A Trip into Breiðafjörður Bay with SeaTours Takes You into Another World
Whether youʼre on a student on a school trip or a seasoned professional, making the choice to visit Iceland is a choice to be different and to stand out from the crowd, to join the people for whom challenges are a way of life. In Iceland you can live a fantasy world thatʼs real.
Take, for example, the mystical Breiðafjörður Bay. It could fit right into ʻLord of the Ringsʼ—and yet, you can be there. Actually experiencing it is so much more thrilling than watching it as a couch potato. Not only that, but there are things to try that would make Frodo jealous.
Stunning Scenery
Sailing out into the bay is an experience in itself. No-one knows quite how many islands there are, though some estimates say about 3,000. Many are quite sizeable, such as Grímsey (one of several by that name), with its incredible basalt rock formations; Godʼs bookshelf on another island is also made of basalt rock—with lines cut into them, making them look like stacks of books—though no-one knows why; and Eiríksey, where Eric the Red hid before sailing to Greenland after being banished from Iceland.
Beautiful Birdlife
On many of the islands, safe from harm, thousands of birds nest and raise their young. Not just the colourful puffin but whole flocks of different species that you can get up close to. SeaTours special catamaran gets within feet of the islands, providing astonishing photo opportunities.
Sushi Straight from the Sea
You cannot get fresher than this: a net is drawn up from the sea bed, laden with fresh scallops and sea urchins. You are given a knife and invited to dine. The funny thing is: itʼs so delicious. For those on the Gourmet Tour, this is just the appetiser. Thereʼs a restaurant below deck, which offers a beautiful view of the romantically tranquil surroundings while enjoying a lunch or dinner.
Specially for Schools
SeaTours provides a highlight for school trips to Iceland with their Unique Adventure Tour. This is the best way to get an education: enjoy yourself so much that you learn without even realising it. The captain can emphasise subjects like geology, history or marine biology while the students enjoy the experience of these subjects brought to life. The tour culminates with the sea plough drawing up shellfish and sea creatures and the students are challenged to eat some. Then we see who is really brave!
Stykkishólmur
The map of Stykkisholmur
Hotels
Restaurant
Museum
Everything Volcanic
World-renowned volcanologist, Haraldur Sigurðsson, creates Iceland’s most comprehensive volcano museum
Snæfellsnes is considered the jewel of the west coast, in part, because the region has a taste of everything Icelandic. If you’re looking for mountains, they’re there. If you want to attempt a glacier walk, Snæfellsnesjökull awaits. If you’re interested in volcanoes, Eldfjallasafn Volcano Museum in Stykkishólmur is the place to visit.
The museum showcases works of art, old and new, which depict volcanic eruptions, as well as artefacts, and volcanic rocks. The museum focuses on volcanoes around the world.
Volcanic hot spot
Iceland has a high concentration of active volcanoes due to its location on the divergent tectonic plate boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and also because it sits over a geological hot spot. The island has 30 active volcanic systems, of which 13 have erupted since the settlement of Iceland in 874 AD. The most recent eruptions occurred in 2014 at Holuhraun near the Bárðarbunga system and the eruption under Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 that produced an enormous ash cloud.
Riveting museum
Diverse aspects of volcanoes are presented at the Volcano Museum, from the science, geology and their environmental effects to how they appear in art and literature. Talks are given daily in the museum in English and Icelandic about volcanoes and their effects, as well as information on geology for people with little or no previous knowledge of volcanoes. For visitors who would like an in-depth tour of the geology behind volcanoes, the museum offers geology excursions that visit a number of dramatic locations along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.
Passionate curator
The world-renowned volcanologist Haraldur Sigurðsson created the Volcano Museum to share the wealth of knowledge he has accrued. Haraldur was born in Stykkishólmur in 1939, completed a BSc degree at Queens University in Belfast in 1965, and received his PhD from Durham University in England in 1970. He worked at the University of the West Indies from 1970, conducting research on Caribbean volcanoes. He served as professor of volcanology at the University of Rhode Island for 40 years. His research has been principally in volcanology, both on land and on the ocean floor. He has worked in Indonesia, Italy, West Indies, USA, West Africa, Greece, South and Central America and elsewhere, but Iceland remains firmly his home where the Volcano Museum is close to his heart.
Volcano Museum Stykkishólmur
Aðalgata 6, 340 Stykkishólmur
+354 433 8154
safn@eldfjallasafn.is
www.eldfjallasafn.is