Tuesday, 19 August 2025

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR |10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00, 19:00

Report from Eldey: I´ll start by saying that we had quite an amazing tour today, that's for sure! We sailed into the ocean with good weather and an almost flat sea, which provided very good conditions for spotting whales. Our sightings started with a pod of around 15 white-beaked dolphins, which we saw bow-riding another ship ahead of us. They then moved away and continued their journey, with a few of them even breaching various times. Another species that we spotted close to the dolphins (and throughout the entire tour) was the minke whale. Minkes were all over the bay, and we saw at least, 10 of them, surfacing and diving multiple times. However, the highpoint of the tour probably was a humpback whale, which we saw after doing a long trip away from the coast. This humpback surfaced various times only a hundred meters from us and even showed us its beautiful tail, as it went for a deep dive. As we were heading back to Reykjavík, we were delighted to see one more species, a small group of 3 harbour porpoises, which only a few of the passengers were lucky to see, due to their small size and shy behaviour. We also had many more minke whale sightings, before returning back to harbour. So, definitely an amazing tour to start the day!

- Ricardo

Report from Háfsulan: This morning we had perfect conditions for whale watching. It was a gray and calm morning: the seas were as flat as they could be and because of this we could see anything that would come out of the water in a very far distance. We first spotted a dorsal fin of a minke whale, and as it was closer, we decided to check it out! Around us we could even see at least 5 more minkes, in different distances. The sea was so calm we could even hear their blows, and we enjoyed this moment to enjoy nature as well! We continued our trip, just to see many more minkes around EVERYWHERE we would look. I believe it was over 30 minkes during the whole tour! While spotting some minkes, we spotted a blow not far away from where we were. There were minkes there too! But the blow belonged to a humpback whale, that was calmly feeding with the birds, and we could even track it by them! When we were leaving this humpback, we saw it rolling on the surface! Then, we went to another area and we spotted a couple of dorsal fins... we had a pod of about 6 white-beaked dolphins! We went to check it out and they came very close to us! the sea was calm and beautiful so we could see them well through the surface! There were other 2 small pods (about 5 each) but one of the pods was even jumping high! Then, coming back to Reykjavik, we spotted 3 harbour porpoises and many puffins and pufflings closer to the shore!

- Milla Brandao

Report from Eldey: This afternoon really called for a spectacular show! The sea and wind conditions were very calm, which made spotting quite easy. About 30 minutes into the tour, two harbour porpoises surfaced close to our side, showing themselves twice before disappearing again. A few of us were lucky enough to catch a glimpse before they quietly moved away, and we continued heading further out into the bay. Not long after, we started seeing a few minke whales around, breaking the glassy surface with their pointed snouts. Then suddenly, two big blows appeared ahead of us. We changed course and headed in their direction, and to our excitement, they belonged to two humpback whales! At first, the humpbacks stayed close together, and we got to watch several beautiful blows and deep dives. After a while, they split up, and that’s when things got really exciting. One of them began splashing dramatically, so we made our way over. What followed was an incredible display: the humpback rolled onto its back and started slapping its massive pectoral fins against the water, over and over again, for a good 20 to 30 minutes. This individual seemed to have endless energy, and we could have stayed and watched all afternoon. Unfortunately, time eventually forced us to begin our journey back toward the harbour. On the way back, we spotted even more minke whales at various distances, with at least 15 seen throughout the entire tour. What a beautiful afternoon to be out on the water!

– Maja Andersson

Report from Háfsulan: When we left the port, there was a bit of a drizzle. However, when we sailed a little bit further out the drizzle stopped and we could enjoy a pair of harbor porpoises surfacing on the distance. As we were sailing, we encountered a few minke whales every now and then. We stopped the boat for a curious pair that they came even close to the boat in one occasion. However, we decided to leave them alone and look for something else. We spotted a few blows in the horizon which turned out to be a group of 5 humpback whales. Soon after we arrived, one of them decided to leave but the other 4 were putting up a show. We saw lunge feeding and bubble feeding one time, so we could see the mouth of the whales coming out of the water, and one of them was doing pec slapping every time it surfaced. Finally, before we left, the 4 of them came very close to the boat so we could see their whole bodies before they went for a deeper dive showing us their tails in a synchronized way. 

- Guillermo. 

Report from Eldey: We had another amazing tour this evening, with great sea conditions (flat seas and wide visibility). As we calmly headed out to sea, we had a view of the beautiful mountains that surround Faxaflói bay, many of which, were covered in clouds and fog. When we reached further offshore, we had our first sighting. A pod of around 10 white-beaked dolphins continuously breaching, almost like if they were trying to call our attention. When we reached them, they stopped breaching and immediately approached our ship, investigating and bow-riding it. After the dolphins lost interest in us, we continued and soon saw multiple minke whales throughout our sailing, probably up to 15, in total. About half-way through the tour, we found a group of four humpback whales, which were lunge-feeding. This is an amazing behaviour, as the whales bring the fish up to the surface, and we then get to see their huge mouth break through the water surface, as they swallow as much fish as possible. Later, as we headed back home, we saw our fourth and final species, a group of around 5 harbour porpoises. This was an outstanding sighting though, because most of the time, very few passengers get to spot the porpoises, due to their shy nature and avoidance behaviour. However, this porpoises surfaced multiple times, allowing many of our passengers to see them.

- Ricardo

Report from Hafsulan: We went out into almost mirror flat seas with cloudy skies overhead. The bay was absolutely riddled with wildlife as we saw dozens of Harbour porpoises and at least 15 minke whales all over the bay. The absolute starts of tonight though, were 5 humpback whales, all bubble netting and subsequently lunging out the water. some times mere meters away from the boat! We were lucky enough to behold this spectacle for over an hour as we followed the whales in their search of food, each time more amazed by the these incredible creatures lunging out the water. We saw nature's most amazing side today and so this tour was be one to remember!

Milan Vansteelandt

Atlantic puffin, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, manx shearwater, black guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, black-backed and lesser black-backed gull,