Saturday, 6 June 2026

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 13:00, 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00

Today's Whale Watching tours from Reykjavík are on schedule. Remember to dress according to weather and feel free to borrow our thermal overalls if needed!

Report from Eldey: This morning, we headed out into the bay, passing the bright orange lighthouse on the island of Engey, one of the Atlantic puffin colonies near the harbour. On our way out, we kept a close eye on increased seabird activity, as it can be an indirect sign of cetaceans in an area, since they share some prey items with the seabirds. As we were looking for a blow in the distance, we happened to come across some elusive little harbour porpoises, which we got to see for a couple of surfaces. As we continued on, we finally spotted the puffs of mist ahead, the blow or spout of a whale as it comes up to the surface for breaths. When we got closer, we realized it was 2 humpback whales feeding near each other, and we even spotted some more blows further off in the distance. We stuck with one of these whales as this pair seemed to break up, both presumably very busy feeding, as marked by their frequent and short fluke dives and even some rolling on the surface! Wanting to leave this whale to enjoy its meal in peace, we headed over to some of the other blows, and came across 2 more humpbacks in close proximity to one another. We got another beautiful demonstration of rolling from the individual that was closer to us, showing off their world record-holding, long and bright white pectoral fins! Satisfied with these exciting encounters, we decided to do a big loop in the bay before starting to make our way back towards the harbour. What a magical morning tour!

- Knut Albrecht

Report from Eldey: We went out with a breeze from the south and some sunshine in between the clouds. Perfect conditions for a tour out on the bay Faxaflói. After some searching we saw the first large splashes in the distance. It was a humpback whale breaching far away! However, we had our eyes set on a blow ahead of us, which was another humpback! This individual responded to the breaching one with a great big pec slap right in front of us on the surface! We got closer to see the graceful animal surfacing near our boat. Just a few minutes later, a pod of around 10 white-beaked dolphins appeared and started to play with the humpback. They were riding on its "bow wave" and jumping all around the much larger animal. Most likely, they were waiting for the humpback to push fish closer to the surface or loose some on the way to the surface after feeding deeper under water. We admired this association between species, which though not entirely uncommon is always a very special treat to witness! After a final fluke dive as a wave goodbye, we bud farewell to these playful cetaceans and headed towards the harbour. What an exciting afternoon!

- Orsi Stipsicz

Atlantic puffin, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic tern, common eider duck, common guillemot, greater and lesser black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake, black-headed gull, common gull, razorbill