Wild British Isles & North Atlantic

The point from which every navigator on earth determines their longitude, Greenwich anchors the world's meridian with a UNESCO-listed collection of maritime monuments — from the brass Prime Meridian line at the Royal Observatory to the Cutty Sark's wind-worn hull and the baroque Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College. Board the Thames Clipper for a 30-minute glide to central London, or explore the weekend market's global food stalls. Summer brings the Thames to its most inviting, with long evenings golden above the river.

Poole in United Kingdom blends maritime heritage, dramatic coastal scenery, and the understated warmth of the British Isles into a deeply rewarding port of call. Essential experiences include walking the coastal paths and sampling the region's thriving artisanal food scene. The most reliable conditions arrive May through October, when the climate is at its most welcoming for outdoor exploration, though the atmosphere is compelling in any weather. Cruise lines including Scenic Ocean Cruises feature this port on their most compelling itineraries. Whether you have a few hours or a full day, the port rewards exploration at every pace and in every direction.

St. Peter Port is Guernsey's charming harbor capital, combining a thirteenth-century castle, Victor Hugo's extraordinarily decorated exile home where he wrote Les Misérables, and steep streets of shops and markets overlooking one of the Channel Islands' finest harbors. Must-dos include touring Hauteville House, exploring Castle Cornet's five museums, and tasting the traditional Guernsey bean jar. May through September offers the warmest weather for exploring this compact, walkable port town.

Plymouth, on Devon's dramatic coast, launched the Mayflower, defeated the Spanish Armada, and provisioned Cook's Pacific discoveries from its magnificent natural harbor. The Barbican's Elizabethan quarter, Plymouth Hoe's panoramic headland, and England's oldest working gin distillery preserve maritime heritage that wartime bombing could not erase. Ambassador Cruise Line and Azamara bring travelers to a city where Drake's legacy, Devonshire cream teas, and proximity to wild Dartmoor create an English port experience of genuine historical grandeur.

Lundy Island is a wild granite outpost in the Bristol Channel, managed by the Landmark Trust as a car-free, signal-free heritage escape with medieval ruins, dramatic cliffs, and England's first Marine Nature Reserve. Must-dos include walking the cliff-top paths among seabirds, drinking cask ale at the Marisco Tavern, and exploring the underwater world of grey seals and kelp forests. Visit May through July for seabird breeding season and wildflowers on the plateau.

Criccieth on Wales's Llŷn Peninsula is crowned by a 13th-century castle built by Llywelyn the Great, commanding views across Cardigan Bay from a headland between two sweeping beaches in one of Wales's most Welsh-speaking heartlands. Must-dos include castle exploration, Cadwalader's artisan ice cream (since 1927), the Ffestiniog Railway through Snowdonia, and coastal walks along the Llŷn Peninsula. May through September delivers the mildest Welsh weather for exploring this culturally rich seaside gem.

Holyhead is Wales's maritime gateway on Holy Island, offering dramatic cliff walks to South Stack Lighthouse with its puffin colonies, plus access to Anglesey's Neolithic burial chambers and Edward I's Beaumaris Castle. Must-do experiences include tasting Halen Môn sea salt and lobster at coastal restaurants, exploring Bryn Celli Ddu's ancient passage tomb, and walking the Victorian breakwater. May through September is best, with summer bringing puffins and the longest days.

Dublin is Europe's most literary capital, home to four Nobel laureates in literature, the extraordinary Book of Kells, and Georgian architecture rivaling any on the continent. Visit May through September via Holland America Line or Windstar for Trinity College's Long Room, the definitive Guinness pint at St. James's Gate, and the spontaneous pub conversations that make this city one of the world's most immediately welcoming.

The Calf of Man is an uninhabited nature reserve off the Isle of Man's southern tip, home to significant breeding colonies of Manx shearwaters, puffins, and grey seals in the nutrient-rich tidal streams of the Irish Sea. Must-do experiences include witnessing the eerie dusk chorus of returning shearwaters, observing grey seal colonies, and scanning for basking sharks in the surrounding waters. May and June offer peak seabird activity, while September through November brings the grey seal pupping season.

Portrush in United Kingdom blends maritime heritage, dramatic coastal scenery, and the understated warmth of the British Isles into a deeply rewarding port of call. Essential experiences include walking the coastal paths and sampling the region's thriving artisanal food scene. The most reliable conditions arrive June through September, when long northern days and mild temperatures make exploration a pleasure, though the atmosphere is compelling in any weather. Cruise lines including Ponant feature this port on their most compelling itineraries. Whether you have a few hours or a full day, the port rewards exploration at every pace and in every direction.

Rathlin Island is Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island, home to 150 residents and spectacular RSPB seabird cliffs where puffins, razorbills, and guillemots nest by the thousands. Visitors should watch the seabird colonies from the West Light viewpoint, explore Robert the Bruce's legendary cave, and enjoy a pint at McCuaig's island pub. May through August offers active seabird colonies and wildflower-covered meadows.

Belfast, Northern Ireland’s capital, is a vibrant port city renowned for its rich shipbuilding heritage, highlighted by the Titanic Belfast museum. Must-do experiences include exploring the historic Cathedral Quarter and tasting traditional dishes like Irish stew and soda bread at St. George's Market. The best season to visit is during the spring and summer when the city comes alive with festivals and outdoor events.

Kirkwall, the Norse-founded capital of Scotland's Orkney Islands, is a sandstone harbour town framed by UNESCO-listed Neolithic monuments, a twelfth-century cathedral, and some of Britain's finest coastal landscapes. Visitors should not miss the five-thousand-year-old village of Skara Brae and a tasting of North Ronaldsay seaweed-fed lamb paired with Highland Park whisky. The prime cruising season runs from May through August, when Orkney enjoys up to nineteen hours of daylight and the wild coastal light is at its most luminous.

