Jewels of the North with refreshments

Impossibly beautiful, Iceland flaunts its extraordinary natural attractions on this enchanting tour of a legendary waterfall, ancient craters and bizarrely shaped lava castles.

Your tour commences from the pier with a scenic drive along the coastline of Eyjarfjordur, Iceland's longest and perhaps most spectacular fjord. Looking back, you'll have an excellent view of Akureyri, which nestles at the very end of the waterway. Further ahead lies Fnjoskardalur, a pristine valley that clearly shows evidence of its ancient glacial formation.

Your first stop is thundering Godafoss, an Icelandic word meaning "Waterfall of the Gods." The name refers to an event that supposedly occurred 1,000 years ago when an Icelandic chieftain threw statues of the Norse gods into the water to symbolically demonstrate Iceland's conversion to Christianity. Whether the legend is true or not, it's quite a sight to behold the Skjalfandafljot River cascade over the horseshoe-shaped cliff and plummet into the roiling tempest below.

But Godafoss only touches upon the natural wonders that await you, which include the volcanically formed craters at Skutustadir, location of your next stop. From here, you'll travel to an even larger collection of imaginative lava formations found at Dimmuborgir. Created more than 2,000 years ago, the area is full of hardened lava lakes, natural arches and craggy grottoes.

Your final stop before returning to the pier will be at Namaskard, a barren field of gurgling sulfur cauldrons and boiling mud pits that afford you a look at Iceland's geothermal activity.