Thursday, 30 July 2026

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 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: With mostly blue skies and the sun shining bright we set sail out into the bay! As we sailed out we admired our Atlantic puffins flying to and from their breeding islands. A bit farther out in the bay we found a pod of 8 white-beaked dolphins. These individuals were very active and were jumping right out of the water. They then went to investigate our boat which was very exciting as we could watch them swim right under the boat! After a very exciting encounter, we continued to see who else we could spot. As we continued we spotted another pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins. As we were admiring this pod we then had one humpback whale surface! This individual surfaced right next to us which was very exciting. The dolphins were also jumping again, and so a lot of action. With this very exciting encounter, it was time to head back to port. What a great start to the morning!

-Ricardo Almeida Mendes 

Report from Eldey: We left Reykjavík into Faxaflói Bay, in the company of good weather and people excited to see wildlife. At sea, our wildlife sightings started with a diversity of marine bird species. We saw northern gannets, northern fulmars, gulls and large flocks of puffins flying by us. Our marine mammal sightings took a bit longer though, as we were still searching for them an hour into the tour. However, our patience was rewarded with a sighting of a pod of some 3-5 white-beaked dolphins, including a calf (baby). Although not a large group, the dolphins were quite social and we saw them perform various, continuous breaches, where they would bring their whole body into the air, before slapping back into the water. However, the dolphin sighting was of short duration. Therefore, we offered complimentary tickets to all of our passengers, so that they could return for another whale-watching tour with us at Elding.

-  Samantha Smith

Report from Hafsúlan: After a slight delay, we headed out while enjoying the sunshine and a nice warm coffee. The sun was in our favour, but the wind was quite strong which made for a rough sea today. We sailed out and enjoyed the views surrounding the bay. As we started off searching south, the northerly wind was in our back and sailing was relatively smooth. We found some seabirds, but no cetaceans so far. We decided to turn north to continue our search in other corners, which meant we were now travelling against the wind. With the waves we got a bit of an Atlantic adventure flair in our trip and we had to keep a steady hand on a railing. Eventually, we spotted a pod of around 8 white-beaked dolphins! Everybody got very excited about this sighting. The animals appeared nearby the boat and we got a good look at the white bands along their flanks. One dolphin even repeatedly showed us some chin-slaps. However, the dolphins were not in an interactive mood and disappeared after a short while. As we carried on, a sharp-eyed passenger spotted another breaching dolphin in the area but as we went to investigate, the animal had vanished as well. Even with the short dolphin encounter, we offered our passengers complimentary tickets to try their luck again. While we were happy to observe some cetaceans, this sighting was not quite to the standards of what we aim to offer on our trips.

- Hannah Carstens

Report from Eldey: Today we headed north into the bay in search of whales. It took quite a while before we found our first whale, but the wait was worth it. Eventually, we came across a humpback whale resting peacefully on the surface. We spent some time watching it before deciding to move on to another humpback that had been spotted nearby. The second whale put on an incredible display. It breached multiple times, performed powerful head slaps, and spent plenty of time rolling around at the surface. There was also a single white-beaked dolphin accompanying the humpback, making the encounter even more special. It was an unforgettable experience and a fantastic way to end the trip.

-Aleksandra Lechwar

 

Report from Eldey: With the sun shining, we applied our sunscreen and set out, excited to see what the afternoon would show us. On our way out into the bay, we admired our Atlantic puffins, Northern fulmars, Arctic terns and Northern gannets soaring around. Not too far into the sail we had some breaching white-beaked dolphins! As we approached we realized it was a pod of about 3 dolphins, but when we arrived, this pod had swam off to waters unknown to us and so we continued. We then came across another pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins and they were  also breaching! They then were very curious and gave us a bit of a boat inspection. As we were watching our dolphins, we spotted the blow of one humpback whale! This individual surfaced right in front of us. They then showed us that wonderful fluke! It is always amazing to see their unique pattern. Conditions were calm and this allowed us to see the individuals white pectoral fins through the surface of the water. After a wonderful encounter, we waved this individual goodbye and headed back to port. What a great tour!

-Ricardo Almeida Mendes 

Report from Eldey: In the evening, we sailed out for our midnight whale watching tour. The sun was already low and continued to cast an orange glow over the ocean throughout the entire trip. We spotted many seabirds. Especially the Northern fulmars were very fun to observe as a few of them passed by our top deck. After quite some cruising there was a big splash a few hundred meters in front of us! It happened so fast, we barely got a look at the animal causing the splash, but it was larger than a dolphin and it wasn't giving humpback either. After the splash, there was no sign of a cetacean. Based on all this, we must've seen a minke whale! It is incredibly rare to see these animals breach, so for the people who were looking in the right direction at the right time got very lucky. However, not everyone managed to see it and we did not find any cetaceans after that. For this reason, we wanted to offer our passengers a complimentary ticket so they can try their luck another time. Even with the unfortunate lack of whales, we enjoyed the time at sea, watching the sun set over Snæfellsjökull.

- Hannah Carstens

Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic tern, Atlantic puffin, great skua, black guillemot, common guillemot, lesser and greater black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake