Sunday, 21 June 2026

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:00, 20:00

Today's Classic 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: On the first day of summer, the bay greeted us with a perfect, sunny morning. With almost no wind and calm flat seas we sailed out into Faxaflói Bay. After a while, one of our passengers spotted a minke whale in the distance, a wonderful way to start the trip. However, we continued our search in hopes of finding an area with even more marine life. Later, we encountered a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins. They approached our boat with great curiosity, coming very close to us. There was a fast juvenile amongst them! Out of nowhere, a humpback whale appeared just behind our boat, incredibly close and calm. We were able to admire every detail of this gentle giant. As we continued our journey, we reached an area full of minke whales, with at least 15-20 different individuals surfacing all around us. There was also another humpback whale in the area, but both of them were spending a little while there under the surface. On our way back we stopped by another 2 humpback whales! They were close in the same area, feeding while another pod of 10 dolphins was swimming side-by side with one of the whales! With this, we came back to the harbour very surprised with this last encounter! What an amazing way to welcome the summer season!

- Milla Brandao
 

Report from Hafsúla: This morning greeted us with sunny skies which got progressively cloudy until overcast. However, the sea was completely flat and almost no wind, really good conditions for comfort and for spotting. 20 minutes into the tour we had about 10 harbor porpoises that came to the surface all at the same time, right next to our bow! So many that myself and the captain initially thought they were dolphins. Its really difficult to spot these small elusive cetaceans but they really showed themselves. Later we moved on and within 10 minutes a passenger pointed out some splashes in the distance, we approached and found a pod of about 10-15 white-beaked dolphins. These guys were probably feeding while one of them started to leap out of the water and show off. Possibly, this same curious individual then came up to our boat and swam right along side us, looking up at us. After this awesome sighting we decided to leave the dolphins and head further out to look for something else. In the distance we saw a humpback whale fluke, and started to slowly move in this direction. After no more than a minute this humpback whale came halfway out of the water, coming down with a thunderous crash! This was a head-slap and the whale did about 8 of these before catching its breath for a little bit. Later the whale went for a fluke dive and we were all very keen to see whether it would jump out again. Sure enough, the whale leaped out almost completely, giving us the best show possible. After going for another dive, this individual seemed more relaxed and we left it alone. Very soon we saw 2 more humpback whales at the surface, together, they both went down for a dive and we waited for them to resurface. After a few minutes we could see bubbles on the surface! Not long after the whales surfaced with great energy. Possibly these young whales were testing their bubble netting skills, we can confirm they still have lots to learn! Our time was up and we had to head home, we slowly inched towards the harbour after waving goodbye to these majestic creatures. But the bay was full of life and on our way back about 3 minke whales were spotted around our boat, fast and shy, but beautiful in their own way. Its not everyday that we get to see all common species of our bay, and even more so seeing breaching, head-slapping, and bubble net feeding attempts. Thank you mother nature for giving us so much!

-Matteo Poggio

Report from Eldey: The sea conditions continued to be flat and good for the afternoon tour. Even though it was cloudier, we could still see way far ahead of us! We first spotted 2 different pods of harbour porpoises, about 3-4 individuals in each pod. Not far from these, we saw 2 big blows close to each other and, getting closer, we got to an area with 2 humpback whales! They were not feeding alone, they had company! A pod of 12 of white-beaked dolphins was also with them, sometimes even side-by-side with the humpies! A lovely common interaction of these 2 species that we love seeing! We then continued sailing, and we started spotting many minke whales. They were about 10 around us, some of them would make a closer appereance around our boat. There was also another pair of humpbacks resting! They were even logging sometimes, before going to a deep dive and spending 8 min there. While we waited for them, a curious minke kept popping up closer to us and we had fun keeping on track of it! Then, as we continued sailing, we spotted close to us another pair of humpback, the 2 whales that we saw in the beginng of the tour. After checking them out one more time, we started making our way home, enjoying the good weather and flat seas. What a beautiful tour!

-María Huamán

Report from Hafsulan: The clouds were coming and going and the wind had picked up ever so slightly but the seas were still as calm as ever. We saw all four of our main species this afternoon and to start off we saw 2 pods of harbour porpoises - each pod containing around 5 individuals. Up next were the minke whales and humpback whales. It started off rather rough with 2 individuals of each species vanishing rather quickly and being tricky to follow but then we stumbled upon an area with 2 in pair, and 3 cooperating in bubblenetting! This gave us an amazing spectacle as they were creating amazing bubblenet and surfacing loudly with loads of trumpetting! Aming these 3 we also identified Davy Jones II, seemingly coordinating the bubblenetting and even maybe actively schooling the others on how to do it? Eventually though, his belly seemed full and he continued on, leaving the other 2 trying to make slightly less perfectt bubblenets. We took this as a sign to turn back as well but we were in for a few more treats along the way back; 2 more minke whales, a pod of 6 white beaked dolphins and another pod of around 4 harbour porpoises all crossed our path as we journeyed home. What a day this day is!

Milan Vansteelandt

Report from Eldey: On our last tour of the day, the weather and sea conditions remained quite similar: amazing visibility and calm seas for sailing once again. After just 30 minutes, we spotted our first cetaceans: a pod of 3 harbor porpoises, followed by another 3 right after! However, we didn’t stop by, as we needed to sail further North. We then spotted not one, but 2 humpback whales pairing up. One of them was slapping its pectoral fin and we went to check it out. After thindividuals, we continued sailing until we reached an area with about 3 minke whales and a large flock of very active seabirds. In the middle of the frenzy of birds, 3 incredible humpback whales appeared (a trio!) lunge-feeding and giving us an awe-inspiring moment. Very close to our boat, we saw many bubbles around them as they fed again and again, bubble-net feeding. One of them was our well-known “David Jones II,” easy to recognize due to its peculiar dorsal fin. While we were watching the humpbacks, we could constantly see minkes in the background, changing direction all the time, about 4 of them. On our way back home we stopped again to observe the first 2 whales we saw before. One more opportunity to observe these gigantic animals! As the evening fell, we noticed that the whales became much more active, which made our last tour of the day a magical experience for all our passengers. Before arriving to the harbour, there were still 1 more humpback and a pod og 5 harbour porpoises that were very close to our front! Amazing end of the day.

- Milla Brandao

Atlantic puffin, Northern Gannet, Northern fulmar, black legged kittiwake, razorbills, Artic tern,  

Report from Elding: We set out on the midnight tour with an overcast sky but the calmest sea conditions possible. As soon as we started sailing out of the harbour we felt the bay was teeming with life, we passed by several harbour porpoises (5-10) and 2 minke whales. However, our goal was to travel further out, for we had heard from other boats that there were many whales in the area. We keep sailing and after a while we start seeing blows in the distance. Everywhere we looked seemed like there was either a blow or a whale going for a dive. Finally we approach the area and we see humpback whales all around, two together at our 2 o'clock, 3 together at our 11 o'clock, one behind us going for a dive, a minke whale behind them. It was really difficult to know where to look. Then we found a group of three humpbacks that were hanging together and decided to slowly approch them. As they went for a dive, all together, we started seeing bubbles at the surface, forming a circle, and then the whales rising up to the surface. They were bubble-net feeding! We stayed with them for a good amount, as they kept diving, bubbling, and coming up for a lunge. In the distance more whales and more minke whales. At a certain point they bubble net fed right next to the boat and swam right under us. Then a pod of about 10 white-beaked dolphins joined the frenzy and swam with the whales. It was simply incredible and we just could not believe what we were witnessing. Unfortunately all things come to an end and we had to say goodbye. With the fullest of hearts and the biggest of smiles we sailed back home, so grateful to be a part of this wonderful planet and to share it with such creatures. 

-Matteo Poggio