Wednesday, 19 August 2026

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 9:00, 10:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00, 16:00, 19:00

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

Report from Eldey: This morning we sailed out under calm conditions, but as the winds were a bit chilly we bundled up in overalls, ready to be out on deck to spot. After only 30 minutes of sailing, we spotted a pod of 4 harbour porpoises that swiftly travelled along our side. We got a few quick sightings, but kept up our speed as we excitingly spotted a taller blow up ahead. This large exhale turned out to have come from a humpback whale! We recognized this whale as "Nela", an individual that had come to the bay previous years, and we could watch it do some beautiful fluke dives not far from our ship. We waved goodbye and continued sailing, to find yet another whale, but this time it was a minke whale. We could also watch this individual for quite some time, following its surfacing and predicting it was on a hunt for some good fishing grounds. As we kept going it did not take long until another blow made its appearance ahead of us. It was another humpback whale! This individual was diving for quite some time, but every surface made the wait worthwhile. All of a sudden, it made a peduncle throw, with created a huge splash on the surface, which was very cool to witness! As the whale travelled fast, we decided to leave it on its journey and continue searching. We made a brief stop again by the humpback whale from before, and were able to see one last tale fluke as the grand finale. 

- Maja Andersson

Report from Hafsulan: Visibility had improved strongly today, compared to yesterday evening where Faxa bay became covered by a tick cloud of fog. The sea was also generally calm and we could go out for a chill whale-watching experience. We had our first sighting about half an hour after leaving harbour. It was a humpback whale, swimming by itself and calmly diving, showing us it's beautiful fluke (the tail of a whale). After leaving the humpback, it took us only a few minutes to find a new sighting, this time a pod of six to ten harbour porpoises. These cute little mammals are the smallest cetacean species (the group of whales, dolphins and porpoises) in the Atlantic Ocean, and we could see their tiny fins surfacing around us for a while. In the mid of this encounter, a minke whale showed up. It was also quite a small size for the species, so we believe it likely was a juvenile whale. We spent some time with this whale, before returning to search. Before the end of the tour, we saw the initial humpback again, as well as a second, new humpback whale, only a few miles away from each other. We headed back home, on time for lunch and very glad with our morning!

- Hannah Carstens

Report from Eldey: We headed out under cloudy skies, but the sea was wonderfully calm. Our first sighting was a blow from a humpback whale. Not long after, we spotted a second humpback in the same area. Both whales were making long dives, so sightings were few and far between, but we managed to catch glimpses of them several times. We decided to move on and soon found two more humpback whales feeding intensely in the same area. Their activity kept our attention, and while watching them we also spotted a minke whale, which made several lunges as it fed. On the way back, we stopped to check on the first two humpbacks. What a great decision! They had changed their behaviour completely and were now bubble-net feeding together. At one point, they surfaced right underneath our boat, seemingly using us as an additional part of their trap to help concentrate the fish. A calm sea, several feeding whales, and a spectacular bubble-net feeding encounter made for a fantastic day on the water.

-Aleksandra Lechwar

Report from Hafsúlan: In the afternoon, we sailed out again into a cloudy, but calm bay. We just sailed past Grota lighthouse when we encountered two humpback whales! We were stunned to observed lunge feeding. This was already very impressive, but then they started bubble net feeding with full spirals right in front of us and our minds were blown. We saw these whales do some surface sequences and then they returned to more lunge feeding. This was incredible! After a bit, we carried on and spotted a minke whale. We saw it surface quite a few times from afar. Two different species already! After we carried on from this whale, we found Neila, one of our beloved humpback whales that we have been seeing around here since 2021! She was doing some beautiful surface sequences for us. After we got a good look at her, we moved on. After some cruising we spotted two more humpback whales! It turned out it was the same ones we spotted before. They must've traveled quite fast as they were some distance from where we spotted them earlier. The whales were also quite far apart from one another and no longer lunge feeding. Now, they were doing some surface sequences and we got to observe them breathe. :) Then, it was time to return to port. What an amazing time in the bay!

- Ricardo Mendes

Report from Eldey: We headed out into calm seas beneath cloudy skies, perfect conditions for a day on the water. It didn’t take long before we spotted our first whale - a minke whale, travelling and feeding in the area. We were lucky enough to spend some time with it and got some excellent views as it surfaced nearby. Soon after, we found a humpback whale. It was also busy feeding and, at times, came very close to the boat, giving us some fantastic encounters and great views of this impressive animal. And just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we discovered a third whale, it was a second humpback nearby! With two humpback whales in the area, it was a wonderful way to top off an already memorable trip, but then just as we were on our way back, a minke whale and humpback whale blow appeared again! We spent some time here before heading back to Reykjavik, feeling very lucky after such a wonderful tour. 

- Maja Andersson

Report from Hafsulan: As we headed out of Reykjavík for our last whale-watching tour of the day, we were surprised to come across a pod of about five harbour porpoises, pretty much right after leaving the harbour (no wonder these guys are called "harbour" porpoises). We didn't spend too long with these tiny and shy mammals, and soon headed to deeper waters to search for whales. Soon, we found a humpback whale feeding by itself. When we stopped to observe it, we managed to recognize it as being Neila, a humpback who has been visiting us here in Reykjavík since 2021. We spent a good time with her, before leaving and searching for more sightings. Not very far from Neila, we found a second humpback whale. This one we couldn't identify as being an individual we already knew of, but it had a beautiful white fluke with no scars on it. As with the previous whale, it was feeding and we could see it lunge-feeding a few times, where the whale would lunge it's mouth wide-open out of the water, catching as much fish at the sea surface as possible. Eventually, the night started getting dark and we had to return to Reykjavík, although very happy and satisfied with the amazing sightings we had.

- Milla Brandão