It's possible to reach Iceland by comfortable cruise
ferry between April and October each year, though you'll
need to travel to Denmark to board the ferry and it will take you
several nights each way. Here's how...
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Above: The Smyril Line cruise ferry 'Norröna'
sails weekly from mainland Europe to Iceland... |
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Above: Leaving Seydisfjördur
aboard the ferry 'Norröna'...
Photo courtesy of Phil Horton. |
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Above: The ferry 'Norröna' calls at
Torshavn on the Faroe Islands... Photo courtesy of Phil Horton. |
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The weekly
Smyril Line passenger ferry to Iceland...
A Smyril Line passenger & car ferry called the 'Norröna' sails
roughly once a
week between April & October from
Hirtshals in northern Denmark to Torshavn
in the Faeroe Islands & Seydisfjördur in Iceland.
The voyage from Denmark to Iceland aboard the "Norröna" takes
2 or 3 nights depending on the sailing schedule. Sailing days and
times vary, so see either the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or
www.smyril-line.com for times, fares & online booking.
Note that passengers are not carried to Iceland
in winter*, presumably as the weather is so poor
at that time of year. The passenger part of the
36,000 ton "Norröna" is to cruise ship standards, all
cabins have TV, shower and toilet. There is a
swimming pool, sauna, children's playroom, restaurant &
shops.
The Smyril
Line ship used to call at Lerwick in the Shetland
Islands, but stopped calling there in 2008. In the
past she has used Esbjerg & Hanstholm as her Danish
ports, but will sail from Hirtshals on all sailings from
late 2010 and in 2011.
(* It's reported that there are in fact sailings
in winter, although Smyril Line don't advertise them,
because they often have to be cancelled.
Nonetheless they all seem to run through February &
March. To book winter sailings you have to contact
Smyril Line directly. You may have to do it last
minute, but they're never going to be short of berths at
that time).
How to travel to Iceland from the UK...
You'll need to travel to Hirtshals at the northern tip
of Denmark to board the Smyril Line ship to Iceland as
she no longer calls at any UK port.
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First, pick a sailing, so see
www.smyril-line.com for the sailing schedule or use
the seat61 Ferry Shop.
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Now work out train connections from the UK to Denmark.
There are two main options. Option 1 is to take a
train from London Liverpool Street to Harwich
International in Essex, then the 3-times-a-week DFDS
Seaways (www.dfds.co.uk)
ferry 'Dana Sirena' from Harwich across the North Sea to
Esbjerg.
See the London to Denmark page
for full details. A very comfortable and leisurely
way to get there, especially if you use their superb
Commodore class.
-
The second option is to take an afternoon Eurostar to
Brussels, a high-speed Thalys or ICE train to Cologne and the
daily overnight Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train as far
as Odense,
see the London to Denmark page.
-
Then take a train from Esbjerg or
Odense to Hjørring. Simply use the online
timetable at
http://bahn.hafas.de to find train connections from
Esbjerg or Odense to Hjørring. Then take the local
train from Hjørring to Hirtshals, a distance of 17 km
(10 miles). Trains on this little private railway
run at least every hour and the fare is 27 Kroner.
Note that as this is a private railway, not DSB (Danish
national railways), the journey planner at
http://bahn.hafas.de will not recognise Hirtshals,
hence my advice to work out trains to Hjørring first.
Alternatively, you could take a taxi from Hjørring to
Hirtshals, see
www.hhbusservice.dk.
How to travel to Iceland from mainland Europe...
If you're
starting in mainland Europe, the best place to pick up
the Iceland ferry is in Denmark. First check ferry
sailings at
www.smyril-line.com or the
seat61 Ferry Shop. To
find train times from anywhere in Europe to Hjørring
(for Hirtshals), use
http://bahn.hafas.de (English button upper right).
On arrival in Iceland...
Seydisfjördur is on the east of Iceland, a 9-hour
drive by car from Reykjavik. For long-distance bus services
in Iceland, see
www.bsi.is.
Traveller's reports...
Traveller Martin reports (2010): "When
booking, it's considerably cheaper to pay in Danish
Krone than in Euros. Smyril Line's Faroese sales
office speak excellent English and reply promptly to
emails. The ship is pleasant, the only downside is
the Scandinavian prices for drinks & food onboard,
though you can buy alcohol from the duty-free shop and
drink it in the covered area on deck. You could instead
bring food with you and keep it in the fridge that is
provided in outside cabins. There's a discount for
pre-booked meals, but seasoned travellers recommend
against this, since if the sea is choppy you may not
want anything (though we found the Norröna remarkably
stable). Ship-board announcements are in Faroese,
then Danish, then English. An alternative to a
cabin is to take a couchette berth. I would recommend
against this - it's usually nine berths stacked 3 high
in a room beneath the car deck, with very little space.
You aren't allowed to sleep elsewhere on the ship.
I would recommend travelling during the off-peak
timetable. Not only is it cheaper, but the ship
leaves and arrives at more sociable times. Also
the ship pauses in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands for 9
hours on the way to Iceland and 6 hours on the way back.
If driving, when you book the ticket tell the ticket
office and the check-in staff that you want to drive off
the ship in Torshavn, so that they place your car in the
right place. This means that rather than pay a lot
of money to take the official bus tour, you can drive
around at your own convenience, taking in some of the
most fantastic scenery you'll ever see. The ship
travels close enough to Fair Isle and Shetland for an
excellent view (mist dependent), and a half-hour window
to make mobile phone calls on a British network.
But the most amazing views are as Norröna passes through
the Faroe Islands, waterfalls tumbling down steep cliffs
on both sides, and puffins diving out of the way in
front. Iceland itself isn't bad either."
UK to
Iceland by freighter...
Freight ships run by Eimskip used to have a
limited number of passenger places on their regular
weekly sailings from Rotterdam to Reykjavik in Iceland,
calling briefly at Torshavn (Faroe Islands). However,
sadly they no longer carry passengers.
More
information...
If
anyone has any more information. photos or travel reports that would be useful for
this page, please
e-mail me!
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