Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Report from Eldey: This morning we left sunny Reykjavik and headed out to open sea. As we sailed we did notice a little bit of swell and a bit of wind but continued making our way out. We sailed for a bit enjoying puffins and fulmars on the way out and then spotted a big splash! We sailed towards it but sadly this individual just teased us with a mini breach and then did not want to be seen again. This ended happening 2 more times, where we saw the blow and the back of two more humpback whales, who teased us with their presence and then moved on! We then saw more blows and a lot of birds on the horizon - this was our moment! The spot we got to was teaming with life, and we had 3 humpback whales feeding around us! One of them was Mr. Bubbles, who also did a tail slap out of no where. It was quite difficult to predict the behaviour or direction of these whales but it was exciting still! Sometimes they popped up very close beside us, sometimes a little further. The birds were great indicators to where the humpback whales would resurface! We stayed in this spot for a little bit before time ran out and we had to head back home. 

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsulan: on this beautiful Independence day of Iceland, we sailed out on a choppy sea. The winds were stronger but this didn't kept us away from finding whales! The sea conditions were not the best but after about 45min of sailing, we spotted our first blow in the distance. This blow turned out to be 3 humpback whales in the same area! We had 2 together on one side and another humpie on the another. We could track them easily because of the big flock of birds on top of all of them! The birds would give away the location of the whales when they would come up to the surface, always taking advantage of the food. We were surrounded...! At some point, we got very close looks of the 2 whales, that were passionately feeding a lot! What a huge feast, and we were right there watching it on the first row. There were no boats around, which is always good to give the whales more space. We then started heading back slowly to the harbour, with happy faces and many pictures and memories of this amazing tour!

- María Huamán

Report from Eldey: This afternoon the wind had dropped a bit and we set sail once again! Now that we knew what area to go to, we headed straight there! Upon arriving we were greeted by 3 blows again! It was 3 humpback whales! These were split into 2 together and one slightly further but we took turns watching them all as they were feeding around us. In the same spot we did see 2 minke whales in the distance as well. As there were a few boats around here we waited for the others to move before we headed on. We found 3 more humpback whales! These were much more active doing an array of different behaviours from lunge feeding, to some bubble behaviour, to very slow fluke dives and some upside down tail slapping! It was a wonderful encounter and we stayed as long as we could before time was up! 

- Maria Ernesto

Report from Hafsulan: In the afternoon, the wind dropped significantly, giving us much better conditions to head out to sea once again. About 20 minutes after leaving the harbor, one of our deckhands spotted a huge splash in the distance through the saloon window. It was a very active breach by a solitary humpback whale. The whale was extremely active, constantly changing directions as it moved through the area. It was performing so many nice behaviours: a wave with its pectoral fin, tail slapping and peduncle throw! After spending some time with this individual, we continued sailing North until we reached an area where 2 more humpback whales were feeding. As with the 1st whale, we observed a variety of feeding behaviors, including bubble-net feeding!!! The whales were always accompanied by large numbers of seabirds taking advantage of the feeding activity. Just when we were coming back to the harbor we saw another incredible breach, and this time even closer. Probably the same first whale we spotted gave us the perfect ending trip. It was a tour straight out of a wildlife documentary.

 - Milla Brandao
 

Report from Eldey: Our trip started with less wind and sunny skies, and we sailed out into the bay once again. About half an hour into the tour we saw a dorsal fin! A minke whale popped just next to us! It was a bit elusive so we saw it twice and carried on with our trip, aiming for the area we were before. A few moments after we spotted a big blow in the distance, as we got closer we saw a humpback whale! We stayed with the whale watching it fluke and coming up super close to our boat even rolling beside us! There were lots of birds in the area so it's likely that the whale was feeding! As we were enjoying our sighting we started to spot more blows around! There were about 7 whales in the area, an amazing sighting! Humpback popping up on each side, all over the place! Eventually it was time to start heading back to the harbour and we left happily after a great day at sea!

- Anna Richter

Report from Elding: The wind picked up a bit again, but conditions were still safe enough for navigation. Once more, we headed north in an attempt to find the humpback whales we had seen in the morning and we did. After about half an hour of sailing, we came across another large group of seabirds. Then we spotted the first blow. Very close to us, we were able to observe this humpback whale as it performed surface lunge-feeding a couple of times. But farther to the north, we spotted not just one blow, but eight whales spread throughout the area, approximately two miles away.  Suddenly two more humpbacks appeared very close to us. They were traveling parallel to each other, giving us the incredible opportunity to admire their majestic bodies at the surface. In the distance, several blows continued to appear again and again. Even one of hem breached twice! The colors of the sunset were in perfect harmony with this fantastic moment. A unique and unforgettable memory for our passengers.

-Maria Huaman

Atlantic puffin, eider duck, common, bridled and black guillemot, greylag goose, eider duck, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic tern, herring gull, black backed gull (great and lesser), black legged kittiwake