•  Deep sea fishing:  $192
•  Guarantee room on arrival:�Dbl $72, Single $162
•  Saga Class upgrade:  USD999 round-trip
•  Extra nights available from Double $79, Single $145

Package includes:

• Round-trip air transportation from New York (JFK) Baltimore (BWI), and Boston (BOS).
• Three nights in a standard deluxe double room at the Icelandair Nordica Hotel
• Tour, transfers, meals and activities per itinerary

Note:  It is also possible to do this tour from Orlando (MCO), but you will need to depart on Wed and return on Mon (two additional nights at additional passenger expense- see above for additional night rates).

Not Included: 

• Personal Travel Insurance
• Drinks at dinner (except for wine tasting on Feb 25, 2006)

Conditions:

• Travel must be completed within dates indicated
• Package subject to availability and price change
• No refund for unused portions of any package or service once travel has commenced.
• Itinerary may need to be altered by tour operator based on weather and road conditions.
• Rooms may not be available right away upon check-in.  Hotel staff knows flights from  America arrive early and will assist you to get  checked in as early as possible.  It is possible to guarantee check in, though (see above) by reserving the previous night so the room will be ready for your check-in.

* Prices quoted are exclusive of applicable taxes and official charges by destination of approximately $110 per person, including the Sep. 11th Security Fee

Lower airfares and packages may be available on icelandairholidays.com

ITINERARY

Feb 22: 
Evening departure from North America in Icelandair Economy Class.  Dinner served during flight (Icelandair's food is prepared by chefs in Iceland using the freshest ingredients available)

Feb 23: 
Early morning arrival in Iceland (around 6:30am).  After heading through Passport Control, picking up your luggage and going through Customs, head into the arrivals hall.  Your tour guide will be waiting for your group with a sign with the tour name on it.  Start the day off with a good Icelandic breakfast (wholesome, plentiful and tasty) at the cozy Café Duus.  This is a local favorite and has a great view over the bustling Keflavík sea port.  After breakfast, head to Reykjavík to check in to the Nordica Hotel (early check in not guaranteed) and catch up with early morning jet lag.  After a late lunch at the hotel’s five star VOX restaurant (a Food and Fun Restaurant), head over to the Culinary School of Iceland, located in a nearby suburb of Reykjavik.  Chef and teacher Ragnar Wessman will meet you and give you an introduction on how Icelandic cuisine has gotten an international name for itself in the last decades. 

Now it is time to experience first-hand how Icelandic seafood cuisine goes from fresh catch of the day to a delicious dinner.  You can join in on optional boat tour in the Bay of Reykjavik and try your hand at sea angling.  Those not interested in the tour can visit various area restaurants associated with the Food and Fun Festival.  These restaurants have each hosted a Food and Fun chef who will be participating in the competition.  Each restaurant will serve courses from a special menu planned by this chef, which must only have Icelandic ingredients.  Afterwards, warm up with an Icelandic ‘Hot Shot’ and-if all has gone well with the brave fishermen, the group will bring the fresh caught fish to have it prepared at one of the Food and Fun restaurants specializing in seafood.  Enjoy!  If you still have some energy left to burn, the evening is yours to enjoy Reykjavík's famous nightlife, including the light sculptures at the annual Festival of Lights.

Feb 24:
Note:  We recommend that you wear warm winter-weather clothing and outdoor walking shoes with a good grip since you will be in the countryside today.  Tennis shoes not recommended.  Breakfast buffet at the Nordica Hotel.  Today it’s time to experience the culinary traditions of Iceland on a visit to Western Iceland.  This area offers you a perfect blend of  lovely scenery, natural wonders, Viking age history and food traditions that have influenced Iceland’s gourmet scene. 

Depart Reykjavík around 9am and head to the famous Borgarfjörður region.  Along the way visit some of Iceland’s most famous natural wonders, including Deildártunguhver (Europe’s most powerful hot spring region) and the lovely Lava Falls (where water seems to seep through interesting lava formations).  In the early afternoon stop for lunch at the new Icelandair Hamar Hotel and meet Chef Unnur who will serve you her lovely, savory and nutritious “Kjötsúpa.”  This type of hearty soup made from lamb has been a tradition in Iceland for hundreds of years and still remains a popular dish for both Icelanders and visitors. 

After lunch, it’s time to enjoy some of the Sprits of Iceland- literally.  Stop at the famous E.S. schnapps production facility where the famous caraway seed flavored Icelandic brennivín (nicknamed Black Death) is made.  The group will take a bottle on the road to use in practice at a unique, traditional shark curing farm (Bjarnarhöfn) in the mystical surroundings of the Snæfellsnes Volcano Glacier.

On the way back to Reykjavík, stop at a traditional Icelandic farm for a unique and creative twist on Icelandic cuisine, an alternative country meal prepared by the mistress (and manager) of the innovative Hotel Glymur, Mrs. Hansína B Einarsdóttir, and the hotel chef, Jón Rafn Hognason .  They will serve their simple, creative surprises in the original ambience of the farm’s former hay barn, now converted into a facility for festivities. 

Return to the hotel in Reykjavík where the evening is again open to enjoy the nightlife.

Feb 25: 
Food, Fun, the Blue Lagoon and Lobsters!  It does not get any better than this!  After breakfast, head to the world-famous Blue Lagoon mineral baths.  Soak in the mineral rich geothermal waters before driving along the seacoast to charming Stokkseyri Village.  This is the site of the wonderful Við Fjöruborðið (By the Sea) Restaurant, famed for its delicious lobster feasts made from the small and flavorful langoustines of the region.

Afterwards, return to Reykjavik to watch the Food and Fun main event, the Chef Competition.  The chefs (who represent several countries ) compete by making three courses, using only Icelandic ingredients. The competition is unique because the chefs  have not worked with Icelandic ingredients before. Prior to the competition, they are given 30 minutes to quickly shop at the nearby supermarket with only one order: Icelandic ingredients only! Then they are given three hours to apply their cooking magic and cook a meal with one fish course, one meat course and a desert. 

After some free time for strolling Reykjavík, it’s time to visit Hotel Saga’s Skrudur (Garden) Restaurant for a wide spread sample dinner of Icelandic food specialties such as mountain lamb, hangikjöt (smoked lamb, a holiday favorite), skyr (a traditional dairy item that is used in both countryside and gourmet cuisine) and more.  But first enjoy a presentation from Mr. Baldvin Jónsson on Icelandic food and its recent popularity in being exported to U.S. restaurants and grocery stores.  Baldvin is the leader in this project which has made Icelandic delicacies finally available to gourmands across the USA as well as one of the planners of the Food and Fun event.  You will also get to take part in a wine tasting and learn which wines go best with Icelandic dishes so you know how to plan your own Icelandic dining experience in the USA.  Tonight is again open to enjoy Reykjavik’s nightlife

Feb 26: 
Breakfast at hotel.  Morning open for resting and packing.  Load your luggage on the minibus and head to the well-known Pearl Restaurant.  This restaurant is located on the top of the Pearl, a unique building constructed on top of 6 huge geothermal water storage tanks.  Enjoy your last gourmet meal in Iceland – at least for a while – complete with a 360° revolving view over the city.  Drive to the Keflavík airport for your flight to North America.  The airport’s duty free stores sell some of the Icelandic ingredients and food you got in touch with during your stay, and you can even get the wines to combine them with.  Return to North America (dinner served during your flight) ready to try out your new knowledge of Icelandic ingredients and cooking.

For more information, please visit foodandfun.is.