the day in West of Iceland in the Borgarfjörður, a region regarded as the setting for most of the Icelandic sagas. We stay in Reykholt, one of the most historically important places in the country and hosts a center for medieval studies, Snorrastofa.Ís

DAY 8 – Þingvellir National Park & the Highlands of Iceland

We start the day in Reykholt, stop by the beautiful waterfalls of Hraunfossar & Barnafoss before heading towards the Langjökull ice cap, the second-largest glacier in Iceland.
We drive Kaldidalsvegur road to Þingvellir National Park. After photographing Þingvellir we keep on going towards the Highlands and stop by the highest waterfall in Iceland, Háifoss (The high waterfall). It is the fourth-highest in Iceland and one of the most striking you find on the island. Placed in a magnificent but relatively narrow gorge leading into the Highlands from the valley Þjórsárdalur it is one of the major waterfall attractions in Iceland.
We end the day in our Highland hotel.

DAY 9 – The Highlands

An early morning start from our Highland hotel and we have a full day exploring the Highlands. There will be many photo opportunities on the way on our two main subjects will be Eldgjá and Langisjór.
Eldgjá is one of the largest basaltic flood lava eruptions in historical times in Iceland (Around 983 AD). One of the main photography opportunities is Ófærufoss, a two-tiered waterfall in the Nyrðri-Ófæru river which falls into Eldgjá Canyon.

Langisjór, one of Europe’s most beautiful and pristine highland lakes, is tucked in between the beautiful Tungnárfjöll and Fögrufjöll Mountains at the western edge of Vatnajökull Glacier. Measuring 20 km long and 2 km wide in some places, the lake is 27sq km and 75m at its deepest and lies some 640m above sea level. The view around the lake is magnificent and at the southern end of the lake stands Sveinstindur (1090 m) which is considered by many to be one of the best views of the panorama of the surrounding area. Views over Lakagígar, Skaftáreldahraun, Öræfajökul, and Hekla are possible in clear weather.

We will end the day at a hotel by the South Coast.

DAY 10 – The South Highlands

We travel back into the highlands for another full day of magnificent scenery and photography. These parts of the highlands are marked by glacier floods but offer fantastic beauty and variation of different colors. We will photograph the mountain Mælifell, an awe ­inspiring, green moss­ covered pyramid standing alone in a vast, black desert landscape. The mighty Mýrdalsjökull glacier fills the skyline to the south of the mountain, barely 2 km distant at its closest. To the north rise the mountains of the Fjallabak region. Black, green and white combine in a scene of almost indescribable beauty.

DAY 11 – South Coast & Reykjavík

We explore the area around Vík, it has many of the best know photography locations Iceland has to offer, for example, Reynisdrangar, Reynisfjara Black Beach, Dyrhólaey & waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss. We will try to cover even more parts of the Highlands by going into the region of Þórsmörk.

We will end our journey back at our Reykjavik hotel. This will give you some free time to walk around Reykjavik, have dinner or rest before your departure flight the next day.

DAY 12 – Departure

Departure day. Breakfast is included at your hotel, and check-out is at 11 am. You can schedule your flight at any time that’s suitable for you.

If photographers would like to extend their stay in Iceland it is easy to arrange private day tours before or after the workshop. A popular day tour to add to this workshop is the Reykjanes Peninsula.

For cancellation and refund policy for our workshops, please visit the Terms & Conditions page.