Iceland alternatives

[chloe77]

I've done ABD in the past and would love to go to Iceland, but they are sold out for this summer. Are there any similar tour companies I could look into besides Austin Adventures (no availability), Tauck Bridges and Thomson (too expensive)?

 

[sayhello]

You might want to check National Geographic Expeditions. I personally liked the ABD itinerary better, but NatGeo have some good itineraries. I don't know what their availability is like.

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/destinations/europe

Search for Iceland on the bottom of that page.

This is their Family trip:

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/iceland-family-tour/detail

I don't think ABD has ever had a new itinerary completely sell out before...

Sayhello

 

[iheartglaciers]

Are you looking at cruises or land tours? I did a Celebrity Norway/Iceland cruise on the Infinity that was excellent!

 

[chloe77]

We are looking at land tours - I hadn't considered a cruise, is that a better way to see the country, do you think?

 

[DCPhotoGal]

You could look into an Iceland Air package. Wouldn't be 100% guided, but perhaps cover a lot of the same things and less expensive.

 

[iheartglaciers]

We are looking at land tours - I hadn't considered a cruise, is that a better way to see the country, do you think?

No, it's a different experience. The cruise I went on only stayed docked in Iceland for 1.5 days, so you only get to see a limited number of things. The trade off is you stop at some really cool places in Norway and the Shetland Islands There is a lot to see, I'm hoping to get back to Iceland for a land tour soon!

 

[carpenta]

We did a family Nat. Geo. trip and loved it. See the big things but also goes "behind the scenes" of living in Iceland. Smaller groups also.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

You can also look at G Adventures. I haven't been to Iceland with them, but I have traveled with them in the past as part of G Adventures cobranded with National Geographic. I was so delighted with the experience that we have future trips booked with them. And as far as customer service went, hands down - they met ABD's standards. The hotels might not have been as fancy, and there weren't the same kind of 'extra' experiences. But the cost of the tour overall was less, partly because you book the base tour (with meals, transportation, experiences, city tours, etc.) and decide when you get to each location what - if anything - you want to do extra. You pay for extras as the tour progresses, something which I found this relaxing. If I didn't feel like doing something one afternoon, I didn't have to feel I was losing money because I hadn't booked anything extra for that day. YMMV, of course.

 

[EllinK]

Abercrombie and Kent has a great itinerary. Or, you could do it on your own. We did Iceland on our own last year and it was the best trip ever. If you want some recommendations, I'm happy to provide them.

 

[sayhello]

Abercrombie and Kent has a great itinerary. Or, you could do it on your own. We did Iceland on our own last year and it was the best trip ever. If you want some recommendations, I'm happy to provide them.

If the OP feels Thomson and Tauck are too expensive, they're never going to go for Ambercrombie and Kent! They're at least 30% more expensive than either Tauck or Thomson!

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

The couple of G Adventures trips I looked at said they target 18-30 year olds? Is that the usual mix? At 49, with kids, I'm out of their demographic.

 

[chloe77]

Thanks, everyone. I don't know why I'm having a mental problem with the expense for Iceland - I think it's because several of my friends have been and think we should DIY, but I really love the convenience of a tour. I don't really want to pay $30k for a week in Iceland, though. I will pay that for Australia or China, but for some reason not this one. Am looking into DIY now, suggestions welcomed and appreciated!!

 

[carpenta]

Iceland's cost of living is very high so as they say "you ain't getting out of this one cheap" either way

 

[sayhello]

Thanks, everyone. I don't know why I'm having a mental problem with the expense for Iceland - I think it's because several of my friends have been and think we should DIY, but I really love the convenience of a tour. I don't really want to pay $30k for a week in Iceland, though. I will pay that for Australia or China, but for some reason not this one. Am looking into DIY now, suggestions welcomed and appreciated!!

I wonder if it's because it's 4 1/2 hours away from the East Coast, and not 16 or 24 hours away. Long travel times make it seem even more exotic.

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[*WDW*Groupie*]

My friend did a self-guided trip to Iceland last summer. Her and her daughter had an amazing trip. She did say that although it's relatively inexpensive to get there, everything there is very expensive (especially food). I believe others on the forum have also mentioned this.

You could have ABD put your names on a wait list for openings. That is how I got my central Europe trip booked a few years ago. They had a cancellation and we snapped it up. It might be a bit of a long shot but it could work out for you.

Our group is 40 and only 7 kids. This is baffling to me. The ratio seems very low for an ABD. Hope the travelers going without kids enjoy teenagers as I understand that 4 of the 7 are teenage girls (one of them will be my 16 year old -- I have no idea how she got that old!)! Should be fun!

 

[chloe77]

My friend did a self-guided trip to Iceland last summer. Her and her daughter had an amazing trip. She did say that although it's relatively inexpensive to get there, everything there is very expensive (especially food). I believe others on the forum have also mentioned this.

You could have ABD put your names on a wait list for openings. That is how I got my central Europe trip booked a few years ago. They had a cancellation and we snapped it up. It might be a bit of a long shot but it could work out for you.

Our group is 40 and only 7 kids. This is baffling to me. The ratio seems very low for an ABD. Hope the travelers going without kids enjoy teenagers as I understand that 4 of the 7 are teenage girls (one of them will be my 16 year old -- I have no idea how she got that old!)! Should be fun!

That is a great idea, I will do that. Thanks! I'm surprised by the lack of kids and younger kids as well. I called Austin Adventures recently about Iceland, and their 2018 summer trips are all adults only!

ABD no longer has the rates up -- can you give me a ballpark/estimate cost per person? Is it around $5500 a person, or more like $7000? Tauck, Nat Geo and Abercrombie are all over $7000.

 

[EllinK]

We did Iceland on our own last July just prior to the DCL British Isles cruise. It was an amazing trip and my family would love to go back. We began looking at options this time last year. I was told it was already too late. That is only true if you want to rent a car and drive yourself around the country. We weren't interested in self driving so all was good.

I did tons of research. Ended up renting a small vacation rental apartment (Swan Apartments) in the center of Reykjavik. Most activities/excursions include picking you up in the city in the price. So you can figure out what you would like to do and pick and choose companies to book with. This is what we did.

Alternatively, you could contact a company like Extreme Iceland that books private and shared tours including multi-night trips that include accommodations (so you don't have to deal with trying to find a room when they have all been booked 12 months out). A private multiday trip with Extreme Iceland might be just what you are looking for.

Have a great trip. Iceland is amazing!

 

[AquamarineSteph]

The couple of G Adventures trips I looked at said they target 18-30 year olds? Is that the usual mix? At 49, with kids, I'm out of their demographic.

There should be a link on the tour page to view all of their tours. While they do have quite a few that target the 18-30 something demographic, they also have classic tours, National Geographic cobranded tours, Jane Goodall cobranded tours, rail tours, etc. They have a LOT of variety. Our tour had a wonderful mix of ages.

 

[chloe77]

We did Iceland on our own last July just prior to the DCL British Isles cruise. It was an amazing trip and my family would love to go back. We began looking at options this time last year. I was told it was already too late. That is only true if you want to rent a car and drive yourself around the country. We weren't interested in self driving so all was good.

I did tons of research. Ended up renting a small vacation rental apartment (Swan Apartments) in the center of Reykjavik. Most activities/excursions include picking you up in the city in the price. So you can figure out what you would like to do and pick and choose companies to book with. This is what we did.

Alternatively, you could contact a company like Extreme Iceland that books private and shared tours including multi-night trips that include accommodations (so you don't have to deal with trying to find a room when they have all been booked 12 months out). A private multiday trip with Extreme Iceland might be just what you are looking for.

Have a great trip. Iceland is amazing!

Thank you so much. I have actually been looking at the Extreme Iceland site to do just that - book a hotel or two and then just take day tours. We don't want to drive ourselves. Would you mind if I send you a private message and ask you a few more questions? Thanks again!

 

[sayhello]

ABD no longer has the rates up -- can you give me a ballpark/estimate cost per person? Is it around $5500 a person, or more like $7000? Tauck, Nat Geo and Abercrombie are all over $7000.

I'm trying to re-construct the price going backwards from my reservation having the 40% single supplement added. It comes out to approximately $6900 per adult. Don't know what the child price was.

Sayhello