Saturday, 26 July 2025

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

Report from Eldey: We had a nice tour today here on Faxaflói Bay, happy to have a lot of passengers with us that were excited to go out to sea and learn more about our local wildlife. As we set into the ocean we immediately came across widlife, including puffins, northern fulmars and gulls. But the high point was when we found the largest animals in the bay, 3 humpback whales. Although these whales were not socializing with each other and didn´t seem to be part of a group, they were still swimming relatively close to each other, with swimming behaviours that seem to indicate that they were searching for food. We spent a nice time with these incredible whales, and even got to see a quick sighting of a minke whale, which surfaced near our ship for a quick moment, before continuing on its journey, away from us. All in all, this was a smooth trip with some pleasant sightings and definitely a good way of starting the week.

- Orsi Stipsicz

Report from Elding: We sailed of with moderate winds, cloudy skies and choppy seas. First we encountered a humpback whale, going for short dives lasting only a minute or two and taking multiple breaths before diving. After that, we spotted 3 minke whales. The first one was clearly busy feeding, going back and forth and lungefeeding at least 3 times. The secind whale was on its merry way and did not seem to mind us being around too much. Minke number three was quite shy though and vanished rather quickly. This trip was already pretty successful so we sailed back happily but not before getting some looks at a second humpback, treating us to a nice and high flukedive!

Milan Vansteelandt

Report from Eldey: We headed out onto choppy waters with the sunshine breaking through the cloud cover. On the way, we got to see a great variety of seabirds, many black-backed gulls, some adorable Atlantic puffins, as well as the graceful northern fulmars. Not long after, we had our first sighting, a quick minke whale popping up nearby. We got to have a nice look at this shy and elusive species. We continued on and came across a humpback whale, the first of 4 total on our tour. We got to see some spectacular fluke dives, as well as some restful logging near the surface.

- Ricardo

Report from Hafsulan: This afternoon the seas had calmed down a little, and we even had some sunshine as we sailed out. All eager for what the tour would bring, we scanned the seas for signs of whales and all of a sudden, we spotted a fin! It was a minke whale swiftly passing us, and at the same time we spotted a blow in the same area. The blow belonged to a humpback whale. We approached slowly and could watch it go for multiple fluke dives. It appeared to be a very small humpback and probably a young individual. We continued, and spotted yet another blow not so far away. We stopped to watch a second humpback whale, noticeably bigger than the first individual, also go for multiple dives close to the boat. We could clearly see its long white pectoral fins as it stayed very shallow beneth the surface. We moved on, to spot more minke whales around in the distance, at least 10 throughout the whole tour. All of a sudden one minke whale in particular came very close. We could see it come up for air so close to us that we even got some glimpses of its sharp snout. As we started to change our course back towards the harbour again, we spotted two more big spouts close by. We stopped to observe two more humpback whales travelling next to each other, and we could stay for a while. As we then continued to the harbour, everyone was very happy with all the beautiful sightings we had. What a great tour! 

- Maja Andersson

Report from Eldey: We set out onto the choppy bay, under gorgeous sunshine. As we headed out, we were treated to a couple glimpses of the many minke whales all around. But we headed forward, as there was a blow in the distance. We moved closer to get a better view, and sure enough, it was a humpback whale, clearly very busy feeding. We got to see many consecutive fluke dives as well as some bubble spirals at the surface, clear evidence of the bubble-net feeding below the surface. We stayed with this diligently feeding whale for a while, before moving on to another blow of another humpback in the distance. This individual also gave us some gorgeous fluke dives. After a wonderful couple minutes, we turned to head back to port, but of course, saw the same elusive minkes popping up on the way back. What a lovely, peaceful tour!

- Orsi Stipsicz

Report from Elding: we set out under the glow of the midnight sun, the sea calm and bathed in golden light. After some time scanning the horizon, we reached an area alive with bird activity—a good sign. The birds circled and dove with energy, marking a likely feeding spot. Soon enough, two humpback whales emerged from the depths, their dark backs glistening in the soft light. They lingered in the area for a while, feeding steadily. Sometimes they swam together in synchronized dives, other times they split apart, working the waters separately. A few times, they lunged up dramatically from below, mouths wide open, right next to the boat—close enough to hear the rush of displaced water and feel the awe of their immense power. In the same area, we caught glimpses of two minke whales. More elusive than the humpbacks, they surfaced briefly and at a distance, never staying long enough to track. Still, their presence added to the richness of the scene.

-Aleksandra Lechwar

Atlantic puffin, black-legged kittiwake, Northern ganner, Northern fulmar, black and common guillemot, common eider, storm petrel, common gull, herring gull, black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull