FAR HORIZONS has a captivating 21-day fully escorted tour this August into the lands, lore and legends of the Vikings, travelling by plane, helicopter, private boats and coach from Denmark through the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
Major highlights include archaeological sites with their Viking, Pictish and Bronze Age remains, 5000 year old tombs, a Viking Ship Museum, nature reserves teeming with birdlife, ancient cathedrals and palaces, an arts centre, Iceland's geothermal area of Geysir, a boat ride through iceberg dotted waters that skirt a massive glacier, and a helicopter flight for spectacular views from Kulusuk in Greenland to Reykjavik in Iceland.
There's also a visit to the oldest inhabited wooden house in Europe built 900 years ago, and the world's oldest parliament on the Faroe Islands.
And as an interesting aside, there are visits to the Shetland Islands' Sullom Voe Oil Terminal that handles production from the North Sea oil fields, and to Scapa Flow on Orkney Island that provided a safe haven not only for the Vikings in their day, but for the Royal Navy during both World Wars.
The 21-day package includes return air from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth, best available hotels, all meals, daily sightseeing and helicopter and boat trips, a Far Horizons escort and local guides, gratuities and taxes. It is priced from $22,500pp twin-share with a single supplement of $1800 available. Details 1800 083 141, (02) 9955 0444 or www.farhorizons.com.au.