Welcome to the land of fire and ice. One steeped in natural wonders, with jagged landscapes carved by vast volcanic eruptions, bubbling geothermal lagoons, mineral-rich mountain lakes, plunging waterfalls and misty, cinematic canyons, like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. Welcome to Iceland.
YACHT CHARTER ITINERARIES
INSPIRATIONAL ITINERARIES IN ICELAND
YOUR GUIDE TO ICELAND
STEEPED IN NATURAL WONDERS
Dramatic fjords, peaceful shores and crystal-clear air make Iceland a wonderful cruising ground for superyachts. It’s a country steeped in natural wonders, with jagged landscapes carved by vast volcanic eruptions, bubbling geothermal lagoons, mineral-rich mountain lakes, plunging waterfalls and misty, cinematic canyons, like a scene from The Lord of the Rings.
Your Guide to Iceland
Wonderous Landscape
The north coast features jagged, geologically younger peaks and waters teeming with sealife. Natural wonders here include the storied Goðafoss waterfall, the eutrophic Mývatn lake and the old trading station town of Akureyri, nestled at the head of Iceland’s longest fjord. Akureyri is often branded as the capital of the north, and it comes alive in summer, with al fresco dining, verdantly flowering gardens, open-air concerts and long sunny days spent lounging by the pool (despite its proximity to the Arctic Circle).
Iceland, today, isn’t your typical yacht charter destination. But as a pioneer in expedition charters to less accessible territories, Y.CO is planning to help put Iceland on the superyacht map by offering yachts for charter in this unique and captivating destination.
Your Guide to Iceland
Sturdy Fisherman
Grímsey is the northernmost inhabited landmass in Iceland, about 40 km off the coast of the mainland and the only part of the country that is genuinely in the Arctic. Sail here on your charter yacht and you’ll find a community of sturdy fisherman harvesting the rich fishing banks that surround the island. It’s home to just 100 people, in comparison to its one million seabirds.
Your Guide to Iceland
All the Fjords
The East Fjords and West Fjords are different again, and just as beautiful – peppered with quaint old fishing villages and immersed in folklores of their own. The East Fjords stretch for 120 kilometres from Berufjörður in the south to the small fishing village of Borgarfjörður Eystri in the north, with hiking trails, lava caves and countless other natural phenomena in between. Here you can visit the amazing Álfaborg, believed to be the home of the Queen of Iceland’s elves. It’s also home to herds of wild reindeer — the only place in the country where you’ll find them.
Your Guide to Iceland
A Picturesque Isthmus
The West Fjords, facing the east coast of Greenland and connected to the rest of Iceland by a 7-km-wide isthmus, are geographically remote and so often overlooked by visitors to Iceland. They’re home to the lively little town of Ísafjörður, the extraordinary 400-metre-bird cliff Látrabjarg (mobbed by millions of puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills), and Vigur island, where you can visit Iceland’s oldest windmill and view the mountains in all their majesty from the sea.
Your Guide to Iceland
Every Day Diversity
Straddling the Eurasian and North American plates, the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, a circumnavigation of Iceland by yacht would reveal an immensely complex and varied geology — powder-topped mountains, churning oceans, evergreen forests and landscapes so lunar-like that astronauts once trained there. Every day on a yacht charter here would provide an unforgettable snapshot of that diversity – a spot of whale-spotting in the morning, a visit to a herring museum before lunchtime, a dip in a bubbling mud pool or a zodiac cruise out to an uninhabited, ice-age island in the afternoon, then a long, indulgent dinner on the deck of your superyacht, the sky lit by a soft, glowing sun.
REASONS TO VISIT
WHY WE LOVE ICELAND
Explosion of Colours
Most commonly imagined under a blanket of snow in winter, Iceland is also captivating in summer. National parks explode into a kaleidoscope of greens, oranges, reds and browns, puffin colonies pitch up in their thousands, the beautiful highlands become ripe for hiking, a pink sun simmers in the sky until midnight, and not a week goes by without some cultural event or village festival popping up. Unpassable areas in winter reopen for visitors. Days stretch into infinite evenings. And travelling the Icelandic coastline by superyacht is an amazing, fluid way to experience it all.
Natural Paradise
If you’re lucky enough to encircle part or all of the country by boat, you’ll see just how diverse it can be. The south is a land of windswept black sand beaches overlooked by colossal glaciers such as the volcanic glacier Eyjafjallajökull. Rivers flow from its meltwaters into rushing waterfalls. The land is dramatic, ancient and very much alive. Reykjavík, the world’s most northerly capital, is a jolt of energy amidst the wilderness – creative, quirky and free-spirited, with a dining scene to rival any southerly European capital, a magnificent old harbour and knockout views of the flat-topped mountain Esja.
Reasons to Visit
True Isolation
There are 18 ports in Iceland, each with their own opportunities for exploration, while a superyacht charter in Iceland of course gives that opportunity to stop wherever the mood takes, often in a bay or fjord with nothing but the sky and surrounding peaks for company. The cities and port towns offer art, culture, music, and a thriving culinary scene, but true isolation, equally, is yours for the taking.
LET'S CHAT.
Get in touch with one of our teams around the world.
Where you'll find us
Monaco — MC
+377 93 50 12 12London — UK
+44 20 7584 1801Fort Lauderdale — US
+1 954 278 3970Auckland — NZ
+64 9 281 5133Contact us
info@y.co
