Fífill (Whale Watching Centre)

Elding's Whale Watching Centre / Visitor Centre is facilitated on board Fífill, an old fishing vessel permanently placed by the pier. There guests can utilise our complimentary WiFi, sit down with a coffee or light snacks from our on board café, browse through our souvenir shop or check out the wildlife exhibition located below sea level.

The exhibition takes you on a journey into the world of marine life. On display you will find skeletons, baleen plates and teeth among other things and a number of interesting information on each item. Deep within the hull you will find a room with cinema style platforms where you can enjoy a multimedia show about whales and whaling in Iceland.

Our souvenir shop offers a variety of reusable items, handmade jewellery, warm clothing and fashion items. Classic souvenirs such as spoons, postcards and fridge magnets are also also available in great diversity.

The Visitor Centre is open from 08:00-16:00 in summer and 1 hr. prior to tour departure in winter. Entry is FREE to everyone.

Fífill GK-54 was built in Norway in 1967 and brought to Hafnarfjörður on the 5th July that same year. It had 347GT. (Gross tonnage) and 900hp. (Horsepower)  Wichmann engine.The ship was lengthened in 1974 and from then had 331 GT. From 1979 the ship was increased to 1350 hp. Wichmann engines.

Fífill used to be a capelin fishing boat and it was initially called Fífill GK54 and owned by Einar Þorgilsson & Co hf. in Hafnarfirði, then it got changed to FaxiRE241 in 1990 when Faxamjöl hf. in Reykjavík bought it. In 2001 Þorgeir Jóhannsson bought it as a juvenile fish transporter for aquaculture purposes and called it Faxi IIRE. It was then bought by Reykjavík Whale Watching in 2003 who named it back to Fífill and converted it into a permanently fixed museum, visitor center, café and giftshop. It was later bought by Elding Whale Watching when the two companies merged .