Tour status: RUNNING
Tour at 20:30
Report from Hafsúlan: When heading out for our midnight tour we had perfect sea conditions and we got to see some sunshine as well, creating a very nice background for our first sightings. The first one was the tail of a humpback whale, just a short way out of the harbour. Unfortunately this was going to be the only part of that whale, that we were able to spot and it didn't come back to the surface. Shortly after this encounter we came across a pod of 6-8 white-beaked dolphins. They were very relaxed in our presence, travelling around the boat and also playing in the waves caused by our boat and we were able to spent some very enjoyable minutes with these dolphins. Only shortly after this lovely encounter we came across a minke whale, travelling at a slow pace in front of our boat, making it easy for the passengers to take some photos. At one point it even came up very close at the back of our boat! In the distance we could also see 2 more minke whales and on the way back we saw a harbour porpoise, making this a tour full of diverse wildlife.
-Diana Besel
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: The weather hold on and we kept sailing through soft winds and no swell. Not to long after we left the harbor we spotted a minke whale. At first it was being a bit elusive however we manage to fallow it and ended up leading us to another one, so we ended up enjoying 2 minke whales around us. Shortly afterwards we found another whale of the same species, but this one revealed to be much more inquisitive towards our presence and it nag out around us, at a very close range for quite a while, The flat seas allowed us to see the entire body of the whale underwater, delivering a breathtaking experience. Later on we found a group of white beaked dolphins that we could track for a bit as they were traveling. Some of our passengers also sighted a few illusive harbor porpoises through out the tour. On our way back to the harbor we could sight a few minke whales out in the distance.
- Ines Cunha
Tour at 14:00
Report from Hafsulan: Suddenly wind was gone and sea surface was just like a mirror - the best possible conditions. After passing wall of the harbour we saw first flock of birds and many clumsy puffins struggling to take off. First cetacean on our path was a single harbour porpoise popping out only three times. It was so flat today that only waves which we experienced where coming from other boats passing by. In one of that kind of waves we saw a minke whale. Whale was surfing this fake waves but soon became interested in us! It was our favorite minke which we have seen few times this summer. With turned off engines we let this minke to make circles around our boat and we could see a whole body of an animal through the water. The whale was also making bubbles and spy hopping, clearly interacting with us and looking for eye contact. Just 'amazing' is not enough to describe this afternoon.
- Ewa Malinowska
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: We set out on our tour under a cloudy sky. with little wind and almost flat seas. Barely half an hour after we had left the harbour, we had our first encounter with a minke whale! The minke surfaced several times around the boat and we were able to see it going for a deeper dive a few times. Shortly after we had left the minke, we had incredible luck- we encountered once again the endangered north atlantic right whale, that was first spotted in the bay yesterday! This was a really incredible and unique encounter, since there are less than 500 left in the world and they normally aren't seen around Iceland. We stayed with the whale nearly half an hour , as it surfaced several times, sometimes surprisingly close to the boat. On our way back to the harbour, we found another minke, this time much closer to us, spy-hoping and swimming around the boat. A really unforgettable tour!
-Anne Moullier
Tour at 10:00
Report from Hafsúlan: For the tour this morning we had smooth sea conditions, but the sky was overcast and we also had some light rain in between. Our first sighting was a pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins, however, these individuals were rather elusive, just allowing us a short glimpse of their dorsal fins. After searching a little longer we came across an area with 4 minke whales. There were also many seabirds in this area, suggesting a large amount of food. One of the minkes was surfacing right in front of our boat, which was just amazing. When we were already heading back towards the harbour 2 more white-beaked dolphins appeared out of nowhere and started playing around the bow of the boat! They were diving beneath it, doing some bow riding and allowing us a proper look at them, swimming just below the surface. A great way to finish this tour.
-Diana Besel
Tour at 9:00
Report from Eldey: Weather wise the tour went nice and smooth over flat seas. Our first sighting however took some time to take off, as wildlife is always unpredictable and sometimes plays it hard to find. However, eventually we encountered a minke whale near a active flock of birds and as we get closer to it we realized that we were surrounded by at least 3 minke whales feeding around us. We were able to observe the animals for a long while and quite close to our vessel until the point when we had to head back towards Reykjavik.
- Ines Cunha
Birds seen on today's tours include: atlantic puffin, northern fulmar, lesser black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake, common guillemot, arctic tern, arctic skua
We are running our tours today from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík, sea conditions are favorable and it should stay dry for most of the day. Please don't hesitate to contact our ticket office for further information, either via phone +354 5195000 or elding@elding.is
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