Across the North Atlantic: Iceland, Greenland & Labrador — Self-Launched

Land at Keflavík (KEF) and take the Flybus or Strætó bus 55 into Reykjavík (~£22–25) or stay local in Keflavík. Drop your bags at a hostel and spend the afternoon walking the Reykjanes peninsula: the Gunnuhver hot springs, the Bridge Between Continents, and the lighthouses and lava fields around Grindavík if roads allow. Pick up a Bónus supermarket dinner to keep food costs down. Book your Iceland south-coast day tour tonight for the next day.

🚌Flybus/Strætó from KEF to Reykjavík (~£22–25)

🛏Hostel dorm in Reykjavík or Keflavík guesthouse (~£35–45/night)

• →Reykjanes peninsula self-guided walk
• →Gunnuhver geothermal area
• →Bridge Between Continents

Do the Golden Circle independently rather than on a coach: take Strætó bus 51/52 to Þingvellir, then continue to Laugarvatn and Geysir by bus, and hitch or join a local minibus for the Gullfoss leg. Alternatively, a small-group Golden Circle day tour booked on GetYourGuide runs ~£55–70 and is genuinely good value given Icelandic transport costs. Either way, aim for the Strokkur geyser eruption, the rift valley at Þingvellir, and Gullfoss's double cascade.

🚌Public bus or small-group day tour (~£55–70)

🛏Reykjavík hostel dorm

• →Þingvellir National Park
• →Strokkur geyser at Geysir
• →Gullfoss waterfall

Join a south-coast minibus tour (GetYourGuide ~£80–95) hitting Seljalandsfoss (walk behind the falls), Skógafoss, the Sólheimajökull glacier tongue and the black sand at Reynisfjara near Vík. Or take public bus 51 as far as Vík and stay overnight there, walking between the falls by local transport. Keep an eye offshore for whales and seabirds — the same species the expedition passengers are watching from the deck.

🚌South coast minibus tour or Strætó bus 51 (~£25–95)

🛏Vík hostel or guesthouse (~£40–50/night)

• →Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls
• →Sólheimajökull glacier viewpoint
• →Reynisfjara black sand beach

Morning in Reykjavík: Hallgrímskirkja, the harbour, and the Saga Museum if time allows. Afternoon flight from Reykjavík domestic airport to Kulusuk or Nerlerit Inaat, then helicopter or boat transfer to Tasiilaq (weather permitting — build in a buffer day). Greenland bookings fill up; Air Greenland and Air Iceland Connect are the operators, and helicopter seats are the expensive part. Evening arrival in Tasiilaq, the largest town in East Greenland.

🚌Reykjavík–Kulusuk flight (~£350–450) + helicopter/boat to Tasiilaq (~£90–150)

🛏Tasiilaq guesthouse or hostel (~£55–70/night — Greenland is the budget breaker)

• →Reykjavík old harbour walk
• →Hallgrímskirkja church
• →Flight into East Greenland

Self-guided day in Tasiilaq: the small wooden church, the excellent Ammassalik Museum in the old colonial buildings, and the harbour with fishermen landing their catch. Walk the Flower Valley trail behind town for tundra views, and stop at the local café. This is a genuine Inuit community, not a staged experience — shop at the Pilersuisoq supermarket and respect that this is people's home.

🚌Walking

🛏Tasiilaq guesthouse

• →Ammassalik Museum
• →Tasiilaq church and harbour
• →Flower Valley tundra walk

Book a half-day boat trip with a local operator (around £120–160) out among the icebergs and up the fjord — this is your closest equivalent to the Zodiac cruises, and it's run by Greenlanders who know these waters. Watch for humpbacks, minke whales and seals. Afternoon free for hiking the ridge above town for panoramic views over the ice.

🚌Local boat charter (shared)

🛏Tasiilaq guesthouse

• →Iceberg and fjord boat trip
• →Wildlife watching
• →Ridge hike above Tasiilaq

Take a local boat or helicopter to a smaller settlement such as Kulusuk or a nearby hunting village, and spend the day walking among the brightly painted houses and drying fish racks. Alternatively, if weather has held, hike one of the marked trails from Tasiilaq and eat a packed lunch on the tundra. Late afternoon return and an early night before tomorrow's crossing.

🚌Local boat transfer (~£60–90)

🛏Tasiilaq guesthouse

• →Local settlement visit
• →Marked tundra trail hike
• →Packed lunch on the tundra

Retrace the crossing in the air rather than the Davis Strait by ship: helicopter or boat to Kulusuk, flight to Reykjavík, and either an overnight near Keflavík or an evening connection toward North America. Book a cheap Icelandair or Play connection to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a stop. Buffer day recommended — Greenland weather delays are common, so keep a spare day in the plan.

🚌Tasiilaq–Kulusuk transfer + flight to Reykjavík (~£400–480)

🛏Airport-area hostel or guesthouse (~£45–55/night)

• →Scenic air crossing over the Denmark Strait
• →Overnight near Keflavík airport

Fly to Halifax, then connect to Deer Lake in western Newfoundland (or to St. John's if you'd rather do the loop in reverse). Pick up a shared rental car if you're travelling with others — this is the one stretch where a car is genuinely worth it, at around £20–25/person/day split four ways. Overnight near Deer Lake or Rocky Harbour, gateway to Gros Morne.

🚌Flights (~£250–350) + shared car hire

🛏Hostel or motel near Rocky Harbour/Deer Lake (~£40–50/night)

• →Flights across the Atlantic
• →Arrival in western Newfoundland

Walk the Tablelands trail — the orange peridotite rock here is mantle pushed up onto land, one of the only places on Earth you can see it — and take the Western Brook Pond boat tour (~£50) up the glacier-carved fjord. In the evening eat fish and chips in Woody Point, the little town on Bonne Bay that appears in the expedition's itinerary. Parks Canada entry for the park is ~£6/day.

🚌Shared car

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Rocky Harbour

• →Tablelands trail
• →Western Brook Pond boat tour
• →Woody Point evening

Drive the Viking Trail north through Port au Choix and the coastal barrens, roughly four hours of empty road with good chances of moose and, offshore here, whales. Stop at the Port au Choix archaeological site (free) where Maritime Archaic and Dorset people lived. Overnight in St. Lunaire-Griquet or near the L'Anse aux Meadows site.

🚌Shared car (~£20/person)

🛏B&B or guesthouse, St. Lunaire-Griquet (~£45–55/night)

• →Viking Trail scenic drive
• →Port au Choix archaeology site
• →Coastal whale spotting

Spend the morning at the UNESCO World Heritage Norse site — the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America, with reconstructed turf buildings and costumed interpreters (Parks Canada entry ~£9). This is the same site the expedition visits, reached by car rather than Zodiac. Afternoon walk the coastal boardwalk and shoreline, then drive back south partway.

🚌Shared car

🛏Guesthouse en route south or back near Deer Lake

• →L'Anse aux Meadows UNESCO site
• →Reconstructed Norse sod buildings
• →Coastal boardwalk

Take the Bella Desgagnés coastal supply ship or the Strait of Belle Isle ferry across to Blanc-Sablon in Quebec/Labrador (~£25–40). From here you're in the same stretch of coast as Hebron and Hopedale — remote Inuit and Moravian mission landscapes on the Labrador coast, reachable only by sea. Overnight in Blanc-Sablon.

🚌Ferry (~£30)

🛏Small hotel/guesthouse, Blanc-Sablon (~£50)

• →Strait of Belle Isle ferry crossing
• →Coastal Labrador arrival

Join a leg of the Bella Desgagnés coastal service (the same vessel that supplies these villages) or a local boat trip along the coast to see the remains of Moravian mission settlements — the abandoned stone missions and the Inuit communities that grew around them. Note that Hebron and Hopedale sit much further north and require pre-booked passage and time; if you want them, allow an extra three to four days on the coastal service. Otherwise, use today for a boat trip to see icebergs and the mission ruins nearer Blanc-Sablon.

🚌Coastal service or local boat (~£60–100)

🛏Small hotel/guesthouse, Blanc-Sablon

• →Coastal supply ship or local boat trip
• →Moravian mission remains
• →Inuit community visit

Ferry back to St. Barbe and drive to Deer Lake, drop the car, and take an internal flight or long-distance bus to St. John's on the east coast (~£90–140 flight). Spend the evening in St. John's George Street — the pubs are the best possible introduction to Newfoundland music and hospitality.

🚌Ferry (~£30) + internal flight (~£90–140)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, St. John's (~£40–50/night)

• →Return ferry crossing
• →Flight east to St. John's
• →George Street pubs

Morning in St. John's: Signal Hill and Cabot Tower for the harbour view, the colourful row houses of Jellybean Row, and the Rooms museum if the weather turns. Then to St. John's International Airport for your onward flight. Book departures no earlier than early afternoon to allow for transfer time.

🚌Local bus or taxi to airport (~£5–25)

🛏—

• →Signal Hill and Cabot Tower
• →Jellybean Row
• →The Rooms museum (optional)