Dates: 15–25 August 2027
Duration: 11 days / 10 nights
Route: Reykjavík, Iceland → IJmuiden (Amsterdam), Netherlands
Vessel: SH Diana, Swan Hellenic
Price per person (based on double occupancy):Cabin Category | Size | Balcony | Price per Person |
Oceanview — panoramic window | 20 m² | — | from €7,200 |
Balcony — private balcony | 25 m² | 5 m² | from €7,925 |
Junior Suite | 32–36 m² | 6 m² | from €10,800 |
Suite | 41 m² | 5–10 m² | from €12,600 |
Premium Suite | 41 m² | 8–12 m² | from €14,400 |
TRAVEL PROGRAM: tour antarcticaDay 1 · 15 August, Sunday · Reykjavík, IcelandThe world’s northernmost capital and a city that can be explored in a single day. Hallgrímskirkja rises 74.5 metres above the city, its concrete façade echoing the basalt columns of Iceland’s coastline; from the observation deck, Reykjavík stretches all the way to Faxaflói Bay. Harpa Concert Hall, with its Ólafur Elíasson-designed glass façade, resembles a honeycomb that changes colour with the sky. The Old Harbour is the departure point for whale-watching safaris, while the Sun Voyager sculpture on the waterfront — contrary to popular belief — is not a Viking ship, but an ode to the sun.
Board SH Diana in the afternoon. Welcome dinner and introduction to the expedition team.
Meals: dinner.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 2 · 16 August, Monday · Heimaey, VestmannaeyjarThirteen square kilometres containing two stories of global significance.
The first is a volcano. On the night of 23 January 1973, a fissure opened on the outskirts of town. Five thousand residents were evacuated overnight on fishing boats — the entire fleet happened to be in harbour because of a storm, and that saved the island. Lava crept towards the harbour and nearly sealed it off; for months, crews pumped seawater onto the advancing lava in an attempt to stop it. Eldheimar Museum was built directly over a house excavated from the ash: visitors walk around the ruins beneath a glass roof.
The second is wildlife. Heimaey is home to the world’s largest Atlantic puffin colony. By mid-August, adult birds have already headed out to sea, but the annual puffin patrol begins: fledglings disoriented by the town’s lights land on the streets, where local children collect them in boxes and release them into the ocean the following morning. The tradition has been going on for more than half a century, and this is the very time of year to witness it.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 3 · 17 August, Tuesday · Djúpivogur, IcelandA fishing village on Iceland’s east coast with fewer than 500 inhabitants and the country’s first member of the Cittaslow movement — a network of “slow cities.”
At Gleðivík harbour stands Eggin í Gleðivík — 34 granite eggs created by artist Sigurður Guðmundsson, one for each bird species that nests in the area. The largest represents the red-throated diver, the symbolic bird of the village. Towering above it all is Búlandstindur, a 1,069-metre pyramid of layered basalt; local folklore says that on the summer solstice, it grants wishes.
From here, the road leads towards Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest ice cap by volume, beneath which active volcanoes continue to rumble.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 4 · 18 August, Wednesday · Funningur, Faroe IslandsSeventy inhabitants. According to legend, this is where Grímur Kamban, the first Norse settler in the Faroe Islands, came ashore around 825. In other words, this tiny settlement marks the beginning of 1,200 years of Faroese history.
A wooden church with a turf roof, colourful houses, and waterfalls cascading directly from the mountains into Funningsfjørður. Above the village rises Slættaratindur, the highest point in the Faroe Islands at 880 metres — an almost sheer wall of rock that seems to fill half the sky.
This is one of those places where calling it “the most beautiful village in the country” is less a figure of speech than a consensus.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 5 · 19 August, Thursday · Tórshavn, Faroe IslandsOne of the world’s smallest capitals: just 14,000 people in the city itself. Eighteen islands, 50,000 inhabitants — and noticeably more sheep.
The heart of the city is Tinganes, a rocky peninsula between two harbours. Since the 9th century, the Løgting — one of the world’s oldest continuously functioning parliaments — has gathered here. The Faroese government still occupies the site today, in low red buildings with turf roofs, without fences or security gates. Nearby lies the old Reyn district: black tarred walls, white-framed windows, and grass-covered roofs.
Ten years ago, the Faroe Islands were still a geographical curiosity. Today, they are one of the North Atlantic’s most recognisable destinations. We arrive at a moment of transition.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 6 · 20 August, Friday · Lerwick, Shetland IslandsThe Shetland Islands are closer to Bergen than to Edinburgh, and it shows — in everything from place names to festivals. Even the name Lerwick comes from the Old Norse
Leirvík, meaning “muddy bay.”
The town grew in the 17th century around the Dutch herring trade: stone streets descend towards a natural harbour, with warehouses right on the waterfront. On the outskirts stands the Clickimin Broch, a stone tower dating from the Iron Age. Further across the island lies Jarlshof, where 4,000 years of continuous settlement occupy a single site: Neolithic remains, Bronze Age structures, Pictish buildings, a Norse farmstead and a 16th-century laird’s house. Beyond the town, heather-covered moorlands lead to dramatic cliffs crowded with seabirds — gannets, kittiwakes and guillemots.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 7 · 21 August, Saturday · Kirkwall, Orkney IslandsOrkney is a place where European antiquity is considerably older than most people imagine.
St Magnus Cathedral was founded in 1137 by Rognvald Kali in memory of his uncle, the murdered Earl Magnus. Built from red and yellow sandstone in the Norse tradition, it is the northernmost cathedral in Britain and remains an active place of worship.
Half an hour away lies the UNESCO-listed
Heart of Neolithic Orkney. Skara Brae is a settlement dating to around 3180 BC, with stone furniture, hearths and drainage systems — older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids. The Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Maeshowe chambered tomb complete the prehistoric landscape. Inside Maeshowe, 12th-century Vikings left the largest collection of runic inscriptions outside Scandinavia — essentially, graffiti from a thousand years ago.
And then there is Scapa Flow. On 21 June 1919, 74 ships of the interned German High Seas Fleet were deliberately scuttled here on the orders of their own commanders — all in a single day.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Days 8–9 · 22–23 August, Sunday–Monday · Edinburgh, ScotlandTwo full days in a city built on a volcano — and one that never lets you forget it.
Edinburgh Castle stands atop the plug of an extinct volcano. From there, the Royal Mile descends along the tail of a glacial ridge towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Between them lies a layered maze of hidden courtyards, underground streets and churches. Below, the New Town preserves its elegant Georgian layout from the late 18th century. Together with the Old Town, it forms an extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site. Calton Hill, with its unfinished “Scottish Parthenon”, and Arthur’s Seat — a genuine mountain in the middle of the capital — complete the cityscape.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 10 · 24 August, Tuesday · At Sea, North SeaA day on board. Lectures by the expedition team, the Observation Lounge with panoramic glazing, sauna, heated swimming pool and spa. Beyond the ship lies Europe’s busiest shipping corridor, accompanied by seabirds following in its wake.
Meals: full board.Accommodation: SH Diana.Day 11 · 25 August, Wednesday · IJmuiden (Amsterdam), NetherlandsArrival in IJmuiden, the maritime gateway to Amsterdam. The town is home to the world’s largest sea lock: 500 metres long, 70 metres wide and 18 metres deep, opened in 2022. Central Amsterdam is approximately 30 minutes away.
Disembarkation, transfer to the airport, or an optional extension of the programme in Amsterdam.
Meals: breakfast.* Please do not purchase your tickets before consulting with us.