Fair Isle is a tiny, remote island between Orkney and Shetland, renowned for its legendary bird observatory recording 390-plus species and its distinctive hand-knitted colorwork patterns. Must-dos include birdwatching for rare migrants at the observatory, watching seabird colonies on the western cliffs, and acquiring a genuine Fair Isle knitted garment. Visit April to June or August to October for peak bird migration, with summer offering the warmest weather.

Mousa is an uninhabited Shetland island home to the world's best-preserved Iron Age broch, a 2,000-year-old stone tower that now serves as nesting habitat for thousands of storm petrels. Must-dos include climbing the broch's internal staircase, watching seals on the shore, and joining an evening boat trip to witness storm petrels returning after dark. Visit June through July for the peak petrel season.

Lerwick, capital of Scotland's Shetland Islands, is a captivating Norse-Scottish harbour town renowned for its seventeenth-century granite waterfront, Viking heritage, and pristine maritime larder of wind-dried reestit mutton and hand-dived scallops. Visitors should explore the lodberries along Commercial Street and the award-winning Shetland Museum at Hay's Dock. The optimal season is late May through August, when near-perpetual daylight — the famous "simmer dim" — bathes the islands in an ethereal golden glow and seabird colonies along the cliffs reach their spectacular peak.

The Isle of Noss is a Shetland nature reserve hosting over 100,000 breeding seabirds on its spectacular 181-meter sandstone cliffs, including 12,000 pairs of gannets, guillemots, puffins, and dive-bombing great skuas. Must-do experiences include Zodiac cruising beneath the Noup of Noss cliff face, watching gannet colonies in action, and exploring Shetland's Viking heritage in Lerwick. June and July offer peak seabird activity and Shetland's magical simmer dim twilight.

Vigur Island is a tiny, family-farmed island in Iceland's Westfjords where eider ducks nest in the farmyard, puffins burrow in the fields, and Iceland's only surviving windmill stands beside the oldest boat in the country. Visitors experience guided walks combining wildlife and farming heritage, with coffee and pancakes from the host family. Late June and July offer peak breeding season and near-continuous Arctic daylight.

Tórshavn is the Faroe Islands' tiny capital city, where a thousand-year-old Viking parliament site, turf-roofed timber houses, and two-Michelin-starred dining coexist in one of the North Atlantic's most atmospheric settings. Visit from May through September for extraordinary hiking, midnight twilight, and a cultural scene that defies the city's diminutive size.

Klaksvík, the Faroe Islands' second town, is an authentic North Atlantic fishing community set between dramatic fjords and steep mountains on the island of Borðoy. Must-dos include hiking to the Klakkur summit for archipelago views, visiting the Christianskirkjan's Viking-age font, and tasting fermented ræst kjøt and fresh Faroese salmon. May through August provides the mildest weather and longest daylight for exploring this spectacularly rugged corner of the North Atlantic.

Oyndarfjørður, Faroe Islands is a distinctive port city where deep cultural heritage meets authentic local atmosphere, featured on itineraries by Seabourn. Must-do experiences include exploring the historic quarter to absorb centuries of architectural heritage, and sampling the distinctive northern cuisine that transforms local ingredients into refined dining experiences. The optimal time to visit is June through August, when summer months bring the warmest temperatures and longest days.

Djúpivogur is an intimate Icelandic fishing village on the eastern coast where thirty-four stone egg sculptures line the harbor, Vatnajökull glacier dominates the horizon, and puffin colonies nest on nearby Papey island. Visit June through August via Seabourn or Viking for reindeer sightings, glacier views, and the quiet eastern Iceland that rewards travelers who venture beyond the Golden Circle.

Papey is a tiny uninhabited island off eastern Iceland, named after the Irish monks who may have been Iceland's first inhabitants, now home to one of the region's largest puffin colonies and an atmospheric abandoned farmstead with a wooden church from 1807. Visitors can observe puffins at close range during the June-July breeding peak and explore the stone-walled remnants of island life. Boat tours operate from Djúpivogur during summer, weather permitting.

Grímsey is Iceland's only inhabited territory on the Arctic Circle, a tiny island of fifty residents surrounded by tens of thousands of nesting Atlantic puffins during summer. Must-dos include crossing the Arctic Circle marker, observing puffins at close range on the grassy cliffs, and experiencing the midnight sun during the summer solstice. June through August offers puffin breeding season and continuous daylight.

Siglufjordur is a dramatically situated fjord town on Iceland's northern coast, once the herring capital of the North Atlantic, now home to the award-winning Herring Era Museum and an annual Folk Music Festival. Visitors should explore the immersive museum, taste Arctic char and local craft beer, and hike the mountain trails enclosing the fjord. June and July bring near-continuous daylight and the music festival.

Dynjandi is the Westfjords' most spectacular waterfall — a 100-meter bridal-veil cascade above a staircase of six smaller falls in a setting of extraordinary fjord scenery. Visitors should hike the wildflower-lined trail to the base of the main cascade, and explore the surrounding Arnarfjordur region with its traditional fishing villages. July and August offer the most reliable weather, though waterproof gear is essential in any season.

Reykjavik, the world's northernmost capital, distils the entire improbable beauty of Iceland into one compact, creatively charged city. The soaring basalt columns of Hallgrímskirkja dominate a skyline of primary-coloured rooftops, while the Harpa Concert Hall shimmers beside the harbour like a captured aurora. Day trips from the city unlock the Golden Circle's geysers and Geysir hot spring, the black sand beaches of Vík, and the ethereal glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón. Geothermal pools — from the legendary Blue Lagoon to intimate neighbourhood hot pots — offer warmth year-round. June and July bring the bewitching midnight sun.