Sail west across the Denmark Strait, where the cold East Greenland current carries icebergs south. Scan the water for marine life and enjoy life on board. Take a yoga class, unwind with a massage in the wellness center and curl up next to the fireplace in the library. Visit the Bridge and learn about navigation. Relax in one of the twin infinity hot tubs or spend some time in the only igloo at sea. Learn about the area from your onboard historians, naturalists and photographers and enjoy exceptional dining options. As the days grow shorter in August, this is also a great time to keep watch for the northern lights as they start to reappear on clear nights.

Encompassing roughly 80 percent of the surface of Greenland, the Greenland ice sheet is the second-largest body of ice in the world. Weather and ice dictate the exact route, but plan to explore well north of Scoresbysund in the largest national park in the world: Northeast Greenland National Park. Set a course for Scoresbysund, the largest and longest fjord system on earth, with the village of Ittoqqortoormiit at its entrance. At the end of summer, the ice has retreated as far as it ever does, allowing you to explore the fjords, bays and nooks and crannies of this stunning coastline. With luck, you'll see iconic Arctic wildlife: polar bears, seals and whales.

Return across the Denmark Strait, headed just south of the Arctic Circle, to the Westfjords, a remote area backed by majestic cliffs.

Sprawling Reykjavík, the nation's nerve center and government seat, is home to half the island's population. On a bay overlooked by proud Mt. Esja (pronounced eh-shyuh), with its ever-changing hues, Reykjavík presents a colorful sight, its concrete houses painted in light colors and topped by vibrant red, blue, and green roofs. In contrast to the almost treeless countryside, Reykjavík has many tall, native birches, rowans, and willows, as well as imported aspen, pines, and spruces.Reykjavík's name comes from the Icelandic words for smoke, reykur, and bay, vík. In AD 874, Norseman Ingólfur Arnarson saw Iceland rising out of the misty sea and came ashore at a bay eerily shrouded with plumes of steam from nearby hot springs. Today most of the houses in Reykjavík are heated by near-boiling water from the hot springs. Natural heating avoids air pollution; there's no smoke around. You may notice, however, that the hot water brings a slight sulfur smell to the bathroom.Prices are easily on a par with other major European cities. A practical option is to purchase a Reykjavík City Card at the Tourist Information Center or at the Reykjavík Youth Hostel. This card permits unlimited bus usage and admission to any of the city's seven pools, the Family Park and Zoo, and city museums. The cards are valid for one (ISK 3,300), two (ISK 4,400), or three days (ISK 4,900), and they pay for themselves after three or four uses a day. Even lacking the City Card, paying admission (ISK 500, or ISK 250 for seniors and people with disabilities) to one of the city art museums (Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir, or Ásmundarsafn) gets you free same-day admission to the other two.