Ísafjörður: Seal Colony, Avalanche Town & Fjord Views Tour｜Iceland

Journey along breathtaking fjord roads, and experience wonderful nature, playful wildlife & fascinating history, on this half-day tour starting and ending at Ísafjörður harbour.

Our first stop is at Hvítanes, a small outlet jutting out to sea. The bay's shallow waters, sandy banks, and teeming fishing stocks make it ideal grounds for a small seal colony. These playful creatures are ever-present here in summer, with harbour seals and grey seals being the most frequent guests. We keep a respectful distance so as to not disturb these easily spooked creatures, but close enough to admire them.

Continue to Súðavík, a picturesque fishing village whose colorful houses are clustered around its small harbor. For centuries, life here centered around the sea and fishing. Súðavík faces across towards the sea, with steep mountainsides on either side of the narrow fjord.
Today, it is not permitted to live in some of the houses on the outskirts of the village in winter due to the risk of avalanches. This policy stems from the disaster that hit this town on the morning of January 16th, 1995. On this fateful day, an immense wall of snow and ice swept down the hillside, resulting in the loss of 14 lives. Visit a moving Avalanche Memorial to this tragedy, and learn how the village coped with the catastrophe.

We continue our journey along the coast, enjoying wonderful fjord views. The fjords were formed by the repeated advance and retreat of massive glaciers across multiple ice ages. These glaciers eroded the basalt base rock, and formed distinctive U-shaped valleys, which the sea then filled in to form the fjords we see today.

Stop at some viewpoints along the way to admire the fjord views, catching sight of Vigur Island in the distance. Its steep cliffs host a wide variety of nesting sea birds such as eider ducks and arctic terns, with sightings of whales also a possibility